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 …
Craft
These articles concentrate on the craft of writing. Use the menu on the right to get more specific or just browse them sequentially.
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 …