Not the Chosen One?
What if the protagonist of your fantasy story is not the Chosen One? A well-worn trope of fantasy fiction is […]
how-to
Unreliable Magic
Too much of the magic in fantasy just instantly works, on demand; what I want is unreliable magic. The kind
No Ordinary World
None of my stories do what the craft books say; there’s no Ordinary World opening for my protagonists. Listen to
A Novel’s Nine Opening Promises
A recent writing craft video by the ‘Bookfox’ considered a novel’s nine opening promises. What promises should an author make?
Writing a YA Heroine
For books four and five, I’m writing a YA heroine. But do I know how? How do I write a
The Seven-point Short Story
In need of a new reader magnet to draw readers to my mailing list, I’m turning to the seven-point short
A Reader Magnet’s Irresistible Draw
What you really need to help build an email list is a reader magnet’s irresistible draw. But I realized mine
Story versus Plot
Two words often used interchangeably which mean completely different things: story versus plot. One of them is way more important
What’s my logline?
What’s my logline? What is the single, core problem statement that encapsulates the plot of my novel? The detailed mechanics
Driving by Headlights at Night
Writing a novel is often like driving by headlights at night. You can’t see the whole journey, you can’t see