Showing posts with label index. Show all posts
Showing posts with label index. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 15, 2020

Index to Posts Mentioning C. J. Cherryh

Index to Posts Mentioning C. J. Cherryh

I seem to talk about C. J. Cherryh frequently, and make references assuming the reader has followed what I've said about her work.

Although her work is not "Romance Genre" - it is Science Fiction about characters who respond to their Relationships with others, who work out what to do about problems, especially the mysteries of Alien behavior.

She has become the primary reference source for world building, plots, and non-human civilizations structured around complex "Situations."  Just like a very intimate Romance, C. J. Cherryh's novels pivot on multi-dimensional situations with many moving parts.

Here are some of the posts mentioning C. J. Cherryh's work.

https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2020/12/reviews-58-divergence-by-c-j-cherryh.html

https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2020/06/reviews-54-resurgence-by-c-j-cherryh.html

https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2019/05/theme-worldbuilding-integration-part-20.html

https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2018/07/reviews-36-by-jacqueline-lichtenberg.html

https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2017/07/reviews-32-cj-cherryh-and-gini-koch-in.html

https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2016/08/alien-sexuality-part-two-what-is-life.html

https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2016/07/reviews-27-foreigner-series-by-c-j.html

https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2014/08/reviews-9-sex-politics-and-heroism.html

https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2013/09/theme-dialogue-integration-part-2-whats.html

https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2012/01/research-plot-integration-in-historical.html

https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2009/06/crumbling-business-model-of-writers.html

https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2007/08/two-of-swords.html

Jacqueline Lichtenberg
http://jacquelinelichtenberg.com

Tuesday, October 20, 2020

Index to Verisimilitude vs Reality

Index
to 
Verisimilitude vs Reality




Here are blog posts about how to create fiction based on Reality using a similarity to reality, verisimilitude.

Verisimilitude --- from Wikipedia

Verisimilitude is the philosophical notion that some propositions are more true or less true than other propositions. The problem of verisimilitude is the problem of articulating what it takes for one false theory to be closer to the truth than another false theory. Wikipedia

What is "fiction" if not a "false theory" that is closer to Truth than another false theory?

Reality is True. Fiction is True. Neither is Truth without the other.


Part 1
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2009/01/verisimilitude-vs-reality.html

Part 2 Master Theme Structure, The Camera, Nesting Plots and Stories
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2011/09/verisimilitude-vs-reality-part-2-master.html

Part 3 - The Game, The Stakes, The Template
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2011/09/verisimilitude-vs-reality-part-3-game.html

Part 4 - Story Arcs and the Fiction Delivery System
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2020/09/verisimilitude-vs-reality-part-4-story.html

Part 5 - So What Exactly is Happiness?
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2020/09/verisimilitude-vs-reality-part-5-so.html

Part 6 - Show Don't Tell Theme
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2020/10/verisimilitude-vs-reality-part-6-show.html

Jacqueline Lichtenberg
http://jacquelinelichtenberg.com

Tuesday, July 14, 2020

Index to Mysteries of Pacing

Index
to
Mysteries of Pacing
Posts by Jacqueline Lichtenberg

In the Reviews series of posts, we have looked at whole Series, long series of books, 15-20+ novels, and how the envelope plot structure allows a series to build out that long.

Here are three of the Reviews posts on entire Series of Novels to study for Series Pacing:

https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2020/06/reviews-53-fenmere-job-by-marshall-ryan.html

https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2020/06/reviews-54-resurgence-by-c-j-cherryh.html

https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2020/07/reviews-55-walking-shadows-by-faye.html

Here is a list of Posts on the Mysteries of Pacing.

1. Siri Reads Text Aloud -- the concept of creating read aloud ready prose.
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2019/09/mysteries-of-pacing-part-1-siri-reads.html

2. Romance at the Speed of Thought
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2019/10/mysteries-of-pacing-part-2-romance-at.html

3. Punctuated by Plot Twists
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2019/10/mysteries-of-pacing-part-3-punctuated.html

4. Story Pacing
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2019/10/mysteries-of-pacing-part-4-story-pacing.html

5. How Fast Can A Character Arc
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2019/10/mysteries-of-pacing-part-5-how-fast-can.html

6. How to Change a Character's Mind
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2019/10/mysteries-of-pacing-part-6-how-to.html

7. Art of Persuasion
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2019/11/mysteries-of-pacing-part-7-art-of.html

8. Pacing and the HEA
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2020/07/mysteries-of-pacing-part-8-pacing-and.html


9. Character Arc Pacing Using The Foible
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2020/07/mysteries-of-pacing-part-9-character.html

10. Show Don't Tell Character Arc
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2020/08/mysteries-of-pacing-part-10-show-dont.html

11. Pacing the Character Arc
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2020/12/mysteries-of-pacing-part-11-pacing.html

Jacqueline Lichtenberg
http://jacquelinelichtenberg.com

Tuesday, March 10, 2020

Index to How Do You Know If You've Written a Classic

Index
to
How Do You Know If You've Written a Classic

Part 1 in this Series is about writing a "classic" illustrating the long time fan discovering new entries in a series.

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2012/02/how-do-you-know-if-youve-written.html

Part 2, Spock's Katra, is a long answer to a request for material for an online blog.  My answer focused on Theodore Bikel and his roles in Star Trek.

https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2015/10/how-do-you-know-if-youve-written.html

Part 3 answers very insightful interview questions from a Podcast host.  The verbal podcast interview is very different, but here are answers done with some time to think of how to explain the invisible connections between Star Trek, my deep study of the fan dynamics of the TV Series, and my own original universe Sime~Gen novels.

https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2019/07/how-do-you-know-if-youve-written.html

Part 4 - Fifty Year Test
Best Sellers made into movies or TV from the 1960's, James Clavell's Tai-Pan

https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2020/02/how-do-you-know-if-youve-written.html

Part 5 - James Clavell Move Over
Current Science Fiction carrying on the classic tradition.
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2020/02/how-do-you-know-if-youve-written_25.html

Part 6 - Romance and the Ph.D. Thesis
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2020/03/how-do-you-know-if-youve-written.html

Part 7 - How Do You Know These Two Are Soul Mates
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2020/03/how-do-you-know-if-youve-written_31.html

Part 8 - What Do Readers Do
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2020/06/how-do-you-know-if-youve-written.html

Part 9 - A Film Worth Watching Again

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Index To Posts About Using Real World Headlines In Fiction

Index To 
Posts About 
Using Real World Headlines In Fiction

The best advice (ever) on involving "the media" in your fictional story is in the screenwriting series, SAVE THE CAT!  and consists basically of the warning DON'T INVOLVE THE MEDIA.

