This month in my newsletter, Writing on Caffeine, I’m talking about Antagonists– why they’re important, how you should approach them, and what benefits you can get by considering them as a wholly rounded character. Are you ready to delve into the work of your favourite character’s main foil? If so, Sign up to my Newsletter … More Writing on Caffeine – April Edition
This month in my newsletter, Writing on Caffeine, I’m talking about worldbuilding, particularly magic systems. Taking some of the advice from Brandon Sanderson (of whom I am a huge fan!), I’ll take you through some key points in how to build a magic system, and what to take into consideration for your wider worldbuilding. Want … More Writing on Caffeine – February Edition
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
This month in my newsletter, Writing on Caffeine, I’m talking about Main Characters. You know, the ones we pick to tell our story, then they grow whole personalities and take the plot careering off track? Yeh, those ones. I’m talking about how to pick your cast – not in terms of number but what purpose … More Writing on Caffeine – January Edition
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
One of my loves of fantasy is seeing so many lady heroines kicking ass and taking names. Not all of them are the typical “warrior” archetypes, but each of them has their own type of strength which really impacted upon me when I read it. My current WIP has a number of female protagonists. A … More Why female protagonists are important in the fantasy genre
“It’s just a book.” If there is one phrase that incites rage in me in is that one. The fact that a book, a story, is nothing more than just a story. It’s just made up. It’s not got meaning. It’s not real. I fundamentally disagree. To assume that because something is not real it … More Fantasy to Inspire
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
Alex.J.Cobalt 