Last year, I went through something of a personal breakthrough as a writer. I shared the experience with you here. Three things led to the new way I look at and approach writing, and one of them was the book, Writing the Breakout Novel, written by literary agent Donald Maass, president of Maass Literary Agency. … Read more
C. S. Lakin has penned nineteen novels of various genres. She works professionally as a copyeditor and writing coach, and critiques more than two hundred manuscripts a year. She also guest blogs on the top writing blogs, such as Writers’ Digest and Grammarly, and teaches workshops around the country. Her award-winning blog Live Write Thrive … Read more
Mark Lawrence is the author of Prince of Thorns, King of Thorns, and Emperor of Thorns. His latest novel, Prince of Fools, will be released in June 2014. Literature has depicted violence since the earliest records. Even the “high fantasy” subgenre has heroes we physically associate with killing troves of orcs. What is it in … Read more
Ian Tregillis is the author of the Milkweed Triptych trilogy, and is a contributor to George R. R. Martin’s Wild Cards series. His latest book is Something More Than Night, a noir urban fantasy detective story of fallen angels and nightclub stigmatics. He joins us to answer questions on writing both historical fantasy and alternate … Read more
Steven Brust is the author of twenty-six novels so far, with his most popular following the assassin Vlad Taltos (starting with the novel Jhereg). His most recent novel, The Incrementalists, is a collaboration with author Skyler White. Steven is also a member of the Pre-Joycean Fellowship, a group of writers who value 19th-century values of … Read more
Winner of the Sydney J. Bounds Best Newcomer Award and 2007 World Fantasy Award finalist, Scott Lynch is the author of the Gentleman Bastard Sequence, several short stories and an online serial, Queen of the Iron Sands. He has a strong following who call themselves ‘priests of the crooked author’ and many others, too, have … Read more
Labelled by TIME as “The Dean of Harry Potter Scholars,” John Granger is a pioneer. When many were dismissing the significance of the Hogwarts Saga, or condemning the books for “promoting witchcraft,” John was the first literary critic to explain how they carry on the tradition of English fantasy literature. His book, How Harry Cast … Read more
Writer and director Eric Luke has worked on films for Paramount, Disney, and Fox TV. He’s the writer of the science-fiction cult classic Explorers, which starred Ethan Hawke and the late River Phoenix. I recently chatted with Eric about story development and narrative structure, as well as his latest project, the self-aware audiobook Interference. How … Read more
James D. Macdonald is the award-winning author of over forty fantasy and science fiction novels, including his most recent work, Lincoln’s Sword. I recently chatted with Jim about his frequent collaborations with co-author Debra Doyle, as well as his work in educating writers about publishing scams. You’ve had a pretty amazing career as a fantasy … Read more
Imaginative Realism is the art of painting or drawing what doesn’t exist. It’s the act of bringing visual life to fantasy, often based on the words of fantasy authors. Several months ago I knew Marc Fishman to be an amazing artist and an insightful human being, and A Song of Ice and Fire was just … Read more