Geology of a fantasy world

Anonymous asked: I am planning on writing a series of Novels; the Main Protagonist is a vampire Detective. I guess you could say he is somewhat of a sociopath, and the Second Character is a woman he changed into a vampire during the Victorian era and he has been teaching her how to adapt to her new life and I plan for them to become romantically involved, (somehow) but I don’t Want to ruin my Main Character’s personality and I don’t want to kill off the Woman either. what should I do?

Divi: Sounds slightly difficult, but also a good challenge! When it comes to characters that are not prone to being romantically involved with anyone, the best thing you can do is to have a lifeline between them. Something that keeps them glued together, whatever it may be. It can be anything that corresponds with their personality. To maintain his personality, it could be something entirely out of his control, like work-related and whatnot which forces him to interact with her more often, thus giving you the opportunity to establish a relationship without it going against his personality.

Anonymous asked: I have this character who is deranged/mad because of having a horrid child/teen-hood. Do you have any resources I could use to make the character more believable?

Divi: Voila! My personal favourite character questionnaire.

Anonymous asked: I created a character and I have a good grasp of what kind of persom she is and her values but I can't come up with a backstory. I'm having trouble explain why she acts the way she does and why she believes in different things. Any advice on how to make a backstory that explains who a charater is?

Divi: Have you written the backstories of her parents/guardians if applicable? Or siblings? Anyone that she has grown up with will help you develop her more and give you valid reasons for her to be the way she is. Give it a shot! I’m sure you’ll find yourself adding really great details to your character.

Anonymous asked: I've always loved writing ever since I was a little kid and it's always been a dream of mine to publish a book one day or at least have a job that involves writing. But I enjoy writing essays and personal things more than stories, so I can't help but feel discouraged about the whole publishing a book thing. Do you think it's possible to still be able to achieve my dream even if I enjoy writing essays more than stories?

Divi: Definitely! You should just pace yourself and set goals for yourself so that you eventually work towards a finished novel. Writing is very diverse and it isn’t just literature, so don’t fret if that isn’t your personal preference. You can still achieve your dream if you make sure to keep working on it, because even if you’re making small steps, you’re still going to get there.

Anonymous asked: Hi there! I write fanfic, but the thing is that I can never finish a story because I get distracted. I haven't updated one since April and am writing new ones... Also, someone said that one of my first chapters was "alright". This de-motivated me -and another thing was that my hit counter on ff broke, so it looked like nobody was reading it. Also I don't know how to write sex scenes! Thanks!

Divi: Don’t be discouraged if someone wasn’t impressed with your writing, because it’s going to happen to the best of us. In fact, you could write the greatest thing known to man, but there will always be people out there who say it’s garbage. That’s just life, you simply can’t please everyone, and that’s why you should focus on pleasing yourself. My rule of thumb is that when someone isn’t pleased with my writing, they have to tell me why, because without reasoning I can’t improve. If it isn’t constructive or informative, you shouldn’t bother yourself with it, because it will only affect you negatively rather than positively. As for sex scenes, try a different approach! You’ll usually read blunt descriptions, and it sounds a lot like you’re at the gym where everyone’s a member. Try being less technical; you don’t have to directly spell it out for readers to understand what’s going on. If you’re still unsure, open up an ebook in the mature romance genre and you’ll find various ways of writing it, because nobody truly writes it the same way someone else does. But if you’re still trying to get the hang of it, that would be a good way to start.

Divi: I completely understand how you feel. Don’t feel discouraged! It might be your first novel, but is isn’t your first story. You’ve learned from those past experiences and grown from it, so I think you’ll be just fine. You’ve already gotten practice, and that’s great! And as a non-native speaker myself, I too feel discouraged sometimes because I write in English, yet I feel I have no right to. I start wondering if my grammar is terrible, if my structures are messed up, or if my punctuation is completely wrong. I’m always afraid people will be able to tell by my writing that English is not my first language. During the years I’ve written, I have improved and learned from my mistakes, and these days I’m actually happy with my writing. Just continue to improve, and continue to work on your novel! Your first novel is not doomed to fail, and even if great writers say so, that’s still their personal experience and it should not apply to you. Have faith in yourself, and continue to enjoy writing your novel. :)