World building is a big thing for writers today. Readers and viewers like to escape to the familiar, fantasy or unknown worlds where our characters dwell. As we embark on designing our new world, we’re thinking landscape and orientation, key features and markers. An important part of cartography for writers is referring to what’s already […]
Category: Articles
Articles by Fiona Faith Ross author
New Normal
What is the New Normal? I cut my hair with kitchen scissors today. Some of you mutter, “That’s not normal.” Which was deliberate on my part, because now I can ask you, “What is normal?” The old one has gone and none of us has any idea what’s coming in its place. None of us […]
Format Matters
I Hear You, I See You To begin a discussion about why format matters in screenwriting, I’m going to start with an amazing story. In 1977, NASA launched two exploration vehicles into space, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2. They were programmed to explore around Jupiter and the outer reaches of our solar system. Voyager 2 […]
How To Survive the NaNoWriMo Quicksand
NaNoWriMo is the acronym for National Novel Writing Month. It’s a 30-day write-fest in which you write 50,000 words of a novel in 30 days. It happens every November. Breaking this down, you have to nail 1667 words a day, on average, for each day of the month. Weeks one and two are mostly great. […]
The Small Stuff
Full of Angst Don’t sweat it, unless you’re a writer, then the small stuff becomes the devil in the detail. I’ll explain later, first I want to talk about stress. Writers are plagued by doubt and angst. Find me one who isn’t. Writers’ insecurity is magnified by our inability to pinpoint exactly what we’re anxious […]
The Process Of Writing
Decisions, Decisions I have a bunch of difficult choices in front of me. Why? I’m starting a new screenplay and I have to get it out of my head and onto the page. The first problems to hit are to do with the process of writing. Do I know what I want to say? Pretty […]
Are You Finished?
Let’s talk about those masterpieces shoved in your virtual drawers. The unmentionables. Are you finished with them yet? Wouldn’t you much prefer to tell me about the new idea you’re starting, or tell me about your writer’s block? Maybe I shouldn’t encourage you. I have a rule that I won’t allow myself to start the […]
This Rough Magic a SyFy Story
This Rough Magic a SyFy Story “What to do if your robotic parents don’t live up to your expectations.” I am so excited about this, and I was fascinated to hear this interview with Richard Manley about his play, This Rough Magic, a syfy story which deals with the relationship between a boy and his robotic […]
Boilerplates and Handcrafting
Writers Readers & Genre I’m talking about meeting genre expectations here, first with my writer’s hat on. Boilerplates and handcrafting, that is, which plot template should you use, are important considerations at the concept stage. As a reader, becoming a fan of Young Adult (YA) Dystopian, I’ve got stuck into the big names since His […]
Hang Out
Hang Out I’m reading THE QUANTUM THIEF by Hannu Rajaniemi. He uses language the way an abstract painter uses paint. Some writers have the universe, or multiples, inside their heads. I’m only at page 15, and I feel like I’m there. To be honest I’m not too worried where the plot goes, I just like […]