Get Dusted for Free! (A Random Rungis Event)

Rungis, the Latvian God of Harvests is here!

 

Wait, how do a turn off bold? Let me just- no that's not right. Hang on.

 

Ahh, there we go.

 

My name is Rungis. My honored minion, Jennifer, may have already mentioned me before in one of my incarnations. Today she is off getting a book signed or working her new job or something. I have no idea. I'm not omnipotent, I just make the grain grow.

 

The best grain.

 

I've been pretty busy since she last mentioned me, and have since learned to use a computer (community colleges actually allow one minor deity per semester to attend a class, can you believe it?) So, when I saw Jennifer was gone, I decided to usurp her blog for my own entertainment.

 

More than that, I'm going to make Dusted free in honor of myself.

 

That's right, you too can be part of the super special Random Rungis Event where Dusted will be free for 5 days starting today and ending on Tuesday the 29th!

 

What are you waiting for? You can find it Here!

 

Don't have a Kindle? Or even Kindle as an app for your smartphone? That's okay, neither do I. I use Kindle for PC which you can find Here.

New Shedule!

"Quick! Let's all go buy Dusted so Jen can sit around and
play videogames all day!"

I recently got a job (if you people bought Dusted in droves I wouldn't have to) As a result I'm going to change my blogging schedule to one day a week starting this Friday and see if I can maintain that rate while I figure out my new job. I still have plenty of scheduled posts written up, so my ramblings should maintain consistency at least for a while.

Wish me luck!

Dialogue Without a Word

Dialogue:

"This lady suddenly appeared out of nowhere, saying she was a time traveller," Jessica explained. "There was a bright flash of light and suddenly she was giving me this necklace, telling me she was being hunted. Then, she disappeared."

No dialogue:

Jessica told David about the time traveller, how the woman had suddenly appeared in a bright flash of light, giving Jessica a necklace and telling her she was being hunted, before disappearing.

Minimal:

Jessica told David about the time traveller.


All get the job done, but one is more preferrable over the others, and it will depend on previous circumstances which one you want. If the time traveller scene just happened, go with the minimal to avoid readers being frustrated. If it happened quite a while back, or if it wasn't in the story and this is the first time it's being introduced to the reader, go with the first or second one.

When to use the dialogue versus the non-dialogue is really a matter of choice. Sometimes one will just fit better than the other. Other times, you'll notice the non-dialogue one is shorter. If you want to keep something quick and avoid getting bogged down by the nuances of character conversation, go with the second.

Heck, for some really good practice, try writing a quick story with no dialogue at all.

Rehashing What Just Happened

Today is going to be something quick.

Something even published authors make the mistake of is rehashing things that everyone just did. Suppose the hero just slayed the dragon and rescued the princess. Then, the lovable comic relief thief character catches up after finding the dragon's treasure room. The hero then repeats the entire slaying and rescuing via dialogue to the thief, forcing the readers to experience it all over again right after they read it.

You can probably get away with it once. Once. In a single book. Ever. After that you'll start waking up to death threats being delivered to your house via brick-through-the-window (my favorite form of delivery system.)

Now I just gotta attach the party invites...

Instead of repeating what just happened, go with something more generic:

David the Knight told the thief about the dragon.

It's quick, does what is needed, and holds readers back from groaning with boredom.

Talking Head Syndrome

I've been giving writing advice for a long time now and, while I haven't always known what I was doing, I've known what not to do. I've been part of a collaborative writing forum for almost ten years now, and so I've been exposed to writers of every kind of skill, seeing what they can do and, hopefully, give them some good advice. However, any skill, really, is easy to point out the flaws in. If someone makes a drawing, for example, it's easy to point out how the proportions are off. How to correct it, however, isn't so easy.

Anyway, probably the most rookie mistake I see (other than grammar or spelling) is what I call the Taking Head Syndrome.

Burnin' down the house!

People don't just talk:

“Where are we?”

“On the ship”

“Oh, okay then.”

“Hungry?”

“Not really.”

 

I could continue this, but you should get the point. In real life, people don’t just talk, they’re always doing things, even if they’re sitting down. Nobody’s a statue. Here’s a better example, with the dialog unchanged.

 

”Where are we?” Jessica said, opening her eyes and noticing she was in her bed.

“On the ship,” David said softly, giving her a reassuring pat on the shoulder.
 
“Oh," she sighed, rolling over to her side. “Okay then.”
 
“Hungry?” He jerked a thumb backward in the general direction of the kitchen.
 
Jessica drew her knees up and wrapped her arms around them. “Not really.”
 

This was written about four years ago, and so it's a little awkward. It is, if anything, too animated. If there was storyline before and after this scene it would flow better. Still, it gives an example of where they are, what's going on, and possibly how the two characters are feeling.

Too many people get caught up in writing dialogue because it's easy to go back and forth in a conversation. However, conversations are boring if your characters have their metaphorical hands tied to their backs and their feet are glued to the ground.

A good way to get a visual of this is to watch two people having a conversation. Watch what they do. They walk, or move their arms, or smile, or nod. People are animated creatures, and animating your characters helps to breathe life into them.

Jack Butler's Evil Overlord List

Maybe I'm on some sort of villain bend, but this ought to be the last one.

Jack Butler's Evil Overlord List.

The Magnificent Bastard Villain

"He is brilliant and utterly devious, to an almost breathtaking, mind-boggling degree. Call it genius, call it virtual omniscience, but he always seems to know what everyone else is planning at any given moment, and exactly how to arrange the game so he wins even when he is defeated. Didn't See That Coming doesn't derail him; he can always adapt.

He is a smooth operator. He always knows exactly what to say to position you where he wants you, always has a backup strategy and never loses his cool. Even if on the remote chance something happens that wasn't in his plans, you'd never know it from his actions.

 He has a goal, he's not going to stop until he's completed it, whatever it is. To that end he will do almost anything. He'll move heaven and hell. Despite his choice of tactics, he is rarely if ever pointlessly cruel, and has a reason for everything he does.

He is charismatic, often charming, his personality like a physical force. People tend to like him, sometimes even when they know he isn't on their side, and even those who hate his guts have to admit respect. Even when at his darkest, he has traits which one can't help but admire.

While usually an antagonist, especially if he's the Big Bad, the Magnificent Bastard can be aligned on either side of a conflict. Hell, he's so amazing he tends to forgo the idea of good and evil altogether, instead following his own agenda, choosing to help whichever side will further his goals. However, it's true that his penchant for manipulation at the expense of others means it's common for him to be a Villain, Villain Protagonist, or at least an Anti-Hero, but purely heroic examples exist. Either way, he's almost always in charge of whatever organization he's involved with, or might as well be.

~ TV Troupes on Magnificent Bastard

Today I'm outsourcing to TV Troupes and having you read How To Write a Magnificent Bastard. The type of villain that is always recognizable and, when done right, always pays off. You can read all about it Here.