The next writing guide I have was a chance find at the bookstore. I was actually there looking for a guide on how to write effective dialogue, but I could not pass this one up. "Characters and Viewpoint" by Orson Scott Card.

I am a major fan of Card's writing - he writes fantasy and science fiction and is most famous for Ender's Game. His characters are so complex and there is this massive thinking and philosophy behind his stories. For me, I could not put his books down, always eager to know what happens next in the story. So how could I pass this guide up?

My readers (if there are any left who remember my stories) may also notice how much emphasis I like to put on my characters. I often generate some seriously complex stories to support my characters. I am also currently stuck in continuing my writing because of some new characters and setting in my latest project. Therefore, the subject matter of this guide is very relevant.

This blog is actually a quick one because I have only just started going through the guide. Ok, I have only read the Introduction chapter (that consists of a total of three pages). I want to share something that Card tells me in these first three pages.

Card describes authors as both 'storytellers' and 'writers'. A storyteller is someone who invents the characters and settings and situations. A writer, on the other hand, is someone who deals with the mechanics of writing: selecting the words, tone, writing the dialogue, style and working out the point of view. An author has to be both a storyteller and writer. (And good luck because it is a very lonely and massive task!)

Card comes across as a stern lecturer; he is pretty forthright and almost sets fear within the aspiring writer - warning us from the get-go that there are no shortcuts and you, as the author, has the hardest job ever:

"Regardless of how you mingle the roles of storyteller and writer, though, you must do both jobs well. If you don't invent and construct well, then all your beautiful prose will be no more effective than a singer vocalising or a clarinetist warming up - very pretty technique, perhaps, but music it ain't. And if you don't write well, readers will be hard put to discover the wonderful story you want to tell - just as bad acting can ruin a good script, or out-of-tune, clumsy, underrehearsed musicians can make Mozart sound like a mess."

Nevertheless, he gives good advice in these first three pages too. I will endeavour to record and understand these advices and communicate them to you all at the end of it.

Good luck to us aspiring authors!