Index to Theme-Character Integration Series by Jacqueline Lichtenberg

Index to Theme-Character Integration Series
by
Jacqueline Lichtenberg

Following is the list of posts in the general topic of how to craft Themes and Characters so the two elements become indistinguishable to the general reader.

"Integration" of two basic skills is the foundation of creating that "suspension of disbelief" that readers seek when entering a fantasy world, or when leaping into an adventure set in an impossible (but maybe desirable) landscape.

Part 17; Building a Lead Character From Theme

https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2021/04/theme-character-integration-part-17.html

Part 16: Building A Hero Character From Theme
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2019/02/theme-character-integration-part-16.html

Part 15: Building A Bully Character From Theme
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2018/10/theme-character-integration-part-15.html

Part 14: The Family Man
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2018/09/theme-character-integration-part-14.html

Part 13: Soul Mate Of The Kickass Heroine
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2018/07/theme-character-integration-part-13.html

Part 12: Creating A Kickass Heroine
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2018/03/theme-character-integration-part-12.html

Part 11: Creating A Prophet Character
https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2017/12/theme-character-integration-part-11.html

Part 10 Popping The Question
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2017/08/theme-character-integration-part-10.html

Part 9: Trajectory of Cultural Change
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2017/08/theme-character-integration-part-9.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2015/10/theme-character-integration-part-8.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2014/07/theme-character-integration-part-7.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2014/06/theme-character-integration-part-6-hero.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2013/12/theme-character-integration-part-5-fame.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2013/08/theme-character-integration-part-4.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2013/08/theme-character-integration-part-3-why.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2013/07/theme-character-integration-part-2-fire.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2013/06/theme-character-integration-part-1-what.html

You may want to read these posts in the order in which they were written -- or perhaps only sample some of them.

Jacqueline Lichtenberg
http://jacquelinelichtenberg.com

Index to Marketing Fiction In A Changing World by Jacqueline Lichtenberg

Index to Marketing Fiction In A Changing World

by 

Jacqueline Lichtenberg

It isn't enough to just write a great story, nor even to write a story that precisely fits what publishers want. 

Today's changing world requires writers to do much more than write. 

Some manage this problem by marrying or partnering up with someone with the requisite skills, and some hire an agent.  Some get lucky and connect with the right editor.

Everyone else has to pay attention to Marketing, Markets, Publishing, video, advertising, PR, and branding -- all kinds of things that really compete with creative time. 

Self-publishing is yet another whole set of skills that adds in book design, formatting, layout, cost-effective use of various online outlets, accounting, and a myriad secretarial skills. 

We have not yet covered all these requisites in this blog series, even though I've been touching on this subject since 2009.  Here is what we have so far in this series, with the newest at the top.

My series on Marketing Fiction In A Changing World:

Part 27 -
The Half Hour Drama Is Back
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2017/08/marketing-fiction-in-changing-world.html
Part 26 - 

Must You Compromise Your Art To Sell Big? 

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2017/06/marketing-fiction-in-changing-world.html

Part 25 - Understanding the Shifting Fiction Market
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2017/05/marketing-fiction-in-changing-world.html

Part 24- Writing About The Future And For The Future
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2017/02/marketing-fiction-in-changing-world.html

Part 23 - Mastering The Narrative Line
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2016/10/marketing-fiction-in-changing-world_31.html

Part 22 - Making A Profit At Writing In A Capitalist World
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2016/10/marketing-fiction-in-changing-world_11.html

Part 21 - Crafting Book Links To Track Via Google
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2016/10/marketing-fiction-in-changing-world.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2016/07/marketing-fiction-in-changing-world_19.html  Part

20. Guest Post by Miriam Pia

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2016/07/marketing-fiction-in-changing-world.html Part 19, Guest Post by Deb Wunder on non-fiction writing

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2016/05/marketing-fiction-in-changing-world.html Part 18 - Amazon makes some bad marketing decisions

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2016/01/marketing-fiction-in-changing-world.html Part 17 - Fiction Writing still pays less than minimum wage, considering the hours spent. Make your living at non-fiction. See where the opportunities lurk.

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2015/11/marketing-fiction-in-changing-world_24.html Part 16 about which is more science fiction, Star Trek or Star Wars? A question via Quora.com

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2015/11/marketing-fiction-in-changing-world.html Part 15 - Guest Post by Kirok of L'Stok and discussion of new series by Jean Johnson
http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2015/09/marketing-fiction-in-changing-world.html Part 14 - posting on September 1, 2015

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2015/05/marketing-fiction-in-changing-world.html is Part 13 in this series.

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2015/02/marketing-fiction-in-changing-world.html is Part 12

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2015/02/marketing-fiction-in-changing-world.html  is Part 11 in this series.

