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My aunt, Jackie Lloyd, is writing a rather unusual book: My Imaginary Dog, based on a series of fantasies she had while walking the steep seaside slopes of Deep Cove here in North Vancouver.
She has asked me to help edit it, and has even launched a blog to talk about the whole adventure. I think the dog, Bear, will also be giving his two cents' worth there.
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Tag Archives: fiction
novel vs. novel 2: men with attitude
Back in August I wrote a post in which I compared two random novels that I happened to have read back to back. Well, that was so much fun I’m going to do it again. How do I happen to … Continue reading
climaxology
I’ve been working on the climax of my epic-in-progress, The Age of Pisces, and I’ve been at it for some months now. There’s a lot to think about. For one thing, The Age of Pisces is to be a multivolume … Continue reading
novel vs. novel
I’m a fiction writer, so I pay close attention to the fiction I read. I’m always looking to learn how other practitioners have done things. What worked for them—and what didn’t? The two novels I’ve read most recently are Grand … Continue reading
creating characters, part 5: combining archetypes
I’ve been sharing my discoveries about the art of character creation in storytelling. The idea here is to build characters from the inside out, to make vital, interesting characters from scratch instead of trying to create characters based purely on … Continue reading
creating characters, part 3
Welcome to another installment of my character-creation process for storytelling. I started out by calling the series “creating characters in epic fiction,” but really I’m talking about creating characters in general, so I have shortened my title accordingly. I would … Continue reading
creating characters in epic fiction, part 1
I’ve been writing for a long time, and I do it professionally, but nonetheless I regard myself as a student of the craft rather than some kind of master of it. So if you’re a writer, or perhaps a deep … Continue reading
developing a story
Once you’ve worked out what story is, it’s time to figure out how to write one. This part－developing a story－isn’t easy; for some of us, it can take longer than the natural human lifespan. But now, more than ever before, … Continue reading
Watership Down by Richard Adams: the rabbit Aeneid
Watership Down by Richard Adams My rating: 5 of 5 stars Two square miles of English countryside become a zone of adventure, combat, and statecraft for a band of refugee rabbits. My path to this book was via The Seven … Continue reading
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde: the battlefield within
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde My rating: 4 of 5 stars One hundred twenty-four years after its original publication, this poetic tragedy still effervesces with cynical epigrams and thought-provoking ideas. I remember being curious about this book … Continue reading
