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…
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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…
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…
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…
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…