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2014/11/marketing-fiction-in-changing-world.html  -- this is Part 10

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2014/07/marketing-fiction-in-changing-world.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2014/03/marketing-fiction-in-changing-world_18.html


http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2014/03/marketing-fiction-in-changing-world_11.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2014/03/marketing-fiction-in-changing-world.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2014/02/marketing-fiction-in-changing-world_25.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2014/02/marketing-fiction-in-changing-world_18.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2014/02/marketing-fiction-in-changing-world.html

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

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2009/05/marketing-fiction-in-changing-world.html

Jacqueline Lichtenberg
http://jacquelinelichtenberg.com

Worldbuilding Link List

I was asked on twitter by @MatchesMalone for "the" URL to my article on Worldbuilding.  I had no idea which article was referred to!  I've done at least 16 and have 2 more in the hopper.   


Here's a summary list of the Worldbuilding items I've done so far -- though worldbuilding is referred to or discussed in many other posts here because it's the most glaring story element in Fantasy or SF universes when it is done wrong -- and totally invisible, imperceptible to the reader, when done right! 

I will revisit this topic from other angles, so here's a chance for you to catch up on entries you might have missed.

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

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

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

(this has links to previous items in the Astrology Just For Writers (no expertise required) series of posts here.)  This one is about High Drama which is the signature of a Pluto transit to a natal chart.  Some people live in High Drama all the time and live "soap opera" lives -- or what I call a "pillar to post" life.  They make great characters for series, but the writer has to work hard to make the life-shape plausible to  readers.

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2009/12/thorium-real-hope-for-e-books.html
This is a real-world news item that could be used for worldbuilding.

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2010/01/religion-in-science-fiction-romance.html 
An explosive mixture of science, religion, and the Romance Story.

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2010/02/how-does-intelligence-work.html
Controversy makes excellent fodder for a writer's worldbuilding, so here's how to rip a news item from the headlines and make a story out of it that self-generates a theme.

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2010/03/worldbuilding-from-reality.html
And more on referencing your reader's reality to get a rise out of her! 

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2010/06/where-expert-romance-writers-fail.html
Here are some thoughts on how the typical romance trope can lead a writer astray when worldbuilding for a reader from scratch.

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2011/06/genre-root-of-all-confusion.html
So when a romance writer injects Fantasy, the Paranormal or Science (or all of the above) into Romance Stories -- you've got mixed genre, and confusion that takes serious writing discipline to make into pure entertainment.

http://www.simegen.com/reviews/rereadablebooks/2007/index.html
Is an index to my review column articles where I discuss "The Soul-Time Hypothesis" for the first 6 months of 2007, as explored in several books and novels, not least among them Blake Snyder's SAVE THE CAT! which I talk about a lot on this blog.

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2011/07/big-love-sci-fi-part-vi-unconditional.html
This is Part 6 of a series of posts on LOVE as a story element, and has links to the prior parts.

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2011/08/big-love-sci-fi-part-vii-unconditional.html
Is part 7 of the Big Love series of posts.

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2011/11/poetic-justice-in-paranormal-romance.html
Discusses poetic justice -- done wrong, this story element comes off as the writer "cheating" or resorting to the deus ex machina ending.  The writer must understand Justice in all its esoteric and practical aspects to pull off a Poetic Justice driven plot. 

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2011/11/poetic-justice-in-paranormal-romance_15.html
This is Part 2 on Poetic Justice.

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2012/04/story-springboards-part-2-tv-shows.html

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2012/05/theme-element-giving-and-receiving.html 

In addition to all that, there is a series called Worldbuilding With Fire And Ice which focuses on the interface between politics and religion, referencing our "real world" surroundings to target an audience.  There will be 3 more posts in that series starting July 2012.  Links to past posts in that series will be provided.

http://www.simegen.com/reviews/rereadablebooks/2009/
You might also want to read my column on Poetic Justice: The Fragile Universe -- scroll down to the February 2009 column.

Worldbuilding is something most new writers don't even think about - especially if they're working in a contemporary, real world, setting.  All the readers know what an ashtray is, and how the object is becoming an antique now, and is seldom seen inside a doctor's waiting room. 

The presence or absence of an ash tray on a side-table, or dining room table next to the salt, is WORLDBUILDING.  You might use description or dialogue to indicate that the object is there, discuss the design (maybe it's high-tech and draws the smoke in?  Maybe it's antique marble?  Or gem-encrusted?), or maybe exposition to plant it as a clue to a murder.  An ash tray might be part of the characterization (consider BURN NOTICE: the quintessential mother-Florida-retiree who smokes).   Historically, people didn't "smoke" because there was no tobacco in certain parts of the world.  Perhaps on another world, tobacco won't grow and nothing else is smoke-able.  So the presence of an ashtray would be remarkable, odd, an anachronism. 

The object itself is worldbuilding because it builds the world outside the scene, and outside the story.

It's not enough to know all about the world outside your story.  You then have to encode that knowledge into a visual object, a symbol, a work of art, a process (such as a photograph rather than a painting?), and artfully place that object where it evokes that outside world in the reader's mind without the reader having to wade through paragraphs of tedious and irrelevant description of that world, you, the writer, knows so well. 

To the writer, the world outside the story is sometimes more interesting (and vital to understanding the real meaning of the story) than anything else.  The new writer doesn't understand how and why the reader is not likewise interested in what fascinates the writer.

"Worldbuilding" is the writing technique whereby the writer induces fascination in the reader. 

Jacqueline Lichtenberg
http://jacquelinelichtenberg.com