This is K.M. Wyland, and you're listening to the 43rd episode of the Word Play

podcast.

If my estimations are correct, I'm perhaps halfway through my bibliography of research material

for my historical novel, The Deepest Brath.

I'm closing in on the end of my World War I research and looking forward to

delving into Kenyan history soon. One of my most valuable research resources are

other author's stories. Reading fiction and watching movies set during my chosen time period isn't the best way to glean the heart facts, but it does wonders for helping me visualize these faraway worlds.

And it's always interesting to see how others have handled the same material.

Plus, the cold hard facts usually stick better in my brain if I have a story arc to ground them in place.

There are actually comparatively few novels in movies set during World War I, but I've been enjoying

classics such as All's Quiet on the Western Front and Sergeant York.

Do you know how to use emphasis in your writing, the latest post in the video series on my blog,

discusses the pitfalls of exclamation points in italics,

and offers suggestions on how to use methods of emphasis to gain full impact.

You can watch the video on my blog at wordplay-K-M-Y-L-N-D dot blog spot.

New videos are posted every Wednesday. Meanwhile, enjoy this

week's podcast. Does your story have the extraordinary factor? Readers want

fiction to be extraordinary enough to thrill them with its strangeness and excitement,

but they also want it to be ordinary enough for them to find aspects they can relate to.

So how's a writer supposed to pull off this apparent paradox?

How do we make our stories both ordinary and extraordinary?

In general, stories and their heroes fall into two categories.

...