Intrusion/Urban Fantasy GuideIntrusion fantasy is where fantasy or magical elements intrude into the real world. The Fay fighting their wars in the streets of Minneapolis in Emma Bull's The War for the Oaks or a monster coming to help a bereaved child in Patrick Ness's A Monster Calls.
Grinding AwayThree days in and the sheer mountain of information we’re planning on disseminating is daunting. But we’ve got the site mostly wireframed now, which makes the task at least possible. Chris is a beast at creating guides and articles while I’m massaging the website into shape and editing what he sends me. I’m especially excited about the genre guides. We’ve roughed out a format for them, and I think they’re going to be a resource that our members will return to again and again to keep them on the path to writing success. They’re going to be a bear to …
Epic/High Fantasy GuideEpic fantasy is what most people think of when they mention the fantasy genre. It is the big book, sweeping epic, secondary world fantasy that started (mostly) with Tolkien and his many imitators and continues on today with immensely successful writers like GRR Martin, Robin Hobb, and the independently published Brandon Sanderson.
Fantasy GuideFantasy is one of the “What if…?” genres that characterize speculative fiction. But in fantasy, the answer to that question is always going to be magic, eldritch, otherworldly—but to varying degrees, depending on the subgenre. The subgenres of fantasy are wildly divergent. Pay close attention to the differences, because some are so far from each other, it seems strange to put them in the same overarching genre. A modern urban fantasy book bears almost no resemblance to an epic fantasy. And this is in all particulars, not just the text of the book itself. Cover, blurb, tropes, tense, point of...
Why Do I Need to Write a Series?Most self-published authors who make a significant income write in series of books. And most of them have many books available for readers who like what they do. It’s something beginners in the self-pub world rarely understand. They expect to write one book and have the world discover how brilliant they are and then rake in the money and the fame. But it rarely works that way in traditional publishing, and almost never in self-publishing. This is primarily because there are only so many readers who want what you have to offer, and only a few ways to reach them....
Why Written Well?Why Written Well? We’re so glad you asked, because we love to talk about what we do here. Our goal is to help aspiring authors navigate the world of self-publishing. To achieve that goal, we offer the information authors need in a complete step-by-step process that is organized and easy to understand. We have everything a self-published author needs to know, all compiled by people who make a living writing. Let’s go on a quick tour of the site to show you what we have to offer. Genre Guides Our Genre Guides are the heart of our site. They are …
Don’t Get Rid of All the Negative People in Your LifeLet’s talk about critics. There are a lot of affirmations rolling around the internet about how you must get rid of the negative people in your life. And while this can be helpful to your self-esteem, jettisoning everyone who is the slightest bit critical of your decisions is limiting to self-growth. I am speaking mostly, of course, about writing. My best friends are extremely critical of my work. Hell, I give them my manuscripts with the express intent of them being critical of it. It’s how I improve it. The more I engage with this process, the better my work...
Books to Read for Writing FantasyNobody springs fully formed from the head of Zeus, and none less so than the writer. To attain any skill in writing, we devour thousands of books, write millions of words, and talk endlessly with each other about the act of turning our private thoughts into stories for strangers’ consumption. This list isn’t anywhere near exhaustive, and some of the selections may seem downright strange, but I’m hoping to showcase some books that maybe you haven’t heard of before. Note: I am a big early/middle medieval guy, so a lot of the history books on this list are centered around that time...
Writing that ResonatesResonate. It’s the word I use most often when talking about writing. But what does it really mean? Take the word home. The dictionary definition is “The place where one lives permanently, especially as a member of a family or household.” But that’s not what anyone thinks when they hear the word. They think of their home. What it looks like, what it sounds and smells like, how it feels to be there. They think of the people who occupy it and the often complex emotions they engender. They think about history and family and legacy and…well, you get the …
Taking a Book from Idea to BestsellerThere are bits of advice scattered all over the internet on how to write a book, how to market it, how to outline, how to write a great ending, beginning, middle. But that’s exactly what it is: scattered. Seeing writing, publishing, and marketing a book as a linear process will help you to do everything in the right order without missing a step — and that is something I don’t see anywhere else. I would love to tell how to do every step in this one article, but that would take, well, an entire website. But seeing the steps will help …
