Start here: On Writing Fantasy, Building Systems, and Understanding How People Think
New to my work? Read this first.
Trust your reader
One of the hardest lessons for science fiction and fantasy writers is learning to trust the reader. You've invented this incredible world. You understand its…
A guide to science fiction subgenres
Like fantasy, science fiction has fractured into countless subgenres. The spaceship adventures of the Golden Age are still here, but they've been joined by…
Films vs. Novels
I spent most of my writing life in screenwriting before transitioning to novels. I assumed the skills would transfer smoothly. They did not. The most important…
Do you actually want to write?
An uncomfortable question worth contemplating is, do you actually want to write, or have you absorbed that desire from somewhere else? The French thinker René…
Why your dialogue sounds fake (and how to fix it)
Dialogue is one of those things that feels like it should be easy. We all talk. We've been listening to conversations our entire life. How hard can it be to…
One word at a time
I've always believed that the best way to understand something is to build it. When I wanted to understand political ideology, I built Political Circle. When I…
Pantsing is just writing a very long, expensive outline
There's a long-running debate in writing circles between “plotters” and “pantsers.” Plotters outline their stories in advance. Pantsers fly by the seat…
Magic systems we love (and what makes them work)
There's a particular pleasure in understanding how magic works. Not just accepting 'it's magic' but grasping the rules, the costs, the limitations. When a…
The mistakes everyone makes in their first chapter
First chapters are hard. They're ones I always spend the most time worrying at. You're trying to do everything at once: establish character, set up the world,…