A degree or two off course doesn’t lead you wrong at first. At least, not too wrong that you can’t self-correct. But eventually that wrong course, that misaligned compass, leads […]
Read moreLatest Posts
Fantasy Worldbuilding: Drinks and Weapons
All right folks, here’s where I lift up the hood and show you the cheat codes… Er, that metaphor is rather mangled. The point is, I’m going to show you […]
Read morePerils of the Writer: Heroic Support and Infrastructure
Most of what I write essentially involves one or two key characters who, through choice or circumstance, have to go out and do hard, heroic things. Of course, sometimes these […]
Read morePerils of the Writer: Writing on Shuffle
I am not a NaNoWriMo person. I don’t think it’s a bad thing to do, per se, but I do think it sets an artificial ideal of breakneck pace over, […]
Read morePerils of the Genre Writer: Prophecy and Inevitability
Given my frequent mentions of Edding as, if not an influence, at least an inspiration, it’s no surprise that I think about prophecy as a tool in the fantasy writers’ […]
Read moreWorldbuilding: Shortcuts for Language Building
When it comes to worldbuilding, especially fantasy worldbuilding, constructing a language is the sort of thing you sometimes feel you ought to do, especially since Tolkien set the standard by […]
Read moreDueling Query Letters!
This time around we have two variant query letters for the same project, courtesy of Amy Judd. Let’s see what we can do for her: Version One: Genieve Hart is […]
Read moreAnalysis of a SF/F Query Letter
This week we have a brave soul who is willing to have his query letter given a public critique. And there’s a good lesson in here about the overall challenges […]
Read morePerils of the Writer: Query Letters
I brought up query letters last week as part of the whole Heinlein’s Five Rules posts, so it’s worth talking about them. Query letters are evil. I’ve never met a […]
Read moreHeinlein’s Fifth Rule
Final installment in our Heinlein Rules. To backtrack: First, Second, Third and Fourth. Heinlein gives his Fifth Rule as such: RULE #5: YOU MUST KEEP THE WORK ON THE MARKET […]
Read more