This is also true of using media headlines as a springboard into a story, and quoting them historically in a story set decades ago.

On the third hand, captivating an audience that lives in contemporary reality with a story set elsewhere/elsewhen (as in Science Fiction or Paranormal Romance) requires a broad awareness of what's going on in the world, and what is of primary concern to your readers.

Mostly, readers come to Romance to "get away from" the harsh edges of Reality, but if you deliver a point of view or reframing of reality that helps the reader return to reality with new strength, you will get word of mouth advertising.

We have discussed the use (and abuse) of headlines and media-narrative in many posts, mostly involving theme.  Many of these posts on the Media Headlines are embedded in series of posts about integrating various writing techniques into a seamless whole (so readers can't tell you are using a "technique" at all.  Craftsmanship should never be apparent, or it is very bad craftsmanship.

So here are posts scattered among various series of craftsmanship posts, that discuss what you can do with current media headlines, how to rip a story out of the headline to captivate a specific readership.

Theme Worldbuilding Integration Part 6 - Use of Media Headlines
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2013/02/theme-worldbuilding-integration-part-6.html

Marketing Fiction In A Changing World Part 4 - Understanding the Headlines You Use For Springboards
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2014/02/marketing-fiction-in-changing-world_18.html

Marketing Fiction In A Changing World Part 8 -- Guest Post by Flying Pen Press on Headlines and Titles
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2014/03/marketing-fiction-in-changing-world_18.html

Reviews 9: Sex, Politics and Heroism
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2014/08/reviews-9-sex-politics-and-heroism.html

Depiction Part 1 - Depicting Power In Relationships
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2014/09/depiction-part-1-depicting-power-in.html

Depiction Part 2: Conflict And Resolution
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2014/09/depiction-part-2-conflict-and-resolution.html

Reviews 10: Shadow Banking in Fantasy And Reality by Jacqueline Lichtenberg
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2014/09/reviews-10-shadow-banking-in-fantasy.html

Marketing Fiction In A Changing World Part 23 - Mastering The Narrative Line
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2016/10/marketing-fiction-in-changing-world_86.html

Depiction Part 19 - Depicting The Married Hunk With Children
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2016/11/depiction-part-19-depicting-married.html

Worldbuilding For Science Fiction Romance Part 2 - Imagine An Impossible World
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2018/10/worldbuilding-for-science-fiction.html


Jacqueline Lichtenberg
http://jacquelinelichtenberg.com

Tuesday, May 21, 2019

Index to Soul Mates and the HEA Real or Fantasy

Index to Soul Mates and the HEA Real or Fantasy
by
Jacqueline Lichtenberg 


Why don't people believe a Happily Ever After "ending" is possible in real life, and if it isn't possible to achieve in reality, what's wrong with reading about it?

This series explores this complex issue from several directions.

Part 1 Are Soul Mates who find each other destined for an HEA?
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2016/03/soul-mates-and-hea-real-or-fantasy-part.html

Part 2
Why do readers reject the Romance Genre, but accept the Love Story sub-plot?
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2018/08/soul-mates-and-hea-real-or-fantasy-part.html

Here is a set of links to previous posts in other series of posts on this blog being applied to this problem in the Soul Mates and the HEA series:
We have discussed the plausibility of the Soul Mate hypothesis and the Happily Ever After goal hypothesis in many different contexts.
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2016/06/theme-worldbuilding-integration-part-14.html
If the HEA is implausible, how come it happens?
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2015/01/if-hea-is-implausible-how-come-it.html
The Cheating Woman
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2013/03/happily-ever-after-life-patterns-part-2.html
Nesting Huge Themes Inside Each Other (building the foundation of a series)
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2011/10/believing-in-happily-ever-after-part-4.html
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2016/11/index-to-believing-in-happily-ever-after.html
And What Does She See In Him?
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2009/08/what-does-she-see-in-him.html


Part 3  of Soul Mates And The HEA Real or Fantasy -Convincing Your Reader
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2018/09/soul-mates-and-hea-real-or-fantasy-part.html

Part 4
Is Monkey Sex Best There Can Be?
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2018/09/soul-mates-and-hea-real-or-fantasy-part_11.html

Part 5
Domestic Violence During the HEA
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2018/09/soul-mates-and-hea-real-or-fantasy-part_18.html

Part 6
Love Vs. Romance
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2019/05/soul-mates-and-hea-real-or-fantasy-part.html

Part 7
Is The HEA Balderdash?
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2019/09/soul-mates-and-hea-real-or-fantasy-part.html

Part 8
The Science of the HEA
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2019/09/soul-mates-and-hea-real-or-fantasy-part_10.html

Part 9
Mixing Soul, Science and Politics
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2019/09/soul-mates-and-hea-real-or-fantasy-part_17.html

Tuesday, April 30, 2019

Index to When Should You Give Up On A Manuscript by Jacqueline Lichtenberg

Index
to
When Should You Give Up On A Manuscript? by
Jacqueline Lichtenberg

Should you rewrite endlessly? Should you scrap work just because it didn't turn out very well?  Should you stop trying to market a manuscript that's been rejected? And if your novel was published, way back at the beginning of your publishing career, should you rewrite it to your current skill level, and re-publish it?  If so, should you change the title?

