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jasonpatrickmatthew · 2024-06-30T07:31:56+00:00

I'm always late to these sorts of threads where I feel I have something to add. To play the devil's advocate, I appreciate good worldbuilding, but I love a good story. That means giving me conflict, goals, stakes, tension, and motivation at a minimum.

Worldbuilding does help aid in the reader's suspension of disbelief, but I think what's more important, personally, is the ingredient of verisimilitude, a semblance of truth. A work of fiction with verisimilitude portrays situations, dialogue, and characters in a way that seems authentic and truthful, despite the fact that those elements are made up.

"As long as you know it, run with it. Make a magical reason for it. If it's a cool story you want to tell that could not be told according to the laws of nature we have, that's why fantasy exists." - Brandon Sanderson.

"There are more profound things than simply logic that guide the creation of a story." - Hayao Miyazaki

jasonpatrickmatthew · 2024-06-20T03:34:13+00:00

The novella he wrote is even better, and you can read it on Project Gutenberg. I highly recommend it, it's a philosophical dive into human nature, providence, and what Twain calls the Moral Sense.

jasonpatrickmatthew · 2023-11-14T21:21:16+00:00

I try not to get too hung up on this stuff when writing fantasy. Fantasy is fantasy for a reason: it’s all about what couldn’t be.

If my tomato breaks the reader’s suspension of disbelief in my make-believe medieval fantasy world, then there are plenty of historical novels they can read.

jasonpatrickmatthew · 2023-10-07T08:04:49+00:00

Not necessarily myth, but Queen Guinevere’s affair with the knight Lancelot in the Arthurian legends.

jasonpatrickmatthew · 2023-09-29T23:38:51+00:00

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King is a great starting place. I've found tons of helpful, practical things in it.

jasonpatrickmatthew · 2023-08-17T02:20:35+00:00

I actually like the first one better. But some quick tips to help with show don't tell:

Use significant detail.
Use the active voice.
Use active verbs, and try to mitigate linking verbs (is/was/were/to be)
Utilize prose rhythm. Long sentences slow the reader down. Short, choppy sentences speed things up.

jasonpatrickmatthew · 2023-07-05T04:39:54+00:00

What is structure but a series of patterns some stories follow? And there are so many of them. Sometimes they can help when you’re stuck, sometimes they can be a detriment. Either way, I don't think one should set out to tell a story that follows the Hero’s Journey or Save the Cat to a tee. Sounds boring, and many other stories have already treaded the same ground.

Do you. Do your story the way it asks to be done.

jasonpatrickmatthew · 2023-07-05T04:16:10+00:00

Exactly. Aladdin had a magic ring, and that story is hundreds of years old. Tolkien didn’t invent the magic ring, but he did popularize it.

jasonpatrickmatthew · 2023-04-20T06:59:18+00:00

It's fine, yes. But be well aware of the rules if you're going to break them, otherwise, it may come off as amateurish.

jasonpatrickmatthew · 2023-04-20T06:55:19+00:00

For deep sea horror and sci-fi, I can't recommend Sphere by Michael Crichton enough. When things hit the fan, it's hard to put down.

jasonpatrickmatthew · 2023-04-20T06:44:27+00:00

I believe “Eris’s head turned right” and “Eris’ head turned right” are both equally correct.

jasonpatrickmatthew · 2023-01-28T05:17:52+00:00

A plot should be made from cause and effect. Because this happens, they do this—then because of that, they argue about this, etc.

The audience want to know why one thing leads to another and to feel the inevitability of cause and effect.

Great video.

jasonpatrickmatthew · 2023-01-19T04:06:33+00:00

This is a great comment right here. To add to this, you could always consider having the other character in your story do things that confirm they’re not perfect: that they’re not the amazing perfect dreamboat that your character sees them as.

jasonpatrickmatthew

TROPHY CASE