Dark Fantasy GuideDark fantasy covers a lot of ground. From fantasy intended mostly to frighten to fantasy with nihilistic or depressing themes, it is the subgenre where bad things happen to good people and the light is never guaranteed to drive off the dark by the end of the tale.
Intrusion Fantasy BlueprintIntrusion fantasies come in two different types, depending on the protagonist:
The Fish Out of Water —The protagonist begins with no knowledge of the fantasy element that is going to be introduced
The Skilled Practitioner —The protagonist is already fully immersed in the new (to the reader) culture the fantasy element has engendered.
Fantasy Study MaterialsIf you want to write in a genre, you have to read that genre. Experts in the industry are consistent with their advice that you must be an avid reader of a genre to write well in it. The books listed below will teach you about the genre and help you get a feel for all the different things you can do with it.
Intrusion/Urban Fantasy Study MaterialsIf you want to write in a genre, you have to read that genre. Experts in the industry are consistent with their advice that you must be an avid reader of a genre to write well in it. The books listed below will teach you about the genre and help you get a feel for all the different things you can do with it.
Editing ToolsEditing tools? Like… what does that even mean? Is there something more than my keyboard and an old copy of The Elements Of Style? Yes, dear reader, technology is amazing. While we hate content writing programs using A.I. (they’re taking our jobs!), there are a ton of intelligent software programs that can make your revision and error-checking process much faster. Some simply find typos or offer minor grammar suggestions, while others can do an in-depth read-through of your work. Try out a few, most of them have a free version. You might find something that saves you hundreds of hours...
Thriller Study MaterialsBack to Thriller Guide Remember to read the articles in the Essentials section. These cover all the essential skills you’ll need as a self-published author. They are not just for beginners either. They go in depth on how to successfully write, publish, and market your own books. Online Resources Learn to write thrillers from David Baldacci or Dan Brown at Masterclass.com Read this Reedsy post on how to write a thriller. Go to this giant thriller writing conference. Books to Read If you want to write thrillers, you must read them. Experts in the industry are consistent with their advice...
Advertising BasicsThere are a lot of different places to advertise, and we have articles about the specifics of many of them. However, platforms change, get updated, gain and lose pieces of functionality. If you understand the basic concepts in this Essential, then you will be able to adapt to whatever platform that suits your books the best. The important thing to remember is that everything works together. There are a lot of parts in an ad campaign, and if any one of them is subpar, the possibility of profit plummets. Profitability The main thing an ad has to be is profitable....
Thriller Story BuilderBack to Thriller Guide Our Story Builders are fun and easy and can be a big help in getting your work off the ground. Just fill in the boxes to get the elevator pitch for your story. Then copy and paste it into another document and expand on it. Use the information farther down the page for ideas on how to expand on your basic story outline. This will be the blueprint for your story, and you can add to it as you go. Some writers even use them as a starting point for a full outline, simply adding more and...
Thriller BlueprintBack to Thriller Guide Please note that there are a number of thrillers that don’t follow this blueprint exactly, and most don’t follow it perfectly. If your book will still be thrilling and interest readers without one of these pieces, or with some of them done differently or in a different order, feel free to do your own thing. This blueprint is just so that you can understand the basic format that your readers will expect from the genre. ACT 1 – The People And The Problems The Hook The hook can be anywhere from 200 to 2,000 words, and...
Should I Write Thrillers?Back to Thriller Guide Do you love a brilliant hero trying to save the world before he’s blown to bits by the time bomb in his shorts? Then you should be writing thrillers. If you read a lot of them, you already know the tropes to use, the cliches to avoid, and the basic structures they follow. If you haven’t read many thrillers, and just think they might be a good way to make money, you should go read a bunch of them and then come back. You must be very familiar with, and even love, thrillers if you are...
