Combating Cynicism
Aaron Miles
I was watching the most recent Karate Kid film, the one with Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith – I got to the scene with the chopsticks where Chan is eating…
Aaron Miles
Rise and Fall by Joshua P. Simon
I skimmed through a number of books in my kindle backlog before this review. Some I rejected because there were too many errors in the text, some because the characters…
Different Worlds
One of the many draws of the fantasy genre is the variety of strange and wonderful worlds that the stories take place in. A reader can enter an amazing new…
Keeping Characters Realistic In A Fantasy Setting
The fantasy genre is about the imagination, so it might seem strange to talk about realism in your work, but hear me out. Your characters are what sell your story,…
Elements of Structure
The Hero’s Journey or ‘Monomyth’ is one of the most pervasive and well known formulas in fiction, yet many writers have never even heard of it. The Hero’s Journey is…
Archetypes vs Stereotypes
What is the difference between a great character and a placeholder? Why is one warrior or wizard better than the other? They might serve exactly the same purpose in the…
How To Create A Civilisation
You’ve listened to the pounding hooves of nomadic Dothraki as the Khalasar sweeps across the grass plains, you’ve looked out from the heights of Minas Tirith over the white city…
Are Good And Evil Outdated?
The fantasy genre is constantly evolving, new trends spring up, new ideas are explored, and old ones are laid to rest in cliché rich ground. With the recent breed of…
On Character Construction
When writing in the fantasy genre, it’s all too easy to get caught up in the wonder of the world: the magic, the monsters, the bleak dungeons and shining cites…
Soon I Will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman
So, with the release of Steelheart I thought it might be interesting to look at another piece of superhero fiction from the past. Published in 2007, Soon I Will Be…
Tactical vs. Tactile: Writing Fantasy Battles
Like many people who read fantasy novels, one of the reasons I love the genre is because it contains epic battles with vast armies fighting it out. Whether it’s more…
Dissolution by Richard Lee Byers
Before I ever heard of Grimdark as a concept, before I ever learned of Martin’s host of murderous and self involved characters, before I watched Abercrombie’s Glokta hack up an…