Avoiding the Trope-osphere
When I was working on “Etched in Fire” and workshopping my chapters, everyone in my workshop seized on a particular scene. Without too...
Making Magic Real Part II: What Is It Like?
Once you’ve hammered out your consistent rules for magic, you need to write it so the reader believes in it. And that means...
Making Magic Real, Part I: Consistency
So you’re writing a fantasy novel. That means anything goes, doesn’t it? Your wizards can teleport, zap the evil guys with lightning,...
Writing Combat if You're Not a Fighter
Aside from gym courses in archery and fencing when I was in college, I have never studied any form of fighting. The fencing class gave...
Themes: What Are They, Really?
Whenever someone writes a story, it’s about something. That may seem self-evident; obviously a story has a plot and characters whose...
I Wrote It, But I Hate It
Hating the writing I produce: this is one of my biggest stumbling blocks. I’ve only now come to understand that this is a common...