Consciously or unconsciously, we write with someone in mind. Writing as a medium is ultimately about communication. Fiction falls under this, too, but with the added pressure of storytelling. Fiction is not about pure information, but about using information to push a story out there using whatever tools the author has at their disposable: prose, …
Today, I’m going to be writing what will be my 12th novel (and yet another epic fantasy) since I first stopped treating my writing like a test of my worth. As I’ve talked about before, my decision to self-publish was the beginning of my resolve not to put my future in somebody else’s hands. I …
Read more “Epic Fantasy Ramblings: If You Love Your Writing, It’s Good Enough”
Story–yes, even an epic fantasy story–is about change. A boy becomes a king. A tyrant repents. A kingdom rises; another falls. There are thousands of ways to tell a story, but the fundamentals remain the same. Not every series requires chronological reading. Some stories are self-contained. I’ve written series like these–Blackwood Marauders in particular is …
A quote from Le Guin (out of the many from her that helped shaped me into the writer I am today) goes: Socrates said, “The misuse of language induces evil in the soul.” He wasn’t talking about grammar. To misuse language is to use it the way politicians and advertisers do, for profit, without taking …
Read more “On Honesty and Integrity in Writing (and Reading) Stories”
Fast-paced epic fantasy is an oxymoron. I’ve been thinking about this over my break, when I finally got into the Witcher franchise after 8 years of trying. I think I can safely say at this point in my career that I know how to write plots. I slow them down for a number of reasons–mainly, …
Read more “Epic Fantasy Ramblings: The Irony of Fast-Paced Epic Fantasy”
