Fiction and Creative Non-Fiction Work by Chris Preston
Writing from viewpoints that differ from your own can be difficult. It's why Mark Twain said, "write what you know." Characters will not move organically through a story if they aren't grounded in reality, and the only reality you know is your own. That doesn't mean there's just 12 versions of yourself interacting with one... Continue Reading →
This week marks the beginning of my blog miniseries on story types! Every other post for the next few months will be focusing on one of Orson Scott Card’s story types that he outlined so well in Reader’s Digest nearly a decade ago. He’s a well established sci-fi writer who was made famous by his... Continue Reading →
You did it! That first draft of the book you've been obsessing over for years is finally done. I'm proud of you, and you should be proud of yourself. Don't forget to hit save (or have auto-save on) and shut down for the night. Your brain needs the rest for what comes next. Editing is... Continue Reading →
Do you ever feel like your electronic devices are listening to you? Okay, well we already know that they sort of are. They can also see things, which is why many people cover up their little laptop webcams. These nefarious capabilities of the devices we keep on us daily were installed to generate algorithms and... Continue Reading →
Are you into thrillers? Stories where someone is taken hostage, a stalker ups his game, or a private eye takes on more than they bargained for? This genre is very popular, and its also where you'll most likely run into an 'Unreliable Narrator.' Basically, an unreliable narrator is someone whose storytelling credibility has been called... Continue Reading →
It's time to wrap up this review of the various points of view in storytelling by looking at third-person perspectives. The classic! In third-person perspectives, all characters are referred to by their name or "their", "his", "her", and so on. You'll never find them using "I" or "we" as the narrator in these stories do... Continue Reading →
Hey everyone! With plenty going on, personally and professionally, it may be a little difficult to stay on schedule for my weekly posts until mid-February. Knowing that, I figured it would be a great time to post a story since its been a little while. Dug from a few years back is Crystal Palace. This... Continue Reading →
"You click open the blog post on character point of view, hoping to read anything interesting at all. After a brief scan, you give up, providing a merciful Like before logging off." Growing up, I had heard of the other two perspectives a lot, even outside of writing. As two examples - First-Person Shooter is... Continue Reading →
Over the next few weeks, I'll be discussing narrator point of views. This is also one of those decisions that need to be made when writing your first line of a prose. While you can lock down story beats and plot outlines, the point of view you decide on really fundamentally change how your story... Continue Reading →
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