Sep 1, 2014 | Cephrael's Hand, fantasy, Imagination & Creativity, Plot Development, Story Concepts, Tropes, World-Building, writing |
A reader recently wrote to me and asked, how do you write a novel when every time you start (oh, so many times!) you get a few chapters in and suddenly become deluged with doubts? And how, when you’re so well-read in the genre that you’ve read it all and seen it all a...
Jul 28, 2014 | Book Three, Imagination & Creativity, Philosophy, Plot Development, World-Building, Writer's Block, writing |
There’s something known as writing yourself into a corner. This phrase might be used to describe any number of authorial ailments, from the scene that mystifyingly “doesn’t work,” to the sinking realization—many chapters in—that your entire plot resolution hinges on...
Apr 22, 2014 | Book Three, fantasy, Imagination & Creativity, Paths of Alir, Philosophy, World-Building, writing |
Last week I finished penning the third book in my epic fantasy series and sent it off to beta readers. Paths of Alir was two years in the planning/writing, and the final clocked in around 300,000 words. (It is an epic fantasy. Providing a series is well-crafted,...
Apr 29, 2013 | Character Development, Imagination & Creativity, Plot Development, Writer's Block, writing |
As writers, we innately tend to know when our story is working and when it isn’t. I like to describe this awareness as a sort of resonance, but it could just as easily be compared to an engine with all pistons firing. A skilled mechanic can tell just by listening when...
Mar 12, 2013 | fantasy, Imagination & Creativity, Philosophy, Plot Development, Reviews, Uncategorized, World-Building, writing |
I’ve been struggling recently with a situation that arose from the number of positive—yes, I just said positive—reviews I’ve received on my latest novel (which, by the way, was recently selected as a Finalist for the ForeWord Book of the Year – yay!)...
Jan 11, 2013 | Cephrael's Hand, fantasy, Imagination & Creativity, Reviews, writing |
My cat Sam sits with me when I write, whether I’m working on my laptop or composing on the piano. He likes being around when I’m being creative, which is pretty cool, considering he’s a cat. As a child, the idea of having a cat for a writing...