“Conflict”
Finding the conflict
reveals the story’s heartbeat.
Follow the rhythm.
Steve D
Tag: conflict
Building a Plot through Dialogue
Plotting the first draft of a novel can be difficult. Oftentimes, you’re not sure exactly where the story is going until you get there. Weaving together multiple characters, their micro-conflicts, and the larger plot is impossible unless you already know how the tapestry should look.
I’ve been having trouble recently with writing my first draft for The Warden of Everfeld: Legacy. Some of that has been due to travel and other things going on in life, but a big part of it has been a bit of writer’s block. Luckily, I found a way around that, at least for now. Continue reading “Building a Plot through Dialogue”
“The Grand Mythos” Chapter 3 is Up!
Chapter three of my short fantasy series, “The Grand Mythos of Úr’Dan” is now available on Wattpad.
Entitled “Hairek’s Hunger”, this chapter really starts to get into some of the early conflict between the First Four Vai’ad, as you’ll see in the chapter blurb below.
And if the concept of cosmic beings playing at god-games is a little too far-fetched for you, don’t worry. You’ll get to meet a more… earthly character in upcoming chapters.
Genre: fantasy, high fantasy, mythic fantasy
Chapter Blurb: The First Four Vai’ad are carving out their places in the Void, but are their purposes aligned? As Aeth’Ún, Gó’Dan, Hairek, and Órúma each search for meaning among the blackness of the Void, they may find that their unity is easily fractured.
Series Blurb:
Every world has its folktales, but even folktales carry a part of the truth. Follow the first beings in the universe as they try to bring order and life to their home. Witness the creation of the vibrant world of Úr’Dan, and the fantastic creatures who live there. Based on the unique fantasy universe of the novel, The Warden of Everfeld: Memento.
Go to Wattpad to read it for free: https://www.wattpad.com/story/163684352-the-grand-mythos-of-%C3%BAr%27dan-volume-one
Steve D
4 Ways to Write an Exciting Action Scene
The end of Manuscript: Beta of The Warden of Everfeld: Memento is nigh, and my characters (most of them) just survived a battle scene that ended as abruptly as it began. Continue reading “4 Ways to Write an Exciting Action Scene”
Friday Write-Day: Crunch Month Continues
Revising The Warden of Everfeld: Memento has changed the way I think about stories.
During my discovery/first draft process, I mainly thought of world-building in terms of how it affected my direct story. Continue reading “Friday Write-Day: Crunch Month Continues”
3 Reasons You Have to Cut That Scene
Imagine there’s a 500-word chunk of your story that you crafted, carefully shaping it to flow with the rest of the chapter and fit into your story’s themes. It may have taken you 15 or 20 minutes to write that section, read over it, make adjustments to wording or style, and move on to the next section.
But then something changes. Continue reading “3 Reasons You Have to Cut That Scene”
Friday Write-Day: What are the Stakes?
Manuscript: Beta for The Warden of Everfeld: Memento has started off well, albeit not as smoothly as I had hoped. Only 8,000 words into my second draft, my writer’s feels this week have run the gamut from soaring over-confidence to sinking self-loathing.
I believe this is the quintessential curse of the writer. Continue reading “Friday Write-Day: What are the Stakes?”
Misplaced Missive #27 – Like You
If you died in this moment,
I would rejoice as the lights
Of the ambulance left my view. Continue reading “Misplaced Missive #27 – Like You”
Haiku Sunday – Shore
“Shore”
Waves charge like armies,
Swarming over rocks – hold fast!
A cyclical siege.
Steve D
Evening Satellite Publishing 