Part One Hitting a Brick Wall
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2014/04/when-should-you-give-up-on-manuscript.html

Part Two Troubleshooting
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2014/04/when-should-you-give-up-on-manuscript_8.html

Part 3 Wrecking Ball For Brick Walls
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2014/04/when-should-you-give-up-on-manuscript_15.html

Part 4 What To Do After You Give Up
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2014/04/when-should-you-give-up-on-manuscript_22.html

Part 5 The Writing Prompt Vs. Creativity
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2015/03/when-should-you-give-up-on-manuscript.html

Part 6 Should You Ever Rewrite Your Previously Published Manuscripts (May 7, 2019)
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2019/05/when-should-you-give-up-on-manuscript.html

Part 7 How To Climb Over The Wall That Hit You (June 22, 2021) https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2021/06/when-should-you-give-up-on-manuscript.html

Jacqueline Lichtenberg
http://jacquelinelichtenberg.com

Tuesday, May 01, 2018

Index To Theme-Conflict Integration

Index To 
Theme-Conflict Integration
Blog Series
by
Jacqueline Lichtenberg

The posts labeled with two or more techniques are more "advanced" than those labeled with just one, as it is expected the individual techniques have been mastered individually.  Many selling writers (even best selling) have novels published with a lack of blending of the techniques - and many readers enjoy them.  The long lasting, much reprinted, classics usually have a core of a blend of techniques so smooth that academics can't factor them back out to individual techniques.  As a result, much academic work has been published labeling "the theme" of a given novel as something which it is, in fact, not.  The thing is, the author often doesn't know what the theme of a given novel is until maybe 20 years after publication.

What you think your theme is, and what it actually is may differ.  It is not necessary for the author to be correct, but it is necessary to be consistent.

Conflict is the essence of Story -- but theme is the essence of Art.

Here are posts on integrating the technique of "theme" with the technique of "conflict" with emphasis on Romance between highly contrasted individuals (such as human-alien)

Part 1 - Battle of the Sexes
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2013/08/theme-conflict-integration-part-1.html

Part 2 - A Grifter, A Shyster, and a Priest Walk Into A Bar
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2016/05/theme-conflict-integration-part-2.html

Due to a numbering error, there is a Part 2A about Designing A Conflict
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2014/06/theme-conflict-integration-part-2.html

Part 3 - Battle of the Generations (the Generation Gap)
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2018/03/theme-conflict-integration-part-3.html

Part 4 - Battle of the Orville TV Series
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2018/04/theme-conflict-integration-part-4.html

Part 5 - DEFIANT by Dave Bara (a novel worth studying)
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2018/04/theme-conflict-integration-part-5.html

Part 6 - A Character Under Influence
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2019/03/theme-conflict-integration-part-6.html

Part 7 - Romance Without Borders
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2020/04/theme-conflict-integration-part-7.html

Jacqueline Lichtenberg
http://jacquelinelichtenberg.com

Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Index To Theme-Symbolism Integration

Index To Theme-Symbolism Integration

Here are the posts about the advanced topic of integrating two separate kinds of thinking, cogitation about "theme" which we discuss in many posts, and "Symbolism" which is even more abstract and daunting to writers.


Here is a post on Communicating In Symbols
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2009/03/communicating-in-symbols.html

Many other posts on Theme integrate with Symbolism

Theme-Symbolism Integration Part 1 - You Can't Fight City Hall (or can you?)
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2014/12/theme-symbolism-integration-part-1-you.html

Theme-Symbolism Integration Part 2 - Why Do We Cry At Weddings - Part 1
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2015/08/theme-symbolism-integration-part-2-why.html

Theme-Symbolism Integration Part 3 - Why Do We Cry At Weddings - Part 2 is
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2015/08/theme-symbolism-integration-part-3-why.html

Theme-Symbolism Integration Part 4 - How To Use Candles As Symbolism
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2016/01/theme-symbolism-integration-part-4-how.html

Theme-Symbolism Integration Part 5 - How To Create Using SHOW DON'T TELL
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2016/01/theme-symbolism-integration-part-5-how.html

Theme-Symbolism Integration Part 6 - Expository Lump dissolver
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2018/02/theme-symbolism-integration-part-6.html
Jacqueline Lichtenberg
http://jacquelinelichtenberg.com

Tuesday, October 17, 2017

Index To Posts About Or Involving Tarot by Jacqueline Lichtenberg

Index To Posts About Or Involving Tarot
by
Jacqueline Lichtenberg 

Over time, I have talked about or referenced various esoteric disciplines such as Tarot and Astrology on this blog.  Below you will find a list of some of these posts where the references appear.

I did 20 posts on the Minor Arcana written as Tarot Just For Writers -- in other words, you don't have to "learn" Tarot to use it in characterization or plotting or worldbuilding, but you do have to understand "what" is being done when someone "reads" Tarot.

Here are the index posts to these 20 discussions of two of the four suits of the Minor Arcana:

Here is the index to 10 posts on the Suit of Pentacles
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2010/03/pausing-for-you-to-catch-up-with-me.html

Here is the index to 10 posts on the Suit of Swords
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2010/03/pausing-for-you-to-catch-up-with-me_23.html

These 20 posts are here for free reading, and also rewritten and incorporated into handy Kindle Books.  There are 5 volumes plus an Omnibus combination of all 5 which is cheaper than buying them individually.

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2015/09/tarot-just-for-romance-writers-now-on.html

The word Tarot and the word "Card" does not ever have to appear in a novel for worldbuilding to be rooted in and growing from the view of the universe that is behind what is behind Tarot.  You don't have to be able to "read" Tarot to use these concepts.  In fact, it is more authentic if you don't practice "reading."

Tarot is not about magic or power or making things in the world work the way you want them to.

It does not solve problems.

But Tarot is more closely related to the "the scientific view of the universe" than most people think -- wherein lies a vast number of dramatic themes.

Here is an index post to the discussions of how a writer can incorporate Astrology into theme-plot-Character integration without letting the reader know you know any Astrology or ever think of any of that.

