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Andy Dibble

SF & Fantasy Writer, Healthcare IT Consultant, Recovering Academic

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Tag: Writing

Creating Characters and Conflict with the D&D Alignment System

Dungeons & Dragons player characters have one nine alignments that vary between Lawful and Chaotic on one axis and Good and Evil on the other axis:

(struggled to find original credit for this…)

Descriptions below largely follow the D&D Version … Read the rest

Author andy dibblePosted on April 15, 2023April 15, 2023Tags Literature, Speculative Fiction, Writing

A (Sort of) Defense of Maid and Butler Dialog

Consider this writing advice from six-time Hugo-Award-winning editor Ben Bova about dialog:

An important rule of thumb when it comes to imparting background information is never to allow the characters to tell each other anything that they already know. It … Read the rest

Author andy dibblePosted on December 14, 2021February 9, 2024Tags Speculative Fiction, Writing

Comparatives and Superlatives in Creative Writing

Generally we play by the rules of grammar in creative writing because readers will be put-off or confused by our failure to abide. Grammar is the fabric of the language. There is no English without English grammar. Even a nonsense … Read the rest

Author andy dibblePosted on December 24, 2020January 16, 2021Tags Writing

Alchemy and Mud: Arguments in Fiction

I’m regularly surprised when my readers spy ideology lurking in my writing, as if the presence of an argument or even a sensitive topic in a work of fiction is proof that the author is trying to seduce the reader … Read the rest

Author andy dibblePosted on December 22, 2020December 23, 2020Tags Christianity, Theology, Writing

Passive Voice in Fiction

The only advice I’ve heard about passive voice in fiction is: Don’t Use It. This is me offering more nuanced advice.

What is the Passive Voice?

Readers with a passion for grammar, second languages, or scientific writing will likely know … Read the rest

Author andy dibblePosted on September 17, 2020September 17, 2020Tags Grammar, Writing

“Very” Is Not So Very Wrong

Mark Twain famously quipped that a writer who cannot think of a word to substitute for the word “very” should substitute “damn,” so as to form phrases like “damn beautiful” and “damn important.”  The writer’s editor will delete “damn” and … Read the rest

Author andy dibblePosted on August 28, 2020September 28, 2020Tags Writing

Recent Posts

  • What AI Say Doesn’t Mean Anything At All
  • C. S. Lewis on Why Heaven is a Better Tourist Destination Than Hell
  • Outsider Theology Reconsidered
  • Creating Characters and Conflict with the D&D Alignment System
  • How Wittgenstein’s Philosophy of Language Complicates Protestant Salvation

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