Tag: Writing Tips

Scribes & Archers > Writing Tips
Building Fictional Organizations

Building Fictional Organizations

Posted on by R.M. Archer

Corporations, guilds, book clubs, cartels, unions, non-profits, religious sects… The world is full of organized groups, and your created world is probably already no exception (and if it is, I have questions). This post is all about how to take existing groups–and/or create new ones–and ensure that they are as purposeful, dynamic, and impactful on your characters and world as they should be. To help make things more concrete, I’ll be using the calligraphy guilds of Calligraphy Guild and Grantech from Lightning and Short Story Collection vol. 1 as examples throughout. Let’s get into it!

Core Purpose

In order for your fictional organization to hold together, justify its existence, and be distinguished Continue reading “Building Fictional Organizations” →

Using Timelines in the Writing Process

Using Timelines in the Writing Process

Posted on by R.M. Archer

This is a topic I’ve written about briefly in the past, but I want to cover it in more depth now with more experience behind me and the added context of my recent posts on building fictional calendars, birthday traditions, etc. I want to talk about how to give your story a sense of time and how to keep that timing consistent and believable within your story through the use of timelines. Let’s dive into some areas in which timelines can help your story!

Maintaining Character Ages and Birthdays

One of my biggest pet peeves with the writers of the Flash TV show for the first few seasons was the inconsistency of Barry Allen’s age. I don’t remember the exact numbers now, but they would make a big deal about how old he was when his mother died (11 or so, I think) and how that had been x many years ago, yet the age they communicated he was in the present day didn’t properly add up; he was a few years too young, according to the numbers that had been given (and reinforced) to the audience.

Don’t be like the Flash writers. Keep a timeline. (Especially if you’re going to Continue reading “Using Timelines in the Writing Process” →

5 Tips for Developing Character Quirks

5 Tips for Developing Character Quirks

Posted on by R.M. Archer
This post was adapted from an Instagram post I made all the way back in 2022. I find myself pointing people to it over and over, so I thought it was high time to adapt it into a blog post for easier reference–and expand it for the new format!

One of my most popular blog posts is about five details that help bring characters to life. The first item on that list is character quirks, which I wasn’t very good at when I first wrote that post. While I’m still not a character quirk expert, I have learned a lot over my past couple of WIPs. Hopefully some of these tips and tricks I’ve learned will help you too!

First, let me define Continue reading “5 Tips for Developing Character Quirks” →

Birth Rites & Celebration in Fantasy

Birth Rites & Celebration in Fantasy

Posted on by R.M. Archer

As I promised in my last post about death (and funerary customs), this week I’m flipping things around and talking about new life! Birth rites and celebrations, to be specific (and not to be confused with birthday celebrations, which I covered a few weeks ago). So, without further ado, let’s look at how your culture might handle births and Continue reading “Birth Rites & Celebration in Fantasy” →

Creating Fictional Funerary Customs

Creating Fictional Funerary Customs

Posted on by R.M. Archer

Today’s topic might seem somewhat morbid, but it’s one that may be important if you plan to kill off any significant characters. (Don’t worry; I’ll be balancing it out by talking about the ceremonies surrounding new births next week!) If your character dies (or is thought to die), how is that handled in your world? How does your culture view death? That’s what we’ll be getting into today. Continue reading “Creating Fictional Funerary Customs” →