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2010/03/pausing-for-you-to-catch-up-with-me_30.html

Many more posts on writing craft technique and various review discussions of other writers' books use the posts on Tarot and Astrology to build further craft techniques.  Mastery of all these techniques is the goal of reading and discussing all these various topics.

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2015/10/theme-worldbuilding-integration-part-9.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2015/03/depiction-part-10-binocular-vision-by.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2013/05/theme-plot-integration-part-8-use-of-co.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2011/08/source-of-expository-lump-part-2.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2011/08/big-love-sci-fi-part-viii-unconditional.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2011/08/big-love-sci-fi-part-vii-unconditional.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2009/12/astrology-just-for-writers-part-8-beat.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2009/08/amber-benson-tara-on-buffy-vampire.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2009/08/what-does-she-see-in-him.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2009/07/six-kinds-of-power-in-relationship.html

Those are a few examples of gigantic topics that can be factored out and recombined into story material if you can learn to see the world through the eye of a different structure of the universe.

Some readers come to science fiction to have their view of reality challenged, changed, or even proven wrong.  Some people thrive on the excitement of being WRONG about everything they thought they believed.  Those people are ripe for becoming engrossed in a science fiction novel.

Science Fiction is not so much about "escape" from this ordinary world and your current life as it is about "entering" another world and learning to regard the bizarre place as ordinary.

Science fiction novels don't "teach" science or the facts of reality -- they inspire readers to learn science by taking them for a ride into a Character's life who does know and understand science.

Most people do understand Tarot and Astrology -- without ever knowing that those empirical sciences are the source of what they know.

This is a cultural mind-block -- and it is just the sort of mind-block that science fiction has specialized in clearing away.

There is a "science" (a rigorously organized body of peer-reviewed and tested knowledge) behind the view of the world presented by Tarot and Astrology.

That science is often referred to with the word "Kabbalah" -- but that word is as misused as the word "Tarot" -- having been sold to the public as a magical shortcut to power over the behavior of other people.  Or power over the world to bring you wealth, love, or whatever reward you crave.

If your source of definition for these words is rooted in someone trying to sell you something to fix your problems, then very likely you have no clue what these topics are really about.

And I can't say that I do know what they are "really" about because all I have discovered is how vast my ignorance is.  These 5 books on Tarot just for Writers don't tell you answers -- they just show what I've been doing to learn this view of the universe.  I'm a long way from being done learning.

That's why they call it a Path -- it goes somewhere, but without a map you can't even guess where.  It is well trodden - clearly others have trudged up this mountain of knowledge, but none of them are in sight.  Explore.

Jacqueline Lichtenberg
http://jacquelinelichtenberg.com

Tuesday, May 23, 2017

Index to Worldbuilding From Reality

Index to Worldbuilding From Reality
by
Jacqueline Lichtenberg

When a series gets long, I post an individual post listing the parts of the series that are connected, though posted on different dates.

Here are posts in the series titled Worldbuilding From Reality -- an angle on romance writing that uses the principle "ripped from the headlines" to lend verisimilitude to the theme "Love Conquers All."

Part 15  - So What Exactly Is Reality?
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2020/12/worldbuilding-from-reality-part-15-so.html
Part 14 - Ripping a Headline For Theme
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2020/05/worldbuilding-from-reality-part-14.html
Part 13 - Making War Alien Style
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2020/04/worldbuilding-from-reality-part-13.html

Part 12 - Worldbuilding Focuses Plot Options
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2020/02/worldbuilding-from-reality-part-12.html

Part 11 - Worldbuilding Does Not A Story Make
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2019/12/worldbuilding-from-reality-part-11.html

Part 10 - Does it Matter If Arousal Is Gender Specific?
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2019/11/worldbuilding-from-reality-part-10-does.html

Part 9 - Conquest in Romance
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2019/08/worldbuilding-from-reality-part-9.html

Part 8 - Flamewars Over the Double Space
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2019/03/worldbuilding-from-reality-part-8.html

Part 7 - The Cord That Binds Our Hearts In Love
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2017/05/worldbuilding-from-reality-part-7-cord.html

Part 6 - Ringling Brothers Closing - 2017
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2017/04/worldbuilding-from-reality-part-6.html

Part 5 is the "Realistic Happily Ever After" post from November 2016.
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2016/11/worldbuilding-from-reality-part-5.html

Part 4 - Creating a Story Canvas
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2016/03/worldbuilding-from-reality-part-4.html

Part 3 Creating Future History
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2013/07/worldbuilding-from-reality-part-3.html

Part 2 Advertising Video Writing
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2013/02/worldbuilding-from-reality-part-2.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2010/03/worldbuilding-from-reality.html

Jacqueline Lichtenberg
http://jacquelinelichtenberg.com

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Index to Theme-Plot-Character-Worldbuilding Integration

Index
to
Theme-Plot-Character-Worldbuilding
 Integration 

Posts in this series:
Part 1 -
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2015/04/theme-plot-character-worldbuilding.html

Part 2 -
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2015/04/theme-plot-character-worldbuilding_14.html

Part 3 - index to Monthly Aspectarian Reviews
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2015/04/theme-plot-character-worldbuilding_21.html

Part 4 - Sidewalk Superintendent
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2015/05/theme-plot-character-worldbuilding.html

Part 5 Murderer In The Mikdash
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2015/05/theme-plot-character-worldbuilding-part.html

Part 6 - Fallacy, Misnomer and the Contradiction
NOTE: Fallacy and Misnomer have been discussed separately, links in this Part 6
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2015/12/theme-plot-character-worldbuilding.html

Part 7 - The Legacy as Motivation
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2016/03/theme-plot-character-worldbuilding.html
Jacqueline Lichtenberg
http://jacquelinelichtenberg.com

Part 8 - Would Aliens Share Human Fallacy and Religious Impulse?
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2016/04/theme-plot-character-worldbuilding.html

Part 9 - Convincing Elder Characters
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2017/05/theme-plot-character-worldbuilding.html

Part 10 - How To Marry A Billionaire
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2018/03/theme-plot-character-worldbuilding.html

Part 11 - Arranging Marriages
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2019/06/theme-plot-character-worldbuilding.html


Part 13 - Historical Verisimilitude
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2019/07/theme-plot-character-worldbuilding.html


Jacqueline Lichtenberg



Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Index To Depiction Series by Jacqueline Lichtenberg

Index To Depiction Series
by
Jacqueline Lichtenberg


This post will be referenced by posts in series on other skills, and added to as future parts on Depiction are posted.

