First drafts are fickle creatures. They are hastily thrown together (especially if you are a “gardener” writer like myself) and need work to form the story that you see in your mind’s eye. Editing your first draft can feel like climbing a mountain without a guidebook – there is simply so much to fix, and … More Editing a First Draft – Top Tips
For me, a Sub-Plot is anything that takes the characters away from the main thread of the story on a merry little jaunt of their own, and then weaves its way back towards the main thread. They’re the plots that as a Gardener writer, there is a pause between coming up with the idea and … More Using Sub-Plots in your Fantasy Story
At some point, you’re going to have to tell your reader the image you see in your mind. You’ll need to try and capture that image, to the best you can, in your words so that when your reader reads those words, they come up with the same image. At least that is what you … More How to use description in your fantasy novel
It’s November, which means its Nanowrimo month for many people. Good luck to those who are tackling the mammoth 50,000 words in a month, and also good luck to those who might be doing their own variation of Nanowrimo with a different word count. If you’re new to writing, or new to using word counts … More How To: Smash 50k words in a month
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
Sub-Plots are a key part of any story, especially a fantasy one. You have to keep a careful eye on how many you have and what purpose they are serving in order to keep a handle on your story. This month in my newsletter Writing on Caffeine, I’ll be looking at why Sub-Plots are … More How To: Writing Sub-Plots
Got multiple WIPs on the go? Struggling to get anywhere with any one project? Here’s my top three reasons why you need to pick a “focus” project – a WIP that you work on exclusively until you hit your next writing goal. … More Why you need a “Focus” Project
Endings of a story have a special place in my writerly heart. Finding the right ending to a story, especially a longer project that I’ve been working on for a while, is a large reason why I write. So, how do you write a good ending? I’ve got some top three tips to consider when … More How To: Endings
In one of my blogs last month, one of the reasons I said why writing is a Good Hobby is because you don’t need all the time in the world to sit down and write. Today, I want to talk about how to write when you’re busy, and my top tips on how you can … More How To: Write when you’re busy
The middle. The point of the story were the story finds its feet. It’s also the point where the writer of the story can lose their mind. Middles, I’ve found are always a tough nut to crack. They’re the point where your motivation is beginning to wane, the point where pacing becomes more than just … More How To: Middles
Alex.J.Cobalt 