Recent content by icebladeaskante

I tend to read a lot of the 'free' advice all over the web, haven't actually read a set book, though I have bought some of Holly Lisle's ebooks on writing, and always considered going on her course. She used to send out really great informative tidbits on writing, which at the moment if just her...

I guess I write because it brings me pleasure. Fantasy and books have always been a form of escape for me, so when I hit senior school and got introduced to the idea of writing my own world I fell into it and spent hours just writing, invariably taking somebody else's story and writing my...

I suppose I enjoy that flash and I love that the tattoos change in the American covers to reflect the changing story, for example the first book focuses on werewolfs, as reflected by her tats, whereas the second book focuses on vampires, and again her tats are of a bat and its interesting. While...

Cover art is a touchy subject of mine, but I think publishers appreciation for how it influences a new buyers decision is dying. Since most of the books I read are American (and dead tree) I get to see some truly amazing covers, and yet I tend to notice that when they get a UK publishing the...

I like dead tree books (as a lot of people have taken to calling them) there's nothing quite like the smell of a good library or second-hand book store. It brings back a lot of memories of picking books off shelves and admiring the covers (I was too young to really read) as a child with my...

Not everybody will want to go into the spiritual deity road. And you are right about making it scientific, but rules and limit and laws doesn't mean that magic is science, but simply that the use has evolved to appear as though magic has replaced what the real world views as science. Perhaps it...

I have had people tell me flat out that women should not write fantasy. Apparently women are more likely to turn it into a romance novel or go off on a 'boring' emotional angle rather than write about magic, sword fighting, blood and guts. Apparently women read fantasy written by women and men...

Funny I think how those rules are presented can actually enrich a story or at least allow for the story to take place. After all if you're writing a story with a beast like villain, say a mindless terrorising dragon why doesn't the nearest wizard blow it up into tiny little pieces? The dragon...

There is a questionnaire that I've seen around the internet that's fairly detailed and goes into everything you could possibly want to know about your character, from where the grew up and their family, to what they do now, as well as a list of goals and fears. I personally have a plot and...

I can't say I have bought a book based on a trailer for it, but then book trailers aren't as popular this side of the pond. They're only really starting to hit over here and I can honestly say I've seen two on tv, both for mystery novels so wouldn't interest me anyway. I have seen one trailer...

Coming up with names (of both people, places and things) is the hardest part I find. That being said, if I created a town, somehow got it published and someone else liked the name well enough to use it for one of their villages, I wouldn't complain that loudly provided there are some definitive...

I've often heard the rule, you can only have your readers suspend their disbelief at one major point in your world. In romance novels, I suspect (not having read very many admittedly) its a set of circumstances that may seem too coincidental, but you ignore that fact and enjoy the story, in...

We can count fine, but correct grammer is often illogical. (also love the debate on British vs American I have inadvertently started) For example you go up to a capital city even if your are travelling south which is geographically down. So why not other areas. Like the American first floor...

Are these main characters going to be long lived? If they are then you can subtly change their views to change with the times you want to portray them. If not and its a bloodline you're following, keep a common goal and try starting out the chapter with the correct date and character name and...

I don't recall them coming up (my memory is bad) Deities. Whether based on the old Earth myths or the author's very own. Necromancers