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This week, I wanted to talk about constructive criticism, but I changed my mind. Read on! There are many styles of criticism Criticism for Editors Criticism for Writers Criticism for Readers Criticism for Students There is good or bad criticism. There are different levels and topics Surface Characters Plot Metaphor Big Ideas Small Ideas Details and Accuracy Grammar But, before we get into all that, I realized we need to have a talk about “thinking” and a few terms that I often use while talking about criticism. So, I will be releasing a series of journals about these topics. Next week and following, these will be the topics I will talk about: What is good or bad criticism and how to give or receive it Styles of criticism and where to find them Note: I am splitting these up because there is literally way too much to discuss in one week. No joke, I could write an entire book on this topic! I want each journal to be focused on one idea and be super digestible for you all! Before we

Hello everyone, and welcome once again to The Heir’s Lair. I am your host, aspiring author Jonathan Taylor. As I’ve promised, I will be doing How To Write videos all throughout July, and I’m starting with a video on fictional technologies, how to best use them for the sake of your story. Like most other videos, I will try to keep my advice as generic as possible, so you can apply it to most genres. Before I get into the meat of the video, I want to clarify three very easy to make misconceptions: 1. A rich society is not immediately technologically advanced, especially when compared to less rich ones, just because you can spend money in that direction doesn’t mean you always will. Richer countries are generally at higher levels of technological development, but that’s correlation rather than causation. If anything, better technologies allow a society to extract more resources from its’ environment, meaning the correlation is actually the other way around. 2. One brilliant innovator or

Anonymous asked: Please share the "afterglow" moment between Jo and Fritz that you once mentioned. I need it, you know, for reasons. 👀 littlewomenchannel answered: This is real, not fan fiction. An actual scene in Louisa May Alcott's Little Men. I found it :D "We give them the kindly spirit that shines through the simplest demeanour making it courteous and cordial, like you my dear old boy" "Tut tut! we will not compliment; for if I begin you will run away and I have a wish to enjoy this happy half hour to the end?" yet Mr Bhaer looked pleased with the compliment for it was true and Mrs Jo felt that she had received the best her husband could give her by saying that he found his truest rest and happiness in her society". -Little Men, Chapter Goldilocks It probably depends on the edition but in this one that I have, it´s said that Fritz is laying on the couch Jo next to him, after a long sweaty day in the garden. All the conversations in Little Men between Jo and Fritz are very

Hello everyone, and welcome once again to The Heir's Lair. I am your host, aspiring author Jonathan Taylor. Today I want to tackle a topic that is somewhat more abstract than my usual fair, but one I still find would make a charming video, particularly because I haven't seen many other videos go into it, and it's the kind of big question that keeps you up at night regardless of whether or not you're dealing with it, namely how to write a pantheon. When it comes to inspiration for this topic, writers are basically spoiled for choice when it comes to alternatives of how to put a pantheon together, which is why my main approach is to discuss some basic guidelines, and then allow you to fill in the blanks. Also, because the topic is vague and heavy with a variety of implications, I will phrase all of my points as questions, questions whose answers will be up to you, potential authors. You don't have to answer all of them, just consider them. Question one: The Ontological Question: Do the

Anyone that's ever wanted to try and write their own stories in the current day and age has probably looked up writing advice on the internet. It shouldn't come as a surprise that I was one of those people two years ago. And there's nothing to be ashamed of there, either. It's better to realize you're a beginner and that you don't know the first thing in the world about putting a story together than it is to write My Immortal. Obviously. So, we're at the very begin of the journey, so to speak: The start of a long road stretching ahead over sunlit plains, with clouds ominously casting shade upon a dark forest in the distance. It'll be nice and fun when you're first starting out, but you'll quickly realize that it's going to be a lot harder than it looks. Good thing that we have our trusty map at our side, right? If we just follow that, we'll surely be able to traverse the road with no issues whatsoever! ...Right? Here's the problem though: Our map is drawn entirely by hand, by one