My first fantasy novel, Dragon Reign – Book 1 of the One Prophecy, began its life in the form of a novella called Dragon Tails – Or Warriors Roasting on an Open Fire. Its sole purpose was to record the adventures my friends and I were having in our weekly role-playing games. All I wanted was to preserve for posterity the storyline that we were living out because it seemed unique, funny, exciting and entertaining! As I got further into recording this story, I found that my biggest challenges came from character development and plotting. While plotting was mostly in the hands of our game leader, the players were in control of their characters. So, when writing these characters, it was only natural to use the player as the guide. In Dragon Reign, I play the part of Finegan, thus his dialogue, his attitudes, his motives, and his moves, are all drawn from my own personality. As you might have guessed, almost every character has a real person who serves as my character sketch when writing them. This makes it easy to remember what the character looks like, acts like, sounds like, etc.
This also helps invest the plotting of the novel as well. If I would act a certain way in a situation, it is very likely that Finegan would act that way too. I can’t read the minds of the other characters, but since I know the real-life players behind the characters, I can more easily predict (or choose) how that character would react to a Red Dragon appearing in front of them or an Elven maiden showing up at the door.
I use this method of character sketching and plotting even if there isn’t a personal reference by attaching an actor to a character to better help me reveal that character. For instance, I’ve enlisted Danny Devito as a character sketch in my upcoming thriller, Hat Check – A Troy Bodean Adventure. I don’t know Mr. Devito, but given that I assign certain personality traits and physical traits to him, I can more easily flesh out his character or the character I’ve determined is like him. When I’m writing, I often open a separate document and paste internet-searched pictures of the actor or person I’ve assigned to that character into the document with a few notes about what their name is, what purpose they serve in the plot, etc. If I ever need a reference when writing about that character, I just click open that document and, voila, there they are in flesh and blood.
I also like to keep the separate threads of the plot balanced with what I call a plot map. I have an outline document open with my basic chapter outlines listed and the characters that are shown in each chapter. I represent each character/plot line with a different color allowing me to glance at the outline and make sure the story is a balanced look at each plotline. This allows me to move the completed chapters around to make the story flow better and not leave one set of characters hanging for too long, or bore the reader with the same characters over and over and over.
I’m using all of these techniques in the second book in the One Prophecy series called Searing Reign. As a teaser, I’m using Jared Leto’s portrayal of The Joker as my antagonist! Hmmm, sounds interesting. I’m excited to see how it turns out!
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About David
David F. Berens has been a certified USPTA Elite Tennis Professional since 2001. His experience in tennis has taken him from city parks to exclusive resorts and island getaways. Today he calls Knoxville, Tennessee home.
He has also been a writer most of his life and went to Carson-Newman College and East Tennessee State University to obtain his English Literature degree.
Jameson Havercamp, a psych from a conservative religious colony, has come to Oberon—unique among the Common Worlds—in search of a rare substance called pith. He’s guided through the wilds on his quest by Xander Kinnison, a handsome, cocky wing man with a troubled past.
Scott has been writing since elementary school, when he and won a University of Arizona writing contest in 4th grade for his first sci fi story (with illustrations!). He finished his first novel in his mid twenties, but after seeing it rejected by ten publishers, he gave up on writing for a while.
Your series has big expansive world building. What is one big tip you would give to authors when world building?
The original covers were designed to depict moments from the stories themselves (which I’ve since heard is supposed to be some big no-no). Readers could flip back to the cover and see a rough portrayal of a moment from each book.
Superhugs from my daughters when I get home from work, the love of my wife, and a brainstorming session involving an MP3 player and some quiet time. Music is my muse.
Sparks ignite and tempers flare when a sexy, optimistic wedding planner moves his business in across the hall from a jilted, divorce lawyer’s practice.
A.E. Via is an author in the beautiful gay romance genre and also founder and owner of Via Star Wings Books. Her writing embodies everything from hopelessly romantic to adventure, to scandalous. Her stories often include intriguing edges and twists that take readers to new, thought-provoking depths.
Vikash Soren, the perfect police officer except for his odd paranormal ability, never seems to lose his temper. Always serene and competent, he’s taken on the role of mediator in a squad room full of misfits. But on the inside, he’s a mess. Unable to tell his police partner that he loves him, Vikash struggles silently, terrified of losing Kyle as a lover, partner and friend.
The unlikely black sheep of an ivory tower intellectual family, Angel Martinez has managed to make her way through life reasonably unscathed. Despite a wildly misspent youth, she snagged a degree in English Lit, married once and did it right the first time, (same husband for almost twenty-four years) gave birth to one amazing son, (now in college) and realized at some point that she could get paid for writing.
To my great delight, one of the prizes for placing third in the QSF 2nd Annual Flash Fiction Contest was a chance to judge the entries for the 3rd Annual Flash Fiction Contest. It was tons of fun reading all the entries and took more time than I would have thought, since each of the stories were only 300 words.
A 300-word story should be easy, right? Many of our entrants say it’s the hardest thing they’ve ever written.
He rubbed his temples and squinted at the soft light of his surroundings through the fans of his thick eyelashes. The last drink had been a mistake.
The shaking ceased, and he looked around his small dwelling.
A model unit when he’d purchased it. Now filled with the result of years of collecting: a gramophone, a first generation television set, a water clock. And much more. All of it all had sentimental value—as did the photos of the various men that sat atop or alongside the items in his collection. Some of these men had loved him. All of them had once owned him. Now he owned their memories. That was the bargain.
He peered up into the small shaftway at the center of the ceiling.
ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-flightqueerscifisthirdannualflashfictioncontest-2091592-341.html
In the first year of the Queer Sci Fi Flash Fiction contest, we received about 15 entries for the theme “Endings”. In the second year, it was 115 for “Discovery”.
Earth’s a dead planet, dark for thousands of years; lost for so long no one even knows where the solar system is. Her last known colony, Albion, has grown to be regional galactic power in its own right. But its drive to expand and found colonies of its own has threatened an alien race, the Maess, against whom Albion is now fighting a last-ditch battle for survival in a war that’s dragged on for generations.Taking Shield charts the missions and adventures of Shield Captain Bennet, scion of a prominent military family. Against the demands of his family’s ‘triple goddess’ of Duty, Honour and Service, is set Bennet’s relationships with lovers and family.
commander of Fleet’s First Flotilla. Events of the first book, in which he is sent to his father’s ship to carry out an infiltration mission behind Maess lines, improve his relationship with Caeden, but bring with them the catalyst that will destroy the one with Joss: one Fleet Lieutenant Flynn, who, over the course of the series, develops into Bennet’s main love interest.
Returning to duty following his long recovery from the injuries he sustained during the events recounted in Heart Scarab, Shield Captain Bennet accepts a tour of duty in Fleet as flight captain on a dreadnought. The one saving grace is that it isn’t his father’s ship—bad enough that he can’t yet return to the Shield Regiment, at least he doesn’t have the added stress of commanding former lover Fleet Lieutenant Flynn, knowing the fraternisation regulations will keep them apart.
Anna was a communications specialist for many years, working in various UK government departments on everything from marketing employment schemes to organizing conferences for 10,000 civil servants to running an internal TV service. These days, though, she is writing full time. She recently moved out of the ethnic and cultural melting pot of East London to the rather slower environs of a quiet village tucked deep in the Nottinghamshire countryside, where she lives with her husband and the Deputy Editor, aka Molly the cockerpoo.