I heard about nano (National Novel Writing Month) after a decade as an isolated writer. I was already a member of a writers’ forum and had for a year been a dedicated, daily writer. But 50k words in a month? It still felt like a daunting task. As November approaches, I’d like to share my … Read more
This article is by Melissa Cornwell. As a beginning writer who hasn’t written fiction in years, I ran into several problems as I began writing fantasy. I began one story (sort a memoir turned fantasy) and wrote 14,000 words….only to eventually get stuck. Why did I get stuck? I realized that my writing skills were … Read more
This article is by Michael Cairns. For decades, the publishing industry has worked to ensure that every book that they publish can be marketed within a single genre. This is, up to a point, understandable. Publishing is a business, and the clearer the genre of a book, the easier it is to find the target … Read more
Fantasy is a genre where the mythical and made-up can be reality, where the fact that something is physically impossible doesn’t stop it from burning down your town or stealing your babies. In this series, I’ll be looking at the creatures of fantasy – where they came from, how authors have used them, and what … Read more
This article is by Anne Leonard. A current – and recurring – topic of conversation in the SFF writer/ blogger/ reader community is the lack of people of color (POC) writing and publishing in the field. (This is also an issue in the literary community in general; here’s a recent post on the subject that … Read more
The last dozen fantasy books I’ve read would be classified as epic fantasy. Some kind of hero or heroine goes on a quest, or there are world-spanning conflicts between kings and queens. I guess you’re expecting me to say, “Ugh, I’m so sick of epic fantasy.” Actually, no. I quite enjoy these kinds of stories … Read more
This article is by Joseph Malik. Today I’m going to discuss an underrepresented weapon in fantasy, although it was likely the single greatest casualty-producing weapon on the medieval battlefield until the development of the longbow. A Gran Espée de Guerre by Michael “Tinker” Pearce. (www.tinkerswords.com) It’s a sword. It’s arguably the sword. It’s the Oakeshott … Read more
This article is by A.L.S. Vossler. Fan fiction is the lowest life form of the writing universe. If you had asked me what I thought about fan fiction about a year ago, that is what I would have said. I had not always looked down so fiercely on fan fiction. I was never a huge … Read more
“I don’t really like Fantasy or Science Fiction, but I think I’ll write stories in those genres anyway.” -No one This month I decided to participate in NaNoWriMo. It had been a while since I had written anything, and I felt like it would be a good opportunity to try. Then life happened…a lot. And, … Read more
Forests are a staple of the fantasy genre. From Middle Earth to Hogwarts, or the forests of Hansel and Gretel or Red Riding Hood, the forest is a setting that crops up time and again across numerous fantasy worlds. Sometimes these forests are magical, as in the above examples, and sometimes they are not. A … Read more