Graceling by Kristin Cashore
Kit
Imagine a world where people are given special talents; those so blessed are called Gracelings, and their talents are perfect. The Grace could be anything: cooking, horseback riding, swimming, hand-to-hand…
Middles – Part 1: Mushy Middle Syndrome
Amy Rose Davis
You can read the rest of the Story Structure series here: Part 1 – Story Structure: Beginnings Part 2 – Revisiting the Three-Act Structure Part 3 – In the Beginning……
Unicorn City
ChrisMB
Last week, I had the privilege of attending the Philadelphia Comic Con with my dad. While a smaller convention than the better-known ones at Chicago, San Diego, and New York,…
Sandman Slim: A Novel by Richard Kadrey
Chloe Smith
Vacation season is coming and it’s time to give yourself a break, stretch out by the pool or on the beach, and distract yourself with a relaxing summertime read about…demons,…
Winter has come… And gone.
Overlord
“Winter is Coming” – it is all we heard for months and months before April’s premiere episode of Game of Thrones. HBO really went for it – they literally shoved…
The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
Jennie Ivins
In a forest that time wouldn’t touch, was a creature who would live forever. A creature of immortal beauty and purity: a unicorn. She spent her days admiring her own…
Rhythm and Time – Part 2: Add a Little Harmony with Adjectives
Two weeks ago, I started my series on rhythm and time in writing by talking about verbs. I think verbs are the bass line for all writing, because if you…
Legend by David Gemmell
Alister Davison
I first read Legend twenty-five years ago, shortly after its original release. I was sixteen at the time, and the heroic tale of an old man coming out of retirement…
Ravenmarked by Amy Rose Davis
When Braedan, the heir regent of the kingdom of Taura, decides to declare himself king after his father’s death, he finds more than just a few upset nobles standing in…
Story Structure – Part 3: In the Beginning…
You can find parts one and two of this series here: Part 1: Story Structure: Beginnings Part 2: Story Structