Magic systems. Any good fantasy (in my opinion), needs a magic system. I love worlds with intriguing magic, and the ability to throw in a good few battle magic scenes. A good magic system, used well, can make a story stand out in the crowd of other books. Especially those with magic systems that are … More How To: Creating Magic Systems
I’ve previously written about choosing a POV for your story, and how many POVs you want to use in your story. This month, as my first topic for my new newsletter, I’m picking a key topic for any writing project: who is my main character? You can have more than 1 main character, and I … More How To: Choosing Main Characters
Any information contained in this article should be construed as legal advice and is not intended to be a substitute the appropriate legal or other professional advice in your jurisdiction. If you collect emails or names for your newsletters, then you will likely be aware of the numerous rules around collecting names and sending emails. … More How To: What is GDPR?
Points of View, or POVs, can be a powerful tool when writing fantasy or science fiction stories. Not only is it common across both genres, it allows you to explore aspects of a story that would otherwise be lost if you were to use one point of view. However, POVs also introduce an exponential level … More How To: Multiple POVs
You sit down, open up your current project and…. Nothing happens. You try to re-read the previous night’s work, working your way into the scene. But no ideas spark, and the words you try and write just feel boring. Dull. Ever had this? Then, like all writers you’ve had writer’s block! The topic of today’s … More How To: Beat Writer’s Block
Any information contained in this article should be construed as legal advice and is not intended to be a substitute the appropriate legal or other professional advice in your jurisdiction. So, writing a novel is one part of the process, but actually making it a living? That’s a whole other ballgame. Whilst I’m still working … More How To: The Business of Writing
There are hundreds upon hundreds of tools out there on the internet to teach you the fundamental parts of a story. However, I want to tell you a secret- Come closer. Closer still. Listening? You don’t have to follow all of those plot structures all of the time. Now, don’t get me wrong, there is … More How To: Basics of Plotting
This edition of my “How To” series I’m looking at creatures & animals that populate your fantasy world – how to make them unique, how to make them fit within your world, and how to make them relevant to your story. You don’t need to build every detail One of the things about worldbuilding is … More “How To” – Creatures & Animals
The weather. Not something that would normally be considered paramount in a worldbuilding session. It’s a thing that, unless fundamental to your story (e.g. Stormlight Archives’ “Highstorms”), it is part of your patchwork of the world that enriches the world of your story. However, if you think about your day-to-day life, you still decide a … More "How To" – Weather
As January brings us into a new year and a new decade, I thought it would be nice to chance up some of my blog pieces. Over the years I’ve been writing, I’ve collected various bits of information that are squirrelled away in notebooks and in my mind that might come in handy to other … More How To: Character Drivers
