In Shad’s review of an anime called Goblinslayer (I’ve never seen it), he talks about the necessity of showing how monstrous the monsters are in fantasy. The comment is part of a larger discussion on the way that various fantasy authors and writers have managed this in various media. From the entire video, which I’veContinue reading “What Will The Monsters Do When They Win?”
Category Archives: Writing advice
How to make a map using Inkarnate
In my current work in progress, Kingdom of the Lion, I have been getting very involved in writing the tale of Pryad as he turns from a powerless street urchin from the dark alleys of Ur into something else much more powerful. But in doing so, I’ve found some not-at-all-useful historical maps of the FertileContinue reading “How to make a map using Inkarnate”
How I Created a Magic System in Six Easy Steps
As part of my avoidance strategies to prevent myself from finishing my manuscript in a reasonable amount of time – ahem – I mean as part of my research – I stumbled across an article form the Well-Storied blog. (link at the bottom of the post). The article was really well written and made meContinue reading “How I Created a Magic System in Six Easy Steps”
How J K Rowling Describes a Character
He had a lighting bolt scar on his head, with messy hair and thick glasses fixed in the middle with sellotape. I didn’t look in a book or online for that description, I drew it from my memory whole as a description on Harry Potter. When you think about it, that is pretty amazing. IContinue reading “How J K Rowling Describes a Character”
An Essay of Consequence
Cluck the image below and read the article – September Fawkes has done an excellent job in this article about stakes in scenes and fiction. Reading it, I felt intense jealousy over the fact that I hadn’t thought of it first. The way she has parsed the ideas has made me reevaluate my own worksContinue reading “An Essay of Consequence”
A Primer for World Building Basics
World building is one of the essential skills of a fantasy writer. And yet, it can often cause so many problems: from issues with overwriting the world to inconsistent construction to terrible tropes in world building. I pulled five videos from various YouTube channels that I have found to be useful in not just understandingContinue reading “A Primer for World Building Basics”
Subtext
Why is it so hard? When I am writing a piece of fiction, one of the things I find most difficult is drafting in the subtext. A character wants something, they ask for it. A character thinks something, they show or say it. I have always thought this problem lies with my straight-forward view andContinue reading “Subtext”
High Art?
WARNING: The last five mins of this video is an advert for a VPN platform. I skipped them. As I usually do. Apologies if you watch it by mistake! WARNING 2: Read on – I’m not just linking the video with no consideration or critique! Are games an art-form with the same credibility as NovelsContinue reading “High Art?”
Wise words!
Neil Gaiman is among my favourite authors for his fluid style and his amazing body of work – American Gods, the Graveyard Book and others being personal favourites. I have seen this image doing the rounds on Facebook and on Twitter and thought I’d share what those rules mean for me. 1. Write Wait… Isn’tContinue reading “Wise words!”
Lore
MYTHS, LEGENDS AND GODS – Terrible Writing Advice One of the many Youtube Channels to which I subscribe is Terrible Writing Advice. The videos are always on point, funny and have a charm that I can’t help but like. And the most recent video released is very pertinent to a current project: The Kingdom ofContinue reading “Lore”
Imagine Erratically 