You can find the Index Posts to the Tuesday writing craft series by searching on Index. 

The series on Depiction is:

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2014/09/depiction-part-1-depicting-power-in.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2014/09/depiction-part-2-conflict-and-resolution.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2014/09/depiction-part-3-internal-conflict-by.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2014/12/depiction-part-4-depicting-power-in.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2015/01/depiction-part-5-depicting-dynastic.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2015/02/depiction-part-6-depicting-money-and.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2015/02/depiction-part-7-using-media-to-advance.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2015/02/depiction-part-8-which-comes-first.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2015/03/depiction-part-9-depicting-hero-by.html

Part 10 of Depiction is about Trinocular Vision.
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2015/03/depiction-part-10-binocular-vision-by.html

Part 11 is about depicting complex battle fields.
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2015/06/depiction-part-11-depicting-complex.html

Part 12 of Depiction - Depicting Rational Fury
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2015/10/depiction-part-12-depicting-rational.html

Part 13 is about Depicting Wisdom
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2015/12/depiction-part-13-depicting-wisdom-by.html

Part 14 of Depiction is about depicting the generation gap, and using that depiction to create verisimilitude. It discusses older fiction where the good guy wins because he's good.
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2016/05/depiction-part-14-depicting-cultural.html

Part 15 is about Depicting Culture via unconscious assumptions nobody can question
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2016/06/depiction-part-15-depicting-cultural.html

Part 16 is Reviews 26
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2016/07/depiction-part-16-reviews-26-depicting.html

Part 17 is about Depicting an Alien Economy and refers to Part 16 and C. J. Cherryh's FOREIGNER series.
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2016/08/depiction-part-17-depicting-first.html

Part 18 - Interstellar Commerce, discusses blending theme, plot, character and story into a seamless whole.
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2016/08/depiction-part-18-interstellar-commerce.html

Part 19 - Depicting the Married Hunk With Children (especially daughters) (Testosterone effect)
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2016/11/depiction-part-19-depicting-married.html


Part 20 - Depicting Recent Wealth (a scientific study about High Heels)
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2016/11/depiction-part-20-depicting-recent.html

Part 21 - Depicting Alien History (Testosterone revisited)
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2016/11/depiction-part-21-depicting-alien.html

Part 22 - Depicting Alien Nostalgia With Symbolism (Dean Martin song Memories Are Made Of This used in a Video of nostalgic images, perfectly composed and compiled)
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2016/12/depiction-part-22-depicting-alien.html

Part 23 - Depicting Relationships, a Guest Post by Carol Buchanan
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2016/12/depiction-part-23-guest-post-by-carol.html

Part 24 - Depicting A Villain by Jacqueline Lichtenberg
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2017/02/depiction-part-24-depicting-villain-by.html

Part 25 - Depicting Hatred by Jacqueline Lichtenberg
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2017/02/depiction-part-24-depicting-villain-by.html

Part 26 - Depicting Humanity
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2017/03/depiction-part-26-depicting-humanity-by.html

Part 27 - Depicting Love
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2017/03/depiction-part-27-depicting-love-by.html

 Part 28 - Depicting A Grifter And His Mark
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2017/01/depiction-part-28-depicting-grifter-and.html

Part 29 - Depicting the Global Village
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2017/05/depiction-part-29-depicting-global.html

Part 30 - Depicting Royalty
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2017/06/depiction-part-30-depicting-royalty.html

Part 31 - Depicting Random Luck (sheer dumb luck)
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2017/07/depiction-part-31-depicting-random-luck.html

Part 32 - Depicting Brain To Computer Links -- Online Bullying Prevention
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2017/09/depiction-part-32-depicting-brain-to.html

Part 33 - Depicting Privacy
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2017/09/depiction-part-33-depicting-privacy-by.html

Part 34 - Depicting Prophecy
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2017/11/depiction-part-34-depicting-prophecy.html

Part 35 - Depicting Marriage (this is about convincing readers the HEA is possible)
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2018/01/depiction-part-35-depicting-marriage-by.html

Part 36 - Depicting Dreams: Male or Female
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2018/07/depiction-part-37-depicting-dreams-male.html
Jacqueline Lichtenberg
http://jacquelinelichtenberg.com




Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Theme-Plot-Character-Worldbuilding Integration Part 3 - Index To Monthly Aspectarian Review Columns

Theme-Plot-Character-Worldbuilding Integration
Part 3
Index To Monthly Aspectarian Review Columns
by
Jacqueline Lichtenberg

Previous entries in this 4-skills integration series are:

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2015/04/theme-plot-character-worldbuilding.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2015/04/theme-plot-character-worldbuilding_14.html

For 20 years, I did a monthly review column for a magazine published on paper.

You will find links to the relevant ones below. 

Paper magazines have a deadline that is absolute.  It is journalism.  What isn't done by this exact minute does not get printed.  Turning in your column has to be done in advance, in some cases 6 months in advance, of the "send to the printer" deadline.  And the columns must be of an exact (to the character) fixed length.

Over years, the amount of space alotted to your words may change as more advertising is necessary to pay the bills.  Yes, your words are filler between ads -- just as with fiction. 

The words are a commodity you sell by the column-inch. 

Over years, the space allotted to my column went down as the price of paper, printing, and trucking (the price of gasoline) went UP and the number of advertisers willing to pay to reach the readership went up.

So I got more money per word, but the crafting of the column became harder.

I went to doing series of columns, as I've been doing on this blog -- numbering the parts.

I resigned from that magazine when it changed ownership, figuring 20 years was enough.

