Screenplay dialogue: the art of less
In prose, dialogue can meander. Characters can talk the way real people talk — with tangents, repetitions, verbal tics, circling around points before making…
How to write action scenes that work
Action scenes should be the exciting bits. So why are they so often boring on the page? The problem is, and it's one I learned the hard way, that what works…
Getting edited hurts, but do it anyway
I'm currently working with Jo Fletcher on my latest fantasy novel. Jo is a legend — one of the most respected editors in the genre, responsible for launching…
Pacing: when to speed up and when to slow down
Pacing is invisible when it's working. You only notice it when something feels wrong — the story dragging, or rushing past moments that should have weight.…
SFF and the big questions
Science fiction and fantasy get dismissed sometimes. "Escapism." "Genre fiction." Not proper literature that grapples with real issues. Nonsense. SFF has been…
You made it. Now prove it.
I have a love-hate relationship with AI. I love using it to help me build apps and websites, develop and test ideas and proofread blogs etc. But! Something…
Want, wound, need
Every writing book talks about what your character wants. Fewer talk about why that want matters — or what's really driving it underneath. The…
Why screenplay format matters
I have to hold my hand up, I'm a bit of a purist when it comes to screenplay formatting. Screenplay format seems arbitrary. Courier font? Specific margins?…
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…