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Paranormal Romance * Romantic Suspense * SF Romance *SF Adventure Home * About Marilynn * Books * Articles * Short Stories *Workshops |
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Creating a Believable Paranormal World
Are vampires, fairies, and space aliens real? If you create the right background for your novel, they will be to your reader. Marilyn Byerly, lauded by reviewers for "building a world that combines both integrity and depth in an entertaining way," shows you how to develop a fantasy, science fiction, or paranormal world from scratch...how to invent creatures to populate it...and how to make your novel utterly believable. She'll teach you the ins and outs of research, fresh ways to use creatures like vampires, and the means to avoid various traps many authors have fallen into.
Lessons will be posted every day.
Topics include:
* The three methods of world-building--their advantages and disadvantages * World-building questions and resources * What not to do in building your world * How to create the perfect alien or magical character * Putting your world-building on the page * Avoiding SF hazards, magic messes, and info dumping
COURSE SYLLABUS
IMPORTANT ELEMENTS OF WORLDBUILDING
MAGIC OR THE REAL WORLD?
LANGUAGE
MAPS
REAL PLACES
THE HISTORY OF A LOCATION
THE HISTORY OF A RACE/CREATURE
OTHER ELEMENTS OF WORLDBUILDING
THE THREE METHODS OF WORLDBUILDING
WHOLE WORLD DEVELOPMENT
ORGANIC WRITERS
HOW I BUILT THE WORLD OF STAR-CROSSED
YOUR WORLD OR YOUR PLOT--WHICH COMES FIRST?
RESOURCES FOR WORLDBUILDING
HOW TO USE THE LINKS
WEBSITE LINKS
RESEARCH METHODS FOR FINDING BOOKS AND INFORMATION
SEARCH TERMS FOR SEARCH ENGINES OF ALL TYPES
READING OTHERS' FICTION IS NOT RESEARCH
HOW TO USE NONFICTION RESEARCH
DEVIATING FROM NONFICTION FACT
HOW TO ORGANIZE YOUR WORLDBUILDING
WHAT YOU NEED TO KEEP IN YOUR WORLDBUILDING FOLDERS
KEEPING UP WITH INFORMATION AS YOU WRITE
INSPIRATIONS AND SOURCES IN WORLDBUILDING
KITCHEN SINK WORLDBUILDING
KITCHEN SINK GENRE MIXING
RESPECT YOUR GENRE/S AND KNOW THEM
HONEST JOHN’S USED WORLDBUILDING
GURPS, LRPGS, AND RPGS
GOING WHERE SOMEONE ELSE HAS GONE BEFORE
MAGICAL AND PARANORMAL BEINGS
GHOSTS
WRITNG A PSYCHIC CHARACTER
THE DANGER OF BEING TOO PSYCHIC
TELEPATHIC DIALOGUE
SEX AND THE SINGLE ALIEN
WICCANS AND WITCHES
SATANISTS AND SATANIST
MYTHS AND LEGENDS
VAMPIRES
DRAGONS
ZOMBIES
TIME TRAVEL
PUTTING YOUR WORLDBUILDING ON THE PAGE
DETAILS, DETAILS
THE NAMING OF NAMES
A STRANGER IN A FAMILIAR LAND
FLAWS IN SCENE WORLDBUILDING LOGIC
HOW TO MAKE EVERYTHING OLD NEW AGAIN
A FRESH TAKE ON THE STANDARD FANTASY NOVEL
HOW POWERFUL SHOULD YOUR SPECIAL CHARACTERS/CREATURES BE?
HOW POWERFUL ARE THE BAD GUYS?
BAD GUYS ARE PEOPLE, TOO
MAGICAL POWERS THAT GROW
THE SELFISH GOAL
THE CAST OF THOUSANDS SYNDROME
THE HERO'S GOAL, ITS COST, AND MOTIVATION
SNEAKY WAYS TO AVOID SCIENCE TROUBLES IN SF
MAGIC AND REALITY
CREATING A CREATURE USING THE REAL WORLD
MAGIC SPELLS
INFO DUMPING
GOOD INFO DUMPING
THE OPENING SCENE
REAL WORLD INSPIRATION FOR OUR UNREAL WORLDS
MAGICAL CHARACTERS IN OUR WORLD
WORLDBUILDING FOR DIFFERENT TYPES OF BOOKS
WORLDBUILDING IN SHORT FORMATS
THE SERIES
TYPES OF SERIES
ONE VIEWPOINT RULES ALL
MULTIPLE VIEWPOINT SERIES
THE PARANORMAL ROMANCE SERIES
REPETITIVE STRUCTURE
BREAK IT INTO NUMEROUS TRILOGIES
THE NEVER-ENDING STORY
THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE SERIES
HOW I CREATED THE WORLD FOR “CRYSTAL WED TO STEEL”
SAME WORLD, VERY DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE
SUMMATION
Marilynn's Teaching Biography: Marilynn Byerly's two passions are writing and teaching. With a BA and MA in English with an emphasis on fictional structure and literary analysis, she has taught writing, judged numerous national and regional writing contests, reviewed books, and written articles on writing which have appeared in trade publications, national magazines, and writing websites. Her articles have also been used as part of the course work for writing and publishing programs at major universities. Her romance, fantasy, and suspense novels have won major awards including the National Readers Choice Award, the Sapphire, and the Write Touch.
What qualifies Marilynn to teach this course? Romance Reviews Today has said of her, "Building a world that combines both integrity and depth in a believable and entertaining way is a trademark of Ms. Byerly."
The Big Question: How to Create a Powerful Novel from a Few Ideas and One Big Question Worldbuilding Course: Creating a Believable Paranormal, Fantasy, or SF World. Writing in the Moment: How to get your voice, viewpoint, and craft so perfect that you disappear and your story comes alive. The Blurb: Mother of All Promotions How to write a blurb -- that pithy description of your novel in a query letter, the short "elevator pitch" used at a writer's conference, the log line for online promotion, and the all important back cover copy for a published novel. |
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