- Joined
- Apr 16, 2011
- Messages
- 122
- Reaction score
- 8
- Location
- Denver, CO
- Website
- thedaoshichronicles.blogspot.com
I realized recently that I'm the only genre writer in my writers' group. Everyone else is producing literary fiction. In general this makes me feel like a stripper who wandered onstage during a ballet.
But specifically, the feedback I receive, the general rules I hear, don't fit the kind of books I'm hoping to create. I don't want to make fiction of poignant understatement, angsty silences, fragmentary perception and human failure to connect.
I want to make rip-roaring, suspenseful novels that build to emotionally satisfying climaxes, saturated with the imagery of particular magic, imbued with suspense that keeps a reader edge-seated, action that thrills, and mysteries that reward the attentive reader.
What techniques build toward this kind of fiction? Jim Butcher recommends "scene and sequel" and "tags and traits." What other techniques do you think the aspiring urban fantasist should try to master? Because the tools that create a house aren't the same tools that sow seeds, repair cars, or fight off the invaders. Are there any devices you specifically recommend for writers of urban fantasy? Books, essays, or blogs about these devices would be helpful.
But specifically, the feedback I receive, the general rules I hear, don't fit the kind of books I'm hoping to create. I don't want to make fiction of poignant understatement, angsty silences, fragmentary perception and human failure to connect.
I want to make rip-roaring, suspenseful novels that build to emotionally satisfying climaxes, saturated with the imagery of particular magic, imbued with suspense that keeps a reader edge-seated, action that thrills, and mysteries that reward the attentive reader.
What techniques build toward this kind of fiction? Jim Butcher recommends "scene and sequel" and "tags and traits." What other techniques do you think the aspiring urban fantasist should try to master? Because the tools that create a house aren't the same tools that sow seeds, repair cars, or fight off the invaders. Are there any devices you specifically recommend for writers of urban fantasy? Books, essays, or blogs about these devices would be helpful.