This episode is the second part of my conversation with Orna Ross: poet, author and founder and Director of the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi). Here Orna and I discuss the amazing impact of self-publishing, the rise of the indie author, the priorities for indie authors, the challenges that they face, and how they can benefit from being part of ALLi, the largest global non-profit organisation for independent authors. ...
This episode is all about the protagonist's nemesis, the antagonist. Traditionally seen as 'the bad guy' the antagonist's real function in a story is to contend with, and oppose, the protagonist at every step. In this episode we look at ways in which the antagonist can have their own character arc, with some characters switching into or out of the antagonist's role. We'll also look at the five strategies you can use to create the delicious antagonist, from a painful but convincing backstory to a personal connection with the protagonist, and from a firm belief in their own cause to good behaviour and an excellent dress sense. Welcome to the dark side of your story! ...
In the previous episode we explored the two essential qualities of setting through describing the need for setting to be credible and immersive. In this episode we focus on one of those qualities, the immersive setting, and we explore how to make the setting an immersive and compelling place for readers by taking the time to research and plan the backstory, creating a mood and style for the setting, and by presenting the setting with sparse, specific, and sensory language. ...
