A.J. Flowers

I would like to cover some ground rules for fantasy world-building. This is a deeper look into one of the items from an earlier post: 5 Common Mistakes for Aspiring Authors. Fantasy worlds are the reason readers flock to the genre: We live in the real world, why would we want to read about it? Now, don’t … More 5 Pillars of World-Building

How far is your story? Is it still bubbling in your imagination, waiting to spring out? Are you on your first draft? Third? One hundredth? No matter what stage, it is time to look at the character development in your story. I want to point out that character development doesn’t start out on the first page, it starts … More The Dos and Don’ts of Character Development

One of the most important skills a writer needs to have mastered is the proper usage of dialogue. Dialogue provides many things to the reader: Information and Backstory, Character Personality, Plot Flow, Interaction and Dynamic Action. You may say, well some stories don’t have much dialogue. Wrong, what about internal dialogue? Even if characters are not … More 5 Mistakes Writers Make When Writing Dialogue

  Have you ever been in a movie theatre and saw someone reading? Well I have! I remember I was at the movie theatre with some friends. It was a kid’s movie, I don’t recall which. But what I do remember is looking over and seeing this 8 to 10-year-old boy curled up in his … More 3 Favorite Places to Read

Before I was a writer, I was a reader. I didn’t have the know-how to put into words how Point of View (PoV) affected me, but I realize now how much of an impact it really had on my reading experience. For example, I read Alan Campbell’s: Scar Night cover-to-cover in a matter of a week. I … More Writing PoV – The Impact to the Reader

It’s expected that non-fiction will be the result of extensive real-world research. But what about fiction? While not required, conducting research will greatly enhance any novel. You may not expect research for a F&SF(Fantasy & Sci-Fi) novel, but there are many which have done this very thing. Why? Because while a writer’s world will be … More F&SF Writers . . . Do you Research

As an active member of Scribophile, an online critiquing community, I have gotten my share of new-author exposure. I’ve decided to compile a list here of some of the most common mistakes I see over and over again. I’ll avoid mentioning prose structure or grammar/punctuations errors, these are mistakes that should naturally resolve with revision and … More 5 Common Mistakes of Aspiring Authors

You’re somewhere in-between elementary school and middle school when you learn an important English idiom: Never Judge a Book by its Cover. Perhaps this wisdom was departed by a grey-haired woman, parroted by a well-meaning classmate, or an all-knowing parent. You widen your eyes and nod emphatically. Of course, I should never judge a book … More DO Judge a Book by its Cover.