Four Types of World-Building
Whatever the genre, sub-genre or story type, the four types of world-building are key to credible and immersive tales. Every […]
Setting
Hard or Soft Magic in Fantasy?
Do you prefer hard or soft magic in fantasy stories? Do you care about the detail, the scope, the price
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
The Role of Speculative Fiction
With wide appeal and a long history, just what is the role of speculative fiction? To use a definition from
History, Historical Fiction and Fantasy: What Gives?
If history is stuff that happened, and fantasy is stuff somebody made up, then what’s historical fiction? History, historical fiction
Ten-step Fictional Empire-builders’ Checklist
What goes onto our fictional empire-builders’ checklist? This is where essential world-building for culture and setting begins. In the current
Fantasy Genre Tropes We Love and Hate
I’ve been challenged to write an epic fantasy genre story, so I’m reading a lot of current fantasy fiction. It
The Magic in Magical Realism
Proving how certain genres defy definition, here’s my fourth attempt to define the magic in magical realism. I struggled so
Unreal Reality in Fiction
Ever considered the unreal reality in fiction? Fiction isn’t reality. Contemporary stories and fantasy stories exist in different planes of