Characters Outside their Fictional World
–If you take your characters outside their fictional world, do they still function as compelling, relatable characters? Drop them into […]
Genre
Posts on writing genre fiction
Wrestling with Book Categories
Right now I’m wrestling with book categories; where do my books fit in the melee of marketing? Who are they
The Author as Translator
A revelation about my fantasy series: I’m the author as translator. Put another way, my characters don’t speak English… Listen
Nine Problems with Magic
Magic defines the fantasy genre, but I have no fewer than nine problems with magic. Sure, you can have fantasy
Writing Setting as Character
Inspired by Sanderson’s World Building class, we bring you writing Setting as Character. There are certain books where the setting
Write What You Know?
A common piece of writing advice is ‘write what you know.’ But what I know, I don’t want to write
How Big a World Do You Need?
One important question when writing fantasy: how big a world do you need? Cast around for writing advice in the
Conventions of the Comedy Genre
Because we all need more joy and more comic novels in the worlds, herewith, the conventions of the comedy genre
Fantasy is no Different
For all the world-building and lore, I realise Fantasy is no different from any other story structure. All genres contain
Conventions of the Fantasy Genre
No dragons, no elves; does that mean I’m ignoring the conventions of the fantasy genre? Not necessarily. The fantasy genre