This article is by Anne Marie Gazzolo. In the essay, “On Fairy-Stories,” J.R.R. Tolkien speaks of a subject close to his heart. He had a life-long interest in and love for the genre, and approaches the topic as an author. According to Tolkien, fairy-stories allow us as readers and authors to experience what he calls … Read more
When it comes to villains, we’ve seen the clichés. Dark lords. Psychopaths. Petty super villains who kill their own henchmen. We’ve also heard the advice. Villains need personal goals. Villains need depth. Villains need to be the heroes of their own stories. In my experience, conversations about villains get overshadowed by the question of whether … Read more
“When I examine myself and my methods of thought, I come to the conclusion that the gift of fantasy has meant more to me than my talent for absorbing positive knowledge.” -Albert Einstein When Albert Einstein imagined himself chasing a beam of light, he was able to conclude that the speed of time is relative … Read more
Is black and white dead? No, I’m not talking about film. With the recent surge in popularity of George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series (a.k.a. Game of Thrones), fantasy as a genre has gained a new audience. Even those who have not ventured into fantasy before can easily find themselves … Read more
The elusive muse. Long considered dead by some, still widely sought after with hounds, nets, and harpoons by others, the concept of “invoking the muse” still lurks out there in the writers’ ether. Inspiration can be fickle: it doesn’t always necessarily come when you want it. There are some tried and true methods for getting … Read more
For my “writer self,” cracking (or clicking) open a new fantasy novel is one of the most exciting ways to spend my free time. It’s also one of the most terrifying. After all, I don’t really know what I’ll find inside, and encountering a badly-crafted story is more than disappointing. It’s downright painful. I’m sure … Read more
For me, editing was the worst part of writing, which is why I never did it. In an attempt to turn editing into a more manageable process, I have combined two of my favorite hobbies into one theory, which I call “Target Editing.” I compare editing to archery. Archery is a wonderful sport. It takes … Read more
In fantasy, weaponry is something we’ve come to expect to see. There are wars, battles, even personal fights against a single rival, and that means the combatants need something to fight with. Sometimes fists are enough; sometimes magic is used. But the rest of the time, there are weapons. One thing fantasy weapons sometimes come … Read more
I’m thrilled to announce that The Mythic Guide to Characters is here! I began planning this book in the summer of 2012, after spending five years studying the workings of the unconscious mind. As a professional academic, I had become fascinated with how the unconscious drives so much of human behavior. This gave me the … Read more
Often writing advice comes at a price. You don’t always know what works and what doesn’t unless you actually put it into practice and get results. I’m here to say that every situation is different. So understand that as a writer, it’s up to you to find out what works. Below, I’ve presented 15 alternative … Read more