Start here: On Writing Fantasy, Building Systems, and Understanding How People Think
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The worlds we want to live in
Part of why we read fantasy and science fiction is the worlds. Not just the stories that happen in them — the worlds themselves. Some of them feel so real…
Keep your world-building hidden
You've spent weeks on your world. The history, the politics, the trade routes, the calendar system, the seventeen noble houses and their complicated feuds. You…
Screenwriting isn't writing (but it is)
If you come to screenwriting from prose — novels, short stories — you'll need to unlearn almost everything. The skills that make you a good novelist can…
Why we reread (and which books deserve it)
There are too many books. More published every year than anyone could read in a lifetime. The to-be-read pile grows faster than we can shrink it. And yet we…
Finish the thing
Most people who start writing don't finish. It's not a lack of talent. It's not a lack of ideas. It's the sheer difficulty of pushing through when the initial…
Endings that satisfy (and how to write them)
The ending is the last thing readers experience. It colours everything that came before. A great ending elevates the whole book. A weak one can ruin it. So why…
Opening lines that grabbed us and wouldn't let go
A great opening line is a promise. It sets the tone, raises a question, creates a voice. It makes you need to read the next sentence. Here are some SFF openers…
Your villain is boring
Keeping the villain theme going, I find that the antagonist is often the weakest link in SFF stories. Writers lavish attention on their protagonist, craft…
Villains we love to hate (and what makes them unforgettable)
The great villains stay with us. Sometimes more than the heroes. What is it about certain antagonists that makes them unforgettable? ## The charming ones…