You know the old joke: the light at the end of the tunnel is an oncoming train. That’s how it can feel sometimes when you have a deadline. Having a deadline helps you see the light at the end of the tunnel; at least you know where you’re going and have an ETA for when […]
New Traditions
May 15, 2011 by
Writing fantasy makes you take a second look at many things you take for granted in your everyday life. When you create a fantasy world, you ask a lot of “what if” questions. The answers lead you to realize how many things in our society work the way they do because of tradition. For example, […]
The Principles of Alchemy
April 21, 2011 by
This post is part of a series I did to describe how magic works in the Vaetra Chronicles. If you would like to read the other posts as well, check out the Theory of Vaetra category. [SCROLL LABEL]Sources and Flows of Vaetra, Volume 4The Principles of AlchemyLevel: ApprenticeAuthor: Toman Retarine, Professor of Alchemy [SCROLL CONTENT] […]
Potions and Lycanthropy
April 18, 2011 by
As I continue to work through the Snowflake Method and develop my story, I occasionally get side-tracked by ideas for “how stuff works” in my story world. On the one hand, it’s exciting to add detail that breathes life into this fantasy world I’m building, but on the other hand, I have to be careful […]
The Snowflake Experiment, Week 3
April 9, 2011 by
Over the past two weeks, I’ve continued experimenting with Randy Ingermanson’s Snowflake Method. I’m working on step 5 (of 10), and I continue to be impressed with how well it is helping me develop my story. Character Summaries Backtracking a little, when I posted about week 1 of the experiment, I had made it to […]
Crossing Swords
April 4, 2011 by
This has been an interesting week for me. I’ve been actively commenting on some of the blogs I follow, which has resulted in a few virtual conversations with other writers. One of my favorite fiction writing blogs is MagicalWords.net. The site is actually a collaboration of multiple published authors, most of whom are contributors to […]
The Snowflake Experiment, Week 1
March 28, 2011 by
Last week I posted that I was going to try a story architecture method called The Snowflake Method. This technique is the brainchild of writing instructor and author Randy Ingermanson. He offers a free article on his web site that explains how it works. I could immediately see how it would help me move forward […]
Discovering What You Don’t Know
March 20, 2011 by
This past week has been cathartic. Using the “seat of the pants” writing approach got me through the first section of my novel, about 10,000 words worth. But finishing that first section brought me to a literary crossroads: what’s next? I realized that I had no idea. I’m feeling pretty good about my start. Or […]
The Principles of Sorcery
March 16, 2011 by
This post is part of a series I did to describe how magic works in the Vaetra Chronicles. If you would like to read the other posts as well, check out the Theory of Vaetra category. [SCROLL LABEL] Sources and Flows of Vaetra, Volume 2 The Principles of Sorcery Level: Initiate Author: Bartrand Longbotul, Professor […]
Writing without a Safety Net
March 11, 2011 by
When learning how to do something new, learning what you should avoid is often just as important as learning what you should pursue. It’s good to pay attention to those “7 Blunders” articles. Learning to write fiction is no different in this respect. However, as with most disciplines, a lot of the advice you find […]
