Have you ever read a book where every character sounds the same? How about one where the main character has a set of beliefs that they work into...
3 Tips to Remove Yourself From Your Dialogue
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Prose and Cons
The 3 P’s That Will Help Your Writing Career
More people want careers in writing than actually have them. Many are trying to bridge the gap between wanting and having. There is no magic formula...
What is November?
November is the 11th month of the Julian and Gregorian calendars (or the ninth if you want to use the Roman one). It is the home of Election Day,...
What Makes a Starship Lovable?
The names make you nostalgic. The sight of one stirs dreams of adventure and excitement. Hearing someone talk about them makes you wish you could be...
5 Questions for Building Futuristic Societies
A lot of speculative fiction takes place in a futuristic setting. This brings up the issue of needing to create futuristic societies. There is no...
Ask an Author: 3 Steps for Marketing Your First Book
The subject of marketing your first book came up again recently, and for some reason people are looking for my opinion on it. Wait ... I've...
Coincidences in Storytelling
One of the complaints about fiction is that so many times a plot is predicated on a number of coincidences. If things X, Y, and Z don't all happen...
New Series, New Workflow: Scrivener Ahoy!
I've wanted to try Scrivener for ages, but I've been writing a long-running series. It felt like a bad idea to make a major change to my workflow...
Amazon Pre-Orders for Self-Published Authors
Late last week I got the following email from Amazon: Hello, We're excited to announce that you can now make your new books available for pre-order...
Book Readers’ Ponzi Scheme
There's always someone telling you about a book they read, how great it is, and how you should read it too. Have you ever stopped to consider how...
Never Made it Out of the Shire (Pacing in Fantasy)
The Lord of the Rings is a seminal work of fantasy, but if it suffers from a fault, that fault would be pacing. For those who have read it, how long...
Why Reviews Matter
Amazon is big. Really big. It's a Walmart the size of Rhode Island, with a flea market out back the size of Texas. You're welcome to set up a table...
War in Fantasy
War is a common topic in fantasy. Not every story is about a war, or contains one, but at least in epic fantasy, they are more common than not....
How to Write a Book Review
Are you a shy reviewer? Not sure how to write a book review? When someone tells me they've enjoyed one of my books, my general response is to first...
Worldbuilding Philosophy
I talk a lot about elements of worldbuilding, but rarely about what it is. To me, it all boils down to this: Worldbuilding is the art of creating a...
Get the Earth Out of Your Fictional World
When you write secondary world fiction (anything set on a world you made up), people expect to it to be separated from Earth. To do this, you need...
Outlining for Writers Who Don’t Outline
You're a pantser, a gardener, whatever you want to call it. You don't want to spend days/weeks/months spinning your wheels planning out your novel...
The Author’s Self-Editing Checklist
Do you make stupid mistakes in your writing? I sure do! Like unfinished lumber, your manuscript is going to be full of knots and splinters, cracks,...
How to Write a Character Who’s Wrong
One of the challenges of writing is that you have knowledge that your characters lack. When you write dialogue, you have to narrow your focus to...
Grey Characters: No Moral Absolutes
One of the comments I get about my books is that all the characters are grey. That means that you can't just plunk a black or white hat on them and...
7 Male Love Interests
(note: This is regarding male romantic interests for female characters. There are many potential relationship pairings, and to keep things simple,...
7 Female Love Interests
Note: This is regarding female love interests for male characters. There are many potential relationship pairings, and to keep things simple,...
Amazon Power Tip: How to Give an eBook as a Gift
Have an avid reader of ebooks on your gift list this year? Despair not! Just because you know a voracious reader who has switched over to a Kindle...
How to Write Genius Characters
Who is the brains behind the mastermind? Me? (Uh oh!) It can be intimidating trying to write a character who is smarter than you are. After all,...