World Building 1

How to Handle World Building

The one element that distinguishes science fiction and fantasy from the other flavors of adventure fiction is world building. If you’re a new SFF writer, learning how to craft vivid secondary worlds is a crucial skill. And mastering it takes finesse as well as creativity. But it’s not as daunting…
April 19, 20245 Comments
Voyage of Egeria

Preview: The Voyage of Egeria

My promise of a new short story set in my acclaimed Soul Cycle cosmos became a centerpiece of the sleeper hit campaign for my upcoming SC prelude novel The Burned Book. And while I put my hand to the plow in the word-fields and never looked back, today I must…
February 1, 20244 Comments
Brandon Sanderson

Sanderson Is Not in Audible

Fantasy author Brandon Sanderson has established himself as the king of neopatronage with his record-smashing Kickstarter campaign. And while his secret novels project earned him four times more than his publisher pays him, the oldpub gravy train turned newpub mogul has a beef with an industry player that's not Tor…
January 22, 20247 Comments
Silence and Starsong

Redeemable Demons on Silence and Starsong

Quite unexpectedly, my recent writings on the redeemable demons trope ruffled a lot of feathers. It also occasioned some rigorous discussion. Everyone seems to have an opinion on the sympathetic devil meme and the rationale behind it. At the height of the controversy, the gracious hosts of Silence and Starsong…
December 1, 20231 Comment
simpathetic devil

Simpathy for the Devil?

The sympathetic devil trope has become such a mainstay of popular fiction as to be a Pop Cult zombie meme. Audiences - even pro writers  - now take for granted that a demon could choose to do good or even repent and gain salvation. Few people see anything weird about…
November 28, 202320 Comments
Pacing Watch

How to Master Pacing

The Burned Book is now funding. Get the highly anticipated dark fantasy before launch, plus a ton of awesome perks. Pledge now. Writing is an art, and like any form of art, it requires skill, practice, and patience. For aspiring writers, one of the most crucial elements to master is…
November 6, 2023
Fantasy Genre Setting

Genre vs Setting

Friend of the blog author David V. Stewart's recent stream on speculative fiction settings uncovered a curious phenomenon. It seems a lot of people, even some new authors, have trouble telling the difference between genre vs setting in speculative fiction. It's a worthwhile stream, covering a range of topics from…
October 26, 20232 Comments
Writing Spiral

Escape the Writing Spiral

Look around the pop culture moonscape, and you'll notice that former titans of entertainment like Lost and A Game of Thrones have become bywords and lolcows - grim warnings to writers about the price of failing to deliver. Everybody says that these shows disappointed viewers because their storylines devolved into…
October 19, 2023
Influence

How to Manage Your Influences

The influences that shape your writing can be a boon and a challenge. Striking the right balance between drawing inspiration from others and staying true to your unique voice is an essential skill for new authors. Let's explore some practical ways to help you manage your influences while writing without…
October 12, 2023
Book Opening

How to Open a Novel

Every writer knows that the first few pages of a novel can make or break a reader's interest. Author David Stewart's recent stream about the best novel openings ever inspired me to explore how to write an effective beginning that will hook readers from the start. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrxKB3WeaoE Here are some…
October 5, 2023