The phoenix; the firebird. It’s a popular mythic creature for fantasy – beautiful, unnatural and filled with symbolism. In fantasy, the phoenix is a large bird, usually with red and gold feathers, which is associated with fire and regenerates itself by burning up into ash and being reborn from those ashes. It has been written … Read more
“Finish what you start” is some of the best advice one can give a burgeoning writer. However, what happens when you absolutely can’t finish something? It’s not Writer’s Block nor Creative ADD. You’ve reached critical mass. No matter how long you edit, send off for critiques, and outline, it’s just not coming together. Writing can … Read more
This article is by Duncan McGeary. I’ve never subscribed to the notion that one must “write about what you know.” I mean, what do I know about a wild pig apocalypses? Or vampires who evolve? Or Donner Party werewolves? Or Bigfoot and gold miners? This stuff is spun out of my imagination, and even when … Read more
This article is by Jacob Gralnick. How do you convey an entire idea, feeling, or characteristic without saying a word? The same way you can foreshadow a future event in subtle passing, and you can do that with a little nifty thing called symbolism. Used correctly, and at the right time, symbolism can add meaning … Read more
This is the fourth entry in my Cover to Cover series which follows a story idea from inception until potential publication. Several months back in my third entry, I talked about owning a first draft and how to get through it to the end. Well, in August of this year I finished my first draft. … Read more
Every reader has a certain character whose name, when mentioned, elicits a reaction. Those heroes we cheered on, those antagonists we hated with a passion—we know their worlds and their likes and dislikes. We understand and humanize them, and wish we could invite them over for pizza-and-poker night. Or we curse the gods that we … Read more
You can keep your Excaliburs, your Brisingrs, your Glamdrings, and, yes, your lightsabers. I need a weapon that’s going to put some hair on my chest, allow me to converse with bears, send a wet streak down my foe’s leg, and, well, practically speaking, take out that knight in full plate and chain. Ladies and … Read more
This article is by A.L.S. Vossler. Recently, I took up the hobby of soaping, which, as you might guess, is making soap. There are three ways of making soap: hand-milled, cold process, and hot process. Hand-milled, which is also known as melt-and-pour, basically involves taking a soap base which someone else has already prepared, and … Read more
This article is by Julian Saheed. There is a reason we all leave space for acknowledgments in the first few pages of our books. Though our names appear on the front covers as the architects of the story, there are those who check to make sure the final product is what people want. Those whose … Read more
If you’ve done National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) you know there sometimes comes a point when you think, “Why in the hell am I doing this?” This is a normal feeling albeit a demoralizing one. You’ve been tap-tapping away when suddenly the juice runs out, the muse falls off her glittery pegasus, or writer’s block … Read more