The Magazine was slanted to the New Age Community, so all my columns address Seekers on the Path and compare spiritual lessons that can be gleaned from Science Fiction and Fantasy novel reading. 

Many of these columns, and the books they discuss, the ideas these sets of books have in common with one another, and especially the themes pertain to this series of columns on Theme-Plot-Character-Worldbuilding Integration. 

Here is a list of links to my Columns that I think are particularly relevant.

The main index page to all 20 years worth of monthly columns is

http://www.simegen.com/reviews/rereadablebooks/

Click a year and scroll down that year-index to see the books reviewed by Month.  The title of the column reflects what those books have in common with each other, often a theme that the author probably was not aware of illustrating. 

Ideas (themes) come from "the air" -- from the Group Mind you are tied into.  Your Ideas also affect that Group Mind.  So it matters which Groups you choose to join.  A Group is your readership, bound together by an interest in a theme. 

Many of the column series I wrote run for 4-6 months in installments, so I'm giving the year index as the link.  Scroll down watching the books that appear under particular column titles. 

You can navigate years using the year links across the top of each page.  On each year-index page, there are links to the month-columns on the left. 

You can also find a month's column by clicking on the month-link in the left column of the table.  On many years, the title of the column is a link to the column.  Click on the books to find most of them on Amazon.  If Amazon fails, try Abe Books.

Oh, and yes, I have read every word (not skimmed) of every book discussed in these columns.  I did not review every book I read, but I read every book I reviewed.  That rule also pertains to the Review blogs I do here.

Review Column Links

All columns year-index
http://www.simegen.com/reviews/rereadablebooks/

Years and Individual Columns pertaining to this 4-skill integration discussion. 

http://www.simegen.com/reviews/rereadablebooks/2006/index.html
This set of review columns focuses on explaining Neptune, Saturn and Mercury as used by fiction writers.  Scroll down the index to note the novels that illustrate that. 

http://www.simegen.com/reviews/rereadablebooks/2007/index.html
Note the series titled THE SOUL TIME HYPOTHESIS (about how the Soul enters the level we call Reality via the dimension of TIME) - and how that is handled in fiction.

http://www.simegen.com/reviews/rereadablebooks/2008/index.html
Scroll down over the books in the columns titled Formulating Decisions
Also note the series indexed on this page titled Pluto: Melodrama Unleashed and note the books given as examples.

Here is a series on Government I wrote in 1994:
http://www.simegen.com/reviews/rereadablebooks/columns/0894.html
Art and Government

http://www.simegen.com/reviews/rereadablebooks/columns/0994.html
Television, Power and Government

http://www.simegen.com/reviews/rereadablebooks/columns/1094.html
Might, Right, Art And Government

And more on the topic of Government in October 2010
The Science of Magic, Part IV: Governing The City
http://www.simegen.com/reviews/rereadablebooks/columns/1010.html

The Science of Magic, Part V: Scalability
http://www.simegen.com/reviews/rereadablebooks/columns/1110.html

The Science of Magic: Part VI: Defining Peace
http://www.simegen.com/reviews/rereadablebooks/columns/1210.html

Poetic Justice: The Fragile Universe
http://www.simegen.com/reviews/rereadablebooks/columns/0209.html

Karma of World Prominence
http://www.simegen.com/reviews/rereadablebooks/columns/0309.html

Over the years, my focus and depth of knowledge on these topics has grown, changed, and moved -- and do keep in mind that magazine is for a narrow audience.

We will be drawing on this old material as the platform to develop some newer ideas.

Whole publishing imprints are constructed around narrow themes -- delivering to a very specific readership the exact discussion they are looking for.

Jacqueline Lichtenberg
http://jacquelinelichtenberg.com

Tuesday, April 07, 2015

Theme-Plot-Character-Worldbuilding Integration Part 1: The Writers Lego Set

Theme-Plot-Character-Worldbuilding Integration
Part 1
The Writers Lego Set
by
Jacqueline Lichtenberg



The writer's Lego set is bigger than Lego's Sandcrawler set that has 75059 pieces and costs nearly $400. 

A writer needs many more than 8,000 "pieces" or skills, or skill-sets to turn out novel after story after novel.  Thankfully, most of these skills are acquired and honed in early childhood and function subconsciously.  Most writers have no idea "how" they do it, they just do it naturally.  Others have to read the directions. 

We have done post series on integrating two elements.  Here we go diving into 4-element integration, two-elements combined with two-elements, with theme in common.

In this case we'll focus on Theme-Plot and Worldbuilding-Character combinations and cross-terms with the mix changing every chapter or even every scene. 

This first post in 4-skill-integration points to the ingredients we have previously explored, so it is mostly a list of previous posts and index posts. 

Yes, a writer must multi-task, but first one must learn to do each task separately, then two at a time. 

Many writers can integrate two skills, but have no idea how they do it, so they don't know what to do when they see their Manuscript veer off track.  The story somehow seems wrong, but they can't figure out where it went wrong or how to fix it other than to gallop after runaway characters and hope they lead somewhere salable. 

So there are three types of writers -- maybe 6 -- who can benefit from gnawing their way through these long, tedious sets of posts: Beginning, Intermediate, and advanced, each in Amateur or Professional parts of their lives. 

Writing craft is not only about knowing what to do, but also about knowing how you did it (when you just did it by accident).

If you know what happened inside your subconscious, you can undo-and-redo with alacrity, rewrite to editorial spec, or you can disconnect your Lego pieces and make something different out of them.

We've done several series on two-skill Integration so far.  Here are index posts listing some of them.

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2014/07/index-to-theme-character-integration.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2013/05/index-to-theme-plot-integration.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2014/04/index-to-theme-worldbuilding.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2013/11/index-post-to-art-and-craft-of-story.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2012/10/dialogue-parts-1-4-listed.html
Actually, the Dialogue index contains more than 4 parts.

