The Blessing that is Writer’s Block
In the last article, I discussed writer’s block and started looking at three major varieties I’ve identified. The first is a slog where you have a segment that just isn’t…
Wrestling with Writer’s Block
Though it may not be self-evident, this article is a continuation of the last article’s discussion on the journey versus the destination of story writing. Along that vein, I’ve been…
Grappling with the Story – Journey vs. Destination
Writing is a strange beast. It doesn’t have any certain form, deriving its shape from the author and the nature of the specific story. I’m not talking about grammar or…
Characters and Description
Last time I began a discussion of description by talking about setting. I made the observation that the approach I think works best can be summed up as ‘less is…
On Description and Story
This is the first of two articles prompted by related ideas on description: setting and character. For both, I believe the best general approach is somewhere along the lines of…
A Look Behind the Languages of Isfalinis
The world of Isfalinis, much like our own world, has many languages. In “Tears from Iron” the most readily obvious language is that of the “Words of Power” used in…
Keep a Journal
For this week I’m going to veer off my usual topics and make a more general appeal to everyone, whether you consider yourself a writer or not. If there is…
The Author’s Dilemma: Who lives and who Dies
The fantasy genre tends to be violent. By its very nature, there are usually swords, sorcery, monsters, and dragons… or at least some variety thereof (although to be fair, fantasy…
The Pilgrimage to the Boards
One of the great joys in writing is when the story surprises you. Usually, this epiphany happens in the moment of writing, but sometimes it is only a thing you…
Words that have Inspired Me
After writing last week’s article about the quotes that head each of my chapters, I got to thinking about the real world quotes that have been meaningful to me. I’ve…