It’s tempting to “soften” our writing with words that weaken its impact. While it’s been said that writing is an act of baring one’s soul to the world and is thus inherently intimidating, we do ourselves no favours by being shy about it.
To that end, here are five words you can chop right now to strengthen your writing. Click to read more.
As a writer of fantasy, I often find people turning up their noses when I say I write about dragons and magic. I feel it’s unwarranted. But how did it get to be this way?
Check out this great article I read on WIRED:
Why Are So Many People Snobby About Fantasy Fiction?
I’ve been quiet about my sequel for awhile and I’d like to update you fine folks on my progress. I’ve rip-tear-and-repaired the plot, re-conceptualized the character arcs, and I’m now in the process of solidifying the timeline. Since the launch of my first book, Blood of Midnight: The Broken Prophecy, I’ve learned a lot about what makes a story run smoothly and how to keep my readers on their toes. I’m really eager to bring you a novel even better than the first!
In other news, I will soon be launching my YouTube channel to serve up some more literary goodies with a more interactive medium. More news on that later.
Finally, I’ll be attending a Beltain Fair at the Montreal West Curling Club at which I’ll have a table. If you’re in the area and fancy snagging one of my paperbacks, swing on by! Also, check out some of the other local authors and activities. I for one am seriously in the mood to celebrate after a long, cold winter.
Catch you later guys and as always, thanks for stopping by!
I saw this and just had to link. Say hello to Story Tropes Bingo! Below is just a sample. Click for the whole article!
Your goody two-shoes hero doesn’t want to kill people, so he just knocks them out. Sounds pretty straightforward right? Except it isn’t. Do you have any idea what it takes to render someone unconscious with blunt force trauma? Before I read this article, I didn’t! What’s more, you might not want to. It’s all too easy to die from the after effects of being hit on the head.
A word of warning: this is a frank account of the realities of head injury. If violence makes you squirm, you may not want to click.
Now brace yourself guys, this is gonna hurt.
Sometimes I don’t know what’s going on with my muse. All the same, have a little poetry.
A Page in Wait
White-breasted and virgin am I.
Lay eyes upon me,
then fingers.Lay me down and press me,
smooth me under-palm.
A hitch in breath
at the first touch
of pen.Thirsty fibres drink, saturate,
darken, flush with ink.
Pant with each scratch upon me.
Faster now.Cover me, fill me to my edges.
Change me, claim me.
I shall never be the same.
Marked by your hands,
by your will.Satiated?
There is another side to me.
Hi folks! A commenter asked some really interesting questions about how to manage and touch-up alcohol activated paint while you’re at a convention hall or other event. That’s certainly something I’ve experimented with a lot and I’ve found some things that do and don’t work so well.
So, how do you keep looking like this all day long?
It’s easier than you think with just a few tricks. Continue reading “All-Day Wear – Alcohol Activated Body Paint”
Do you know the #MSWL hashtag? If you’re looking to publish traditionally, you should! Welcome to the agent’s wishlist. Most-requested element? Diversity! If you’ve got a story brewing that you think will never sell because it’s “too weird,” take another look. It may just be what agents are craving.
It’s never been a better time to be a fantasy writer.
Why?
The genre is undergoing epic change.
Tolkienesque white straight male hero stories birthed the fantasy genre for our modern age, but now their sword arm weakens. They won’t disappear completely, nor should they, because there’s a place at the feasting table for everyone.
But they won’t ever be the same. They’re changing, and their transmogrification will continue, like a cursed hero who eventually realizes what he thought was a curse is actually a blessing, and so he ceases to seek its lifting and begins to take advantage of it instead.
More importantly, a more diverse kind of fantasy is growing, not as a matter of some deluded form of political correctness, but because people are starving for it. Writers are writing the stories contained within their hearts, and publishers seek to sell books to a hungry audience. And…
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A friend of mine stumbled on this gem and I have to say, as a fantasy writer, I totally slipped up on at least two of these. Looks like I had better buy The Time Traveler’s Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century. More reading? Woe is me, what a terrible fate! Hehehe.
It seems a common thing to screw up on these ten details. Have a look-see! Perhaps you’re guilty too?
Hey This IS My Job 