My personal wisdom on the worst part of the writing process.
On Writer’s Block
How to Strengthen Setting
Imagine living in colonial times, stepping off your ship and onto the new world. Out from the brush comes a tribe of people you have never seen before. They are mostly naked, wearing only the skins of animals. Their most advanced weapon is the bow and arrow. Compared to you, in your shining metal armor and with a musket in hand, they appear positively primitive. Clearly yours is the advanced race… or maybe they didn’t even have the horse until around 1600… maybe it has more to do with that.
This is why history matters when composing setting.
Lessons Learned From Fanfiction
In today’s world, many writers start by writing fanfiction. For those who don’t know, fanfiction is original work based on/inspired by existing properties. It is amateur work (although one could make the argument that the expanded universe of something like Star Wars is simply professional fanfiction), written by fans for fans. On the surface, there is no merit to it. Authors will never be paid for their work. That said, it can be a value learning tool. A free workshop in a sense.
I wrote a lengthy fanfiction story for Avatar: the Last Airbender and I will attest to the value in what was a tremendous learning experience.
Colin McMahon 