Writing about writing
Things I want my fiction to include, in no particular order:
- Introspection about morality
- Characters that are good, honorable, and ethical
- Humor
- Wit
- Action
- Love
- Friendship
- Power
- Bitterness
- Evil
- Greed
- Selfishness and selflessness
- Optimism beating pessimism
- Happy endings
- Sweeping descriptions - sights, sounds, smells, touches; settings you can fall in love with
- Swords
- Mysteries
- Plants and animals
- Cooking and spices
- Science fiction: ecology, terraforming, cool tech solutions, galactic politics
- Fantasy: neat magic systems, dragons and magical ecology
- Xanatos gambits
- Good characters being as badass and sneaky as evil characters
- Politics
- Characters with families, not orphans: parents, children; families of choice, like good teachers/mentors