Tag Archives: magical words

Quick-Tip Tuesday: Giving Secrets to Your Characters

Posted on January 26, 2016 by dbjackson

Giving secrets to our characters sets up plot points for our stories. But secrets do more than that. They add dimension and richness to our characters.  Those secrets become the source of our characters’ vulnerabilities, and often their strengths as … Continue reading →

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It’s Quick-Tip Tuesday!!

Posted on January 19, 2016 by dbjackson

The first step is to remember that despite the way the “Plotter v. Pantser” debate is usually framed, we don’t have to approach this decision as an either-or proposition. I know people who don’t outline at all; I know people … Continue reading →

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A New Quick-Tip Tuesday Post!

Posted on January 12, 2016 by dbjackson

With that in mind, I would like to suggest that you use the idea of the narrative theme to stir your imagination. It can be really hard to come up with an idea on demand for just a generic a … Continue reading →

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Happy New Year, and My Return to Magical Words

Posted on January 5, 2016 by dbjackson

To repeat something I have said many times before, there is no single right way to do any of this. You have to discover your own creative path. My purpose in writing these Quick Tips each Tuesday will be to … Continue reading →

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The Blog Tour Ends With a Post on Ideas and Creativity

Posted on August 27, 2015 by dbjackson

Over the years I’ve come to the conclusion that the act of creation is, among other things, an act of faith. We start our projects believing that when our work is done, the finished product will be complete and coherent, … Continue reading →

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Today on the Blog Tour: Nemesis and Protagonist

Posted on August 20, 2015 by dbjackson

One of the things that the first book did not do — because it wasn’t necessary to the plot — was to set up a nemesis for Jay Fearsson who would outlast the narrative of this particular novel. I mean … Continue reading →

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Breaking Down the Opening of HIS FATHER’S EYES

Posted on August 13, 2015 by dbjackson

A few weeks ago, around the time of the release of Dead Man’s Reach, I broke down the opening paragraphs of that fourth Thieftaker novel, to give you some sense of what I was trying to accomplish on the first … Continue reading →

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Release Day For HIS FATHER’S EYES!!

Posted on August 4, 2015 by dbjackson

Today is release day for His Father’s Eyes, second book in The Case Files of Justis Fearsson, the contemporary urban fantasy that I write under my own name for Baen Books. To mark the occasion, the 2015 Summer-of-Two-Releases Virtual Tour … Continue reading →

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The Crazed Life of a Writer, Today on the Virtual Tour

Posted on July 30, 2015 by dbjackson

“We are, in many respects, the most egotistical people in the world. I mean it; it takes some serious sense of self to be able to say, “I just made up a story, and it’s so fucking good that you … Continue reading →

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Today’s Post: Openings and Hooking Readers, pt. 1

Posted on July 16, 2015 by dbjackson

Today’s installment in the 2015 Summer-of-Two-Releases Virtual Tour is all about opening lines for a novel or story. In it, I break down the opening paragraphs of Dead Man’s Reach, the fourth book in the Thieftaker Chronicles (written as D. … Continue reading →

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