The Poppy War by R.F.Kuang is a book I first stumbled upon when meandering through the quiet bookshelves of Waterstones on a “just let’s have a look and not buy anything” book hunts. Whenever I go to bookstores, I like to try get a flavour of the book from the first few pages – it … More My thoughts on The Poppy War
Whether you’re new to fantasy writing or you’re an old hat, you’ve probably come across advice to use writing warmup exercises to get the creative juices flowing. I never used to use exercises before I started a writing session, but more recently I’ve found them really useful to not only try out new ideas, but … More Why Writing Warmups are Important
For me, writing is intrinsically linked to music. What music I am listening to will dictate the outcome of a particular scene or character, and some characters even have particular albums dedicated to their Points of View! Here are my top five writing soundtracks at the moment, and why I enjoy them so much: Assassins … More My Favourite Writing Soundtracks
Armed with a new kindle and a resolution to read some more books, I went on a buying spree at the start of 2021 for some new fantasy novels and world that I hadn’t read before. Having joined “bookstagram” over the pandemic, I’ve been exposed to a lot more diverse authors and stories that I … More What I thought about Jade City
The other month, I ventured back into the bowels of a Bookshop for the first time since Lockdown. I say the bowels of the bookshop, because fantasy books are always located somewhere in a cellar or right at the back of the shop, tucked away underneath a heading of science fiction and comic novels. It’s … More Why you should read The Shadow of What was Lost
It’s not just all about the negative when it comes to writer’s block. In fact, I think writer’s block can be a blessing in certain circumstances. We’re too hard on our creative selves to create, create, created, and sometimes there is a point where you have to stop. You might need a break Last month … More Writers Block can be a Blessing
The fantasy genre may be a vast, magical landscape, but there are always three core areas of any fantasy story that are key – worldbuilding, magic systems, and themes. If you’ve always wanted to try your hand at writing a fantasy story, these areas are a great place to begin your fantasy journey – check … More The Basics of a Fantasy Story
Wordcounts are a stable of any writer’s life. They’re an excellent way to measure progress through a draft, and a good way of working out how your pacing is working through a story. But they’re not everything, and here are my three reasons why: You can pick other goals I’ve spoken before about writing goals, … More Wordcounts aren’t everything
‘Sticks and stones my break my bones, but words will never hurt me’. It’s an old adage, one which is rattled out again and again to try and say how words are only mere words and therefore are 100% less efficient at ruining someone’s good day than throwing a few stones at them. However, here … More Choosing the Right Words
Where can you find inspiration? Well, I’ve got some top tips on how you can find inspiration when you can’t find any – you can check out my guest blog on Inspired Lines Editing right here! Photo Credit: Shelby Miller on Unsplash
Alex.J.Cobalt 