Establishing a Strong Relationship With an Offscreen Character (Analyzing Shadow and Bone)


I've been going back and forth a lot about this blog lately.  As you've most likely noticed,  I haven't been able to post many original craft posts, and even the Brain Science roundup posts have been haphazard. Nowadays, paid work takes priority over blogging.


A month ago I decided to close this blog down, and had settled on that decision for about 24 hours before I made a 180 degree turn and decided to make a conscious effort to write more craft posts.  Why?  Because I'm the one who learns the most from writing these-- taking the time to analyze books I admire and figuring out why I admire them. 

So, here's the TLDR.  I'm going to make an effort to blog more, but to make this feasible, the posts will be less polished than before.  I used to spend a lot of time editing blog posts, but now I'm just going to focus on getting the ideas down. Hopefully, people will still find them useful.

On to the book of the day.  I'm two books into The Grisha series and enjoying it immensely.  (Moderate spoilers for Shadow and Bone). One thing that struck me, was the relationship between Alina and her childhood friend Mal. Mal plays a very large role in later parts of the story, and in order to make the developments believable, the reader must be convinced that Alina and Mal are very close.  The tricky part though?  Mal's off screen, in another part of the country, for much of the first half of the book.

Brain Science for Writers 11/19/2015

By Paulr (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons


Featured Post: Social psychology textbooks ignore all modern criticisms of Milgram's "obedience experiments." A heartening critique of some depressing classic studies.

Featured Post: 'Many of the alleged rules of writing are actually superstitions'

The five-point plan to help Paris survivors recover from attacks.

Why We Are Attracted to Deviant Personalities. Interesting, but see the caveat about self reported data.

Do you make choices as to whom you leave waiting in the crosswalk?

It Was Inevitable: Someone Taught a Neural Network To Talk With Romance Novels. via Passive Guy

Being Sarcastic May Make You More Creative

How to spot the warning signs and prevent mass shootings

Subliminal religious prompts might not make people nicer after all

Our shifting motivations: The inherent pleasure of a task is more important to us once we get started

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Brain Science for Writers 10/7/15

Blausen 0010 AcousticNeuroma Tumor.png

Blausen.com staff. "Blausen gallery 2014". Wikiversity Journal of Medicine. DOI:10.15347/wjm/2014.010. ISSN 20018762. - Own work. Licensed under CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.



Top Pick: "A tumor stole every memory I had. This is what happened when it all came back." Absolutely fascinating.

Top Pick: Learning to Make a Stone Age Axe Gives Clues to How the Brain Evolved

Lie Detection
is a Team Sport

Small Distractions Can Have Big Consequences. A study from an old labmate of mine!

Women and fragrances: Scents and sensitivity

Why Honest People Do Dishonest Things

The Last Two Digits of a Price Signal Your Desperation to Sell. Or is it that simpler numbers are less confusing to process, and give people more mental energy to drive a hard bargain?

Psychologists study burglars' expertise

Men and boys with older sisters are less competitive

Google searches for ‘n-word’ associated with black mortality

7 easy ways to reduce the pain you’re feeling

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Brain Science for Writers Roundup 9/30/15

Raja Ravi Varma, Looking into the Mirror


Top Pick: Morals, Not Memories, Define Who We Are

Top Pick: Why Do Narcissists Lose Popularity Over Time?

Mental Models

Paralysed man uses mind control to walk again

A Short History of the Rise, Fall and Rise of Subliminal Messaging

Ask students about religion, and they’ll tell you they drink less

How Children Make Sense of Impossible Events in Fiction

People Are More Likely to Cheat at the End

This article has been perfectly formatted for maximum reading comprehension (via Passive Guy)

Why Nobody Intervened in the July 4 Metro Murder

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Brain Science for Writers Roundup 9/19/15

A Day Out With Friends (12301023434).jpg

"A Day Out With Friends (12301023434)" by Faisal Akram from Dhaka, Bangladesh - A Day Out With Friends. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Featured post: How Grounded Is Your Love Life? I love embodied cognition studies. Great fodder for imagery ideas you can use in your writing.

Featured post: The Coddling of the American Mind. More an opinion article than a research article, but raises interesting questions.

Is "Baby Brain" a Myth?

What Happens When Minority Kids Are Taught Not to Talk About Race. (Thanks to Kurt for the link)

How influential are peer reactions to posts on Facebook news channels?

Decoding Trump-Mania: The Psychological Allure of Hating Political Correctness, Part 1

Nail Biting May Arise from Perfectionism

‘Milestone ages’ may trigger new perspectives on life

How To Be a Better Person: Awe Yourself

Workplace rudeness: Death of a thousand cuts

Cell phone notifications may be driving you to distraction

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Brain Science for Writers Roundup 9/12/13

An introverted and an extroverted man; exhibiting excessive Wellcome V0009475



Note: A friendly reminder that Midnight Thief is still 99 cents until Sunday! Also, on Amazon, you can add the audiobook to your ebook purchase for just $3.99 more (so less than $5 total!). Order from Kindle | Nook | Kobo | iBooks | Google Play

Featured pick: Confessions of a neurotic extrovert

Featured pick:  Familiar Faces Could Help Robot Cars Win Trust

Massive International Project Raises Questions about the Validity of Psychology Research. So basically, don't believe anything I post. (kidding... sort of...)

Doctors use antipsychotics to calm ‘challenging behaviour’

Television viewing linked to higher injury risk in hostile people

How Come Some People Believe in the Paranormal?

The Man Who Wasn’t There: Exploring the science of the self

Predicting who will murder his wife or his family

Why big societies need big gods

The Man Who Saw His Double In The Mirror

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MIDNIGHT THIEF is on sale for 99 cents. Spread the word to win prizes!



(Cross posted from my author website.)

Daughter of Dusk, the sequel to Midnight Thief, launched on August 4th. A huge and heartfelt thank you to everyone who's taken the time to read and share Kyra's story.

To wrap up the first month of release, the Midnight Thief ebook is on sale for 99 cents on all ebook retailers from 9/10-9/13! If you haven't read it yet, grab it from Kindle, Nook, Kobo, iBooks, or Google Play.



And if you've read MT already, I'd really appreciate help spreading the word about the deal. To make sharing the news more fun, I'm hosting a giveaway for a big Midnight Thief universe prize pack. Here's a picture of what you'll win:



It includes:

1. An audiobook of Midnight Thief

2. An signed copy of Poison Dance. (With author's handwritten annotations in the margins, if you'd like).

3. An early draft of Daughter of Dusk with author's editorial marks.

4. Assorted swag.

It's an international giveaway, and you can enter by sharing this post. See the rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway




ORDER MIDNIGHT THIEF FROM:

Hardcover: Indiebound | Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Book Depository (Free international shipping)

Ebook: Kindle | Nook | Kobo | iBooks | Google Play
Order DAUGHTER OF DUSK from:
Hardcover: Indiebound | Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Book Depository (free international shipping)

Ebook: Kindle | Nook | iBooks | Google | Kobo



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