“And there among the lofty peaks of the Sanandrin Mountains were the tombs of the Founding Kings carved into the living rock. The angels guard their entrances as they guarded their lives, and shield their bodies from the churning rot of time. When the winter passes into spring, the fresh melt carries the blessing of … Read more
This article is by Autumn M. Birt. Have you read a classic novel recently? Or maybe have a child/nephew/cousin reading one of the touted best of the best in school? Something like Moby Dick or Ivanhoe, maybe even Pride and Prejudice or Wuthering Heights. If so, have you heard them complain about being bogged down … Read more
I recently reconnected with some old projects, and was a little upset when I read them. One of the mistakes I’d made was incorrectly anticipating story length, and now it feels like those old stories, that I thought were done and buried, have risen from their graves to haunt me. Not only did I take … Read more
Ever wonder how armies of tens of thousands of men spring up from the ground overnight like weeds? How these weedy men go clickity-clank across the landscape with few troubles? Do you question the ability of a feudal society to maintain said massive weed crops which they throw willy-nilly to the wind against one another? … Read more
As a fantasy writer, you’re likely to create new and fascinating worlds for your stories to take place in. You have entirely new races, and their cultures and histories date back thousands of years. You have gods and religions, dragons and monsters, heroes and villains. You have magic. In short, you have a world. Now … Read more
Do you spend weeks and weeks designing the ceremonial cloaks that your orcs wear for their Annual Wereboar BBQ? Do you sketch maps of obscure villages that haven’t existed in your world for thousands of years on napkins? Do you lie awake before bed and think, “I really should figure out how the ogres in … Read more
I have a confession to make. It’s probably not a big deal to anyone, except to me – specifically to me as a writer. So, here goes: I’m not a native English speaker. I was born, and grew up, in Sweden. I learned Swedish first and didn’t start learning English in school until I was … Read more
For as long as I can remember, I’ve always had ideas for stories. When I was young, many involved Gary-Sue-ing myself into my favorite TV shows and movies, as a security officer with Borg implants on ST:NG or as a cryogenically frozen Jedi from the Old Republic. As I got older, my desire to explore … Read more
This article is by Daniel Adorno. Have you read an epic fantasy novel recently? Ever notice how every race in a fantasy world must have a unique culture, history, and language? It’s almost unheard of to not include each of these aspects in the genre. It’s become a convention fantasy readers have expected since the … Read more
A while back, I came across the following question: How do you write so much dialogue without it getting boring? Conversations and dialogue are perhaps the biggest parts of my stories. It’s where things happen – in the interaction between the characters. I write a lot of conversations, and I’ve put a fair bit of … Read more