Who am I?
Hello, and welcome to my blog! My name is VR Tadlock, and I am an independent author working to get my debut novel, Dream Weavers, up and off the ground. I work in the day as a technical writer, a much more boring kind of writer than the fictional kind, which is the hat I wear at night. I live in Minneapolis with my dog and my younger sister. When I’m not reading or writing, I enjoy yoga and needlepoint embroidery. I’d love to include an author photo in my introductory post, but one step at a time. I’m not taking my author photos until next month when I visit my fellow author friends in Milwaukee.
Why am I Starting this Blog?
I’m writing this blog to build my brand as an author, specifically highlighting what makes me and my writing standout, aka my niche, in the hopes that you will be interested and invested in my journey as an author and support my writing projects. My niche, unlike other authors, isn’t limited to a genre or trope or kind of story, though some genres/tropes/stories work better than others within my niches.
What Kind of Content will be Covered in this Blog?
So what is my niche? I specialize in interpersonal and intrapersonal communication and conflict, which makes for very character-driven stories.
What is Interpersonal Conflict Versus Intrapersonal Conflict?
Interpersonal conflict is conflict between two or more individuals. In English class, you might have described interpersonal conflicts as person vs. person. This can be an ongoing argument, vocalized or otherwise. In writing, portraying interpersonal conflict requires the following:
- clear stakes in the conflict for each party
- strong characterizations for each party
- solid dialogue
Intrapersonal conflict is conflict within yourself. Only one person is involved in the conflict. In English class, you might have called it person vs. self. This typically involves a lot of introspection in writing and requires the following to be done well:
- strong characterization
- multiple forces pulling at the character
- clear and compelling trains of thought
Why am I Qualified to Talk about Communication and Conflict?
When I first started writing, I had difficulty finding my niche. I was no worldbuilder like the fantasy writers. My degree was in communication, so I couldn’t write a political drama like my polysci friend or a historical romance like my friend the history major. But then I thought about it more. In my degree, I studied communication and conflict extensively, going as far as to write my senior thesis on the subject. It’s always been a subject of great interest to me, and I have a lot of knowledge on the topic.
When I began searching for my niche, I had to closely examine my writing for strengths and weaknesses, to see where I fit in. One particular strength of mine was my portrayal of interpersonal and intrapersonal conflict. I wrote strong characters with clear motivations and solid dialogue/trains of thought. When reflecting on my strengths, I realized that I could trace my strengths back to my area of expertise, and it became clear to me that this was my niche. I was qualified in the topic, and my writing backed it up.
So, in conclusion, I’m VR Tadlock, and welcome to my blog on communication and conflict and how to best write these topics into your own story.