Every character needs a strong, clear voice to help bring the reader into their world. Whether it’s an accent or turn of phrase, every person has a unique way of communicating – the way a person talks can project their internal world to the world at large. A character’s “voice” is their way of interacting … More Giving your Character a unique voice
Identifying how power works in your world is important because, let’s be honest, power is what drives society. Who has it, who doesn’t have it, and what those in power do with that power impact swathes of society and the people within it. It constrains some actions and allows others, creating a complex web of … More Top Tips for creating power structures in your fantasy books
If you’ve read anything about character building, you’ve probably heard about the term “antagonist” before. You might even know who in your book is going to be set up to be the antagonist, but you might not know where to start with building them. This is where understanding the purpose of an antagonist in your … More The Purpose of an Antagonist
There are lots of different ways you can define the concept of a main character. They’re the ones with the Points of View (POVs), they’re the ones with the most chapters, or they’re the ones that the story revolves around. A main character, for me, is a little bit of all of those three. Importantly, … More What makes a Main Character?
As a fantasy reader and writer, I’m most comfortable in the world of 3rd person POV. However, if you’re writing a fantasy epic, how do you manage multiple POVs in your novel? Here are my top three tips: 1) be picky with your POVs2) write a unique character voice for each POV3) use your POVs … More Top 3 tips for writing Multiple POVs
Consider how you would talk to your partner, your sibling, or someone at work. You might have different jokes that Having a unique world starts with the geography of that world. The geography of your world will dictate the climate of your world, your character’s homes and cities, and aspects of the way they interact … More How To: Creating your world’s geography
Having a distinctive character voice for each character can help your reader understand their secret inner words. Not just through dialect, but the type of words they use and who they use those words too. Consider how you would talk to your partner, your sibling, or someone at work. You might have different jokes that … More How To: A Character’s Voice
So why are antagonists important? I think every writer ponders this question at some point during their creative project. I personally find myself pondering this during the editing stage, when the first draft is mapped out and now I need to work out why everything happens. Antagonists are important because they not only provide the … More How To: Writing the Antagonist
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
Alex.J.Cobalt 