Tag Archives: Donald Maass

ARCHETYPES-THE HERO/HEROINE

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 WHY ARCHETYPES? WHY HEROES/HEROINES? Archetypes are important because they bring into our, well, psyches. Robert Jones and a guest post on Larry Brooks’ Storyfix.com says, “all fiction is an archetype that displays life on a symbolic level.” Archetypes are universally recognized essentials to literature. Chris Vogler in The Writers’ Journey agrees. He says, “All stories consist of a few common structural elements found universally in this, fairy tales, dreams, and movies.” Heroes can make or break.  When I read the Tarzan series, I realized how impossible and unrealistic the… Continue reading →

#4 Historical Fiction — Character, Character, Character

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Tomoe Gozen by Yoshitoshi 1880

If you’re a  reader or a writer, unforgettable characters are what we look for and strive for. Since late Heian Japan (12th century), people have been drawn to the extraordinary Tomoe Gozen, female samurai and wife of  Minamoto no Yoshinaka.(above) These past couple of days I have been validated on this  CHARACTER point several times: 1. Sunday, December 1, 2013 the New York Times Magazine has an article called, “The Big Picture Strikes Back.” I won’t sum it up for you, I think it’s better… Continue reading →

#2 IN HISTORICAL FICTION—THE STORY!

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  2. THE STORY What do all of these have in common: Alison Weir, Anne Perry, Ann Woodward, Laura Joh Rowland, Stephen Saylor, Elizabeth Peters, Mary Renault, the early Jean Auel, Philippa Gregory, James Melville and Diana Gabaldon? THE STORY. Amazing plot-driven, character-driven, conflict-driven, history-driven, stories.     The STORY is what draws me into historical fiction and the historical background is what keeps me there.  IF the history is accurate (See my previous post) i.e. no anachronisms, or egregious errors. I was reading a… Continue reading →

THE ENDS AND THE MEANS

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THE ENDS AND THE MEANS There are hundreds of books, thousands of books on how to write. And many of them are important. But if we pay attention to details ONLY we can lose.  (As e. e. cummings says, “he who pays attention to the syntax of things, will never wholly kiss you.”) In one of my critique groups, when we get a new piece of writing to evaluate, if it is, for lack of a better word, “good,” we get into the writing and… Continue reading →