This article is by Dan Berger. It’s strange to imagine today, but there was a time when the publication of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings was a matter very much in doubt. There were two primary reasons for this near tragedy. One was the scarcity of paper that plagued the United Kingdom in … Read more
All good books start from somewhere. That inkling of an idea sparked by reading a great book, taking an afternoon walk, or even being walloped over the head by the muse. Time passes. Maybe months, maybe years. You see that idea grow into a story concept, the story concept become a rough outline, the outline … 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
While Mythic Scribes is geared towards fantasy writing, I’m a big believer in studying writing from many different angles. For that reason, I’m always on the lookout for great writing advice from authors in other genres. Today I’m going to feature nine of the blogs that I turn to for inspiration. Each of these blogs … Read more
The key to finding your way as a writer is to discover what kind of writer you are. Are you the type that talks about writing but doesn’t really do it much? Are you the kind that works diligently every day, but always ends up deleting or scrapping the whole manuscript? Are you the perfect … Read more
You’re working on your current project when a beautiful faerie lands on your laptop and says, “Hey! Why are you writing this boring story? Look over here!” Wow, a story about elven wyvern hunters in 18th Century Central America is much more interesting than my current Work in Progress (WIP) about mutant horse-thieves in a … Read more
When others learn I am a writer, one of the most common questions I am asked is “where do you get your ideas from?” Now the obvious answer is “everywhere,” because life is inspiration for fiction. But one of those places where it is easiest to draw the direct correlations between what I see or … Read more
With a few rare exceptions, genre fiction is generally dismissed – even disdained – by “serious” authors and critical reviewers alike. Fantasy book sales are miniscule compared literary fiction; even the other genres outsell it. If you want to get rich, you’re better off writing “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” than “Bonds of Sisterhood.” So … Read more
It’s hard to know how to get started as a writer. Should you write short stories or a novel? Should you stick with one genre, or try several? Should you get an agent and submit to traditional publishers, or try the self-publishing route? The answers to those questions depend entirely on what you want. A … Read more
This Article is by Currie Jean. Writer’s block doesn’t happen to everyone, but even the fear of writer’s block can cause a few fits and starts before a writer starts to pen an opening paragraph. Countless solutions for writer’s block have been devised by many writers, and often work best for those same writers themselves. … Read more