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2012/08/how-to-use-theme-in-writing-romance.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2013/07/worldbuilding-from-reality-part-3.html  (has links to previous parts)

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2012/08/worldbuilding-with-fire-and-ice-part-7.html  (has links to previous parts)

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2012/06/worldbuilding-link-list.html

And here are some relevant to Character:

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2010/02/how-does-intelligence-work.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2009/08/plot-vs-story.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2010/01/religion-in-science-fiction-romance.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2009/07/six-kinds-of-power-in-relationship.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2010/01/astrology-just-for-writers-part-9-high.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2010/03/worldbuilding-from-reality.html

Notice how the "home-base" or foundation task in each of these sets of posts is theme.

Theme is the main ingredient in Story, Plot, Character, Dialogue, Setting, -- but it is crucial to Worldbuilding. 

Most of a writer's worldbuilding is the creation of a Setting that includes things like creating a Star and a Planet from physics, to creating the kind of Life that evolves on that planet from biology, to creating the philosophies of all the Ancient Civilizations on that planet from comparative theology, to creating the current Civilization of Aliens by extrapolating from their Ancient Civilizations to the present when your humans will meet up with the Aliens.

You also have to create things such as a stardrive your ships use, how they locate vital resources (water, hydrocarbons, high-energy-particles.)   

It's the same process Gamers, especially videogamers but also board gamers, use to create the environment in which the conflict will happen.  It's being a Dungeon Master.

The choices a Game creator makes (Games are stories, multi-writer stories sometimes) are rooted in Theme. 

Theme is the sieve you pour the real-world through to sift out the bits that showcase your art.  You use theme to select just the pieces of the real world that bespeak your theme, that let your readers see the world in a whole new light. 

The resulting World that is Built by worldbuilding will be coherent or not depending on how Theme is handled.  The resulting world, the "Setting" for a novel, will have artistic integrity or not depending on how the ingredient of Theme is handled.

The resulting novel will reach certain audiences depending on how the Theme the writer uses "resonates" (seems real, realistic, valid, mistaken, or maybe "off the wall") to the reader/viewer. 

In other words, the way theme is handled during creation of the setting determines the commercial viability of the piece both as a Work of Art and as a money-maker.

Think about the Lego set for the Star Wars Sandcrawler.  Just ponder that image.  That single image, together with all its associations you have absorbed from watching the films and reading the books, explicates the overall Theme of Star Wars.  Look what's included in this Lego kit. 
----------from Amazon --------------
Includes 7 : Luke Skywalker, Uncle Owen, C-3PO and 4 Jawas, plus R2-D2, R2 unit,R1-series Droid,Gonk Droid,R5-D4,Treadwell Droid
Weapons include a light saber for Luke Skywalker,Also includes stock for old droids and droid parts
Sell droids to Luke and his Uncle! Keep your droids well maintained! Pretend to suck R2-D2 up into the Sand crawler - just like in the movie!
Relive classic moments from Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope! Own your own iconic vehicle from the classic Star Wars universe
----------end Amazon quote----------

Do you see that?  "Iconic" -- the entire visual array you saw in the films was deliberately fabricated from THEME.  That's what Iconic essentially means - an image that represents a thematic statement.

We discussed some of the aspects of writing iconic images:

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2011/08/big-love-sci-fi-part-viii-unconditional.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2010/04/turning-action-into-romance.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2009/08/what-does-she-see-in-him.html



Is a prime example

And this


http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Film/Pix/pictures/2009/5/21/1242924794594/John-Travolta-and-Nicolas-001.jpg

That is a single static image that makes a Statement about a Situation, just as the Sandcrawler and its surrounding figures makes a statement about the Situation in the Galaxy. 

Situation is a component that straddles the Plot/Story division line.  Situation resides in the action-sequence as well as the character's flaw that is being discussed in the narrative.  Why is this happening to this Character?  Where does the Character start and where does that initial action eventually lead the Character?  The Ending is the New Situation.  Personally, I favor Situations that are Predicaments.  Sometimes the HEA is, itself, a predicament.

Most writers make these Worldbuilding choices unconsciously, at least at first.  On second or seventh draft, ferreting out inconsistencies and logical contradictions, revealing character motivations using "Show Don't Tell" methods, the writer may be led into narrowing and focusing the underlying thematic statement.

The precision of the thematic statement at the foundation of the worldbuilding often determines the saleability of the manuscript, especially for a writer's first excursion into professional publication.

Look back at the posts on structure and note how plot, story, scene structure, character creation, character-integration, and the basic tools of Description, Dialogue, Narrative, and Exposition (yes, the deadly Exposition that kills story momentum is a legitimate but difficult task to master) are each items to study separately, then in combination.

Look at the Reviews posts to find novels and non-fiction that illustrates these skills, both in high expertise and fumbling beginner levels.

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2010/04/pausing-for-you-to-catch-up-with-me.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2007/06/authors-and-writers-and-readers-oh-my.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2014/03/reviews-6-tv-series-elementary-by.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2014/05/reviews-7-by-jacqueline-lichtenberg.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2014/07/reviews-8-laura-resnick-seanan-mcguire.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2014/08/reviews-9-sex-politics-and-heroism.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2014/09/original-thinking-in-romance-part-1.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2014/09/reviews-10-shadow-banking-in-fantasy.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2015/01/depiction-part-5-depicting-dynastic.html

I don't review books here at random, but rather these books are chosen because I am driving at a point, either a point I've made recently or a point I intend to make and these books illustrate those points.

If you want to see all my reviews:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/A3QG32P5IF3JAK/

Or 20 years of monthly reviews columns (paid for by a paper publication in the New Age Field) are here:

http://www.simegen.com/reviews/rereadablebooks/

ReReadable Books went from 1993 to 2013 and focused on books worth reading more than once. 

These writing craft posts enumerate a lot of tasks and their component skills designed to create a book worth reading, and then worth re-reading, and even passing on to your grandchildren.  Any beginner would be wise to just boggle at the list and maybe think about not bothering to learn it all.  After all, why bother trying to write a classic that stays in print for 20 years like my novel, House of Zeor. 



It has been said that professional writers are people who simply can't do anything else.  There can be many reasons for this. 

Usually it is just that the person simply spends so much time writing that other life-building tasks don't get done.  But also there is the point in any life when all the doors slam in your face, and you still need a way to earn a living.  If "life" is preventing you from holding down a job, writing is an alternative.

Today some writers blog and social network to get hits in order to get paid for Google ads.  http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com (this blog) is a co-blog with professional writers contributing on assigned days of the week.  I do Tuesdays, and my posts are keyworded with Tuesday so you can find them by search.  Because this is a co-blog, we don't go for income (because how would be split it?) so we post on the right margin clues about where you can find our work if you want to know more about the author of a blog post.

Some beginning writers self-publish with great success -- and I foresee a lot more of that coming.  Whole industries are forming around writers driven to write for a living.

Some just dive into trying to sell their writing without more than having read a few books on the craft, perhaps way back in their teens.  Others take courses.  Others go to Romance Writers conventions and take seminars or acquire a mentor.  Some sign up at http://www.patreon.com to try to get Patrons (a kind of Kickstarter for artists).

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2013/10/index-to-targeting-readership-series-by.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2014/01/index-to-story-springboards-series-by.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2014/05/index-to-marketing-fiction-in-changing.html

Those posts are indexes to posts about the Business Model of the professional writer.  They don't cover things like income tax, incorporation, Agents, amortization of equipment, and other issues covered extensively in any number of books how on how to set up a small business, sole-proprietorship.

That's what a writer is - a small business sole-proprietorship (or sometimes a partnership).

You have to think about yourself as a business with a product to sell.

Then put all that on a shelf in your mind and concentrate on producing that product.

The difference between a professional writer and an amateur writer (fanfic writer maybe) is not just that the professional has the life-goal of making a living from royalties, but also that the professional writes what sells.

Sometimes, the professional takes any work-for-hire job that comes along (Journalists do work-for-hire, as do screenwriters) and in their spare time they write just what they want to write, just for the fun of it. 

That's what amateurs do -- work a day job for income and write on the side, writing what they want to write, sharing it maybe on fanfic sites or self-publishing, getting joy as the only payback.

The difference between professional and amateur is not skills but goals.

After you've done a few million words for amateur purposes, you may get bored with writing, or you may decide to acquire more skill, perfect skills, or perfect integration of skills.  You may raise the bar of your own expectations of your product.

These are the people who will benefit most from these multiple-integration posts.  Professional or amateur, with or without experience, polishing skills creates joy. 

When you get right down to the core of storytelling, (writing, verbal, speech-making, journalism, whatever form), the product being produced is sought and consumed for the ultimate purpose of JOY.

If you don't put JOY into your work, your client won't get JOY out of it.

Fiction is a JOY-DELIVERY-PRODUCT.  Non-fiction succeeds best when it contains that element of relish that transmits JOY, too.

Relish, zest, admiration, love, romance, appreciation, intimacy -- these are components of JOY.  They make life worth living.

I have had a large number of readers of my novels come to me privately and say with immense gratitude that reading this or that novel of mine gave them a new lease on life, either from the brink of suicidal thoughts or just from despair and depression. 

Star Trek had that effect on people, too -- and to a large extent, I learned to do it by studying how Star Trek did it.  The rest of what I know, I learned from studying older writers I grew up reading, meeting them, asking questions, and in some instances being directly mentored by them.  I also learned a lot from my editors.

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2010/09/what-exactly-is-editing-part-vi.html

That Part 7 has links to the previous parts on What Exactly Is Editing.

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2012/03/marketing-fiction-in-changing-world.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2013/01/theme-plot-integration-part-5-great.html

Note how bits, pieces, and parts of the components we are assembling in this 4-skills sequence have turned up under various topics previously.

Everything is connected to everything -- and in the world of Art, there is no such thing as a "topic" or a "subject" to keep to.

Everything is actually everything -- one, single, indivisible Whole.  Any division we impose on our Vision of Reality (our World that we Build) is an artifact, a Fallacy.

We've dealt with some common Fallacies and how a writer can leverage the existence of these Fallacies among readers - how holding to a particular Fallacy can define a Market which is hungry for re-enforcement of that Fallacy as well as markets determined to stamp out that Fallacy.  Hold vs Stamp Out defines a Conflict, so the subject of Fallacy integrates Theme with Conflict while Conflict is illustrated in Plot and Story. 

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2012/09/theme-worldbuilding-integraton-part-2.html
On misnomers and how to use them in fiction construction.

A few on Fallacy and its usefulness to a writer:

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2013/01/theme-plot-integration-part-6-fallacy.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2013/03/theme-plot-integration-part-7-fallacy.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2013/01/theme-plot-integration-part-4-fallacies.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2012/12/theme-plot-integration-part-3-fallacy.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2012/12/theme-plot-integration-part-2-fallacy.html

This Tuesday writing craft blog series has been posted weekly since 6/16/2006.

We have covered a lot of ground, ranged over a lot of subjects, gathered inspiration from historical sources, current events Headlines, and disparate sources ranging from Atheist to Devout (Pagan to Monotheist), from Mainstream to far-out-Fringe (I mean, I even mentioned Glenn Beck). 

A writer knows no bounds in where to search for material, and questions must be asked boldly, audaciously, and without limitations.

Once gathered, the raw material of a story has to be winnowed, distilled, focused, isolated and clearly stated.  Some writers complete two or three drafts before attempting to distill a Theme, then do another re-write to discard everything that does not explicate the chosen Theme.

Prolific professional writers who make a living on volume output rather than Best Sellers often hammer out a method of distilling theme before first draft -- that method often involves the dreaded Outline.  We've discussed Outlining.


http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2014/10/strong-characters-defined-part-3-tit.html

So, assuming you've practiced and mastered all these various techniques and given deep thought to all the issues, conflicts, misnomers and fallacies that define your intended readership, we will go on to doing 4 things at once.

Jacqueline Lichtenberg
http://jacquelinelichtenberg.com