If you want to write well about something, you need to know how it works.

When I started writing Fantasy I didn’t know much about sword fighting, archery or horses, and as such the way they were written had a glossy feel to it, without the nitty gritty details I wanted that would make the world seem real and practical instead of a stylised Hollywood script.

However, it’s very difficult to do so if you don’t actually know anything about swinging a sword, shooting an arrow or how  horses behave. You end up writing impossible or improbable things, which may not bother you in the first version, but ultimately end up leaving the reader with a feeling of ‘not quite right’.

So at various times in my life I have sought out these things to learn how they really work. I found a medieval reenactment group to learn something of swords. I practiced archery for two years and learn all the pain that comes along with that. I just spent a week with horses learning how they behave, what they need, what they can do and how a horse’s personality can actually come through. (A common mistake of young female writers is creating horses that are far more awesome than they should be.) You should have a good understanding of how things work if you want to write about them.

 In my opinion the same applies to characters and people. Everybody behaves in a logical manner, but each person uses logic differently. If you don’t understand why  or how a character functions, then they don’t make sense and your story reads more like a fan-fiction and less like a novel.

Some of the mistakes I’ve seen people make (including myself) are:

• Describing horses as ‘grey and white’. Doesn’t happen!
• Saying “She just knew” without any more information or explanation
• Falling into roleplaying cliches of all armour fits everybody and all weapons suit everybody, regardless of physical differences.
• Making everybody too cool, all of the time. Remember that everybody has faults.

 So I suggest you get out there and learn what you need to know. Despite improving your writing, it can be a lot of fun and really interesting.

I can’t draw.
Sure, I can edit photos and mash them together to look interesting, but I can’t create anything from scratch. So although I can make my Spirit Concept images I can’t draw my characters. But fortunately I’ve found a few quick easy ways to make an image I can work with, without taking art lessons or hiring a sketch artist. Read the rest of this entry »

I create my characters.

I know who they are. I know what they do, what they like, what they fear. I understand their hopes, ambitions, dreams, desires and quirks. I designed their fears, backgrounds and understanding. I know my characters.

And then my more artistically inclined friends turn around and say “But what do they look like?”

And I blink dumbly wondering why they can’t see the character the way I see it, and then whether it actually matters. Read the rest of this entry »