A selection of my favourite blogs, short stories and flash fictions, curated just for you!
Reunited
“Can you stop flicking that bloody coin,” Regan said, “it’s annoying.” Chasey flicked the coin up high again, catching it as it fell back towards her hand. “No,” she replied, “it helps me think.” Regan huffed, shuffling on the hard seat of the cell to try and get comfortable. They were lucky they hadn’t been separated this time. Lucky more…
My thoughts on The Poppy War
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 is how I found The…
The Purpose of an Antagonist
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 story is important. If you…
My Favourite Writing Soundtracks
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 Creed III My all time…
What makes a Main Character?
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, they’re the ones that drive…
Why you should read The Shadow of What was Lost
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 like a collection of all…
No Fighting, Not Anymore
“We’re not fighting, not anymore.” Geiler held out her hand and dropped her gun on the floor. It rang out across the silent cavern with a resounding thud. “We’re not fighting?” Cenrath’s words rumbled at Gelier, a warning. Don’t take this too far. Gelier squared her shoulders. She could feel the eyes of her squadron behind her, watching her every…
Why writing novels is like baking sourdough
I spent a significant part of 2020 learning to bake sourdough. Like most people in the UK, when lockdown was first announced once way to relive stress was baking. Now, I normally bake cakes weekly, but bread? That was something new. I’ve written far longer than I’ve baked bread, but in doing something new, I’ve learnt a number of valuable…
Reclaiming Ara’banthe
Fathie pulled her headphones over her ears. The noise of the city, the thrum of the cars and the rhythmic thudding of footfalls were drowned out in an instant. Breathe, she told herself. Everything would be okay, after today. Everything would be just as it should be. She turned on her music, and the sound of gentle guitars drifted into…
After the Battle (A Teacup Story)
“How are you doing, now?” Yinla asked. Oaleth poked the fire with the end of a stick. The smoke curled upwards into the night sky. “That’s a loaded question,” he replied, looking up at the stars above. They twinkled back, quietly watching over the world below. The world they had just saved. “Alright,” Oaleth said, “I suppose.” His wife stared…
Alex.J.Cobalt 