Some Random Writing Tips
Not everything deserves an entire article. Here are a few things I’ve learned from my time in the trade that have helped me. Develop Your …
Articles
Why Writing is Different
Good art—of any kind—contains three things at a high level: concept, composition and technique. Writing is unique in all the creative arts in that there …
Worldbuilding: How Much is too Much?
There is no such thing as too much worldbuilding. The greater the depth of the author’s knowledge of the setting of their book, the better. …
Em Dashes, Semicolons, and Other Less Used Punctuation
Once you get past the basics, punctuation starts to get weird. That’s because a lot of the less used punctuation are more about personal preference …
The Hero’s Journey
The Hero’s Journey is a story structure based on Joseph Campbell’s seminal work, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, where he lays out the commonalities …
Crafting a Magic System
If you ask a thousand fantasy authors what makes a good magic system, you’ll get a thousand different answers. I am not going to give …
Genres for the Independent Author
Genres are a fascinating part of the writing profession. They mean nothing and everything; they are both limiting and freeing; they are arbiters and arbitrary …
Signaling Your Genre from the Start
If you’re an independent author, you’ve probably done a lot of work on your title, blurb, and cover. Don’t screw it all up with the …
Writing Action
I am going to get right to the point and tell you the secret of writing action scenes: It’s not about the action. Like everything …
Simplicity
“The art of art, the glory of expression and the sunshine of the light of letters, is simplicity.” Walt Whitman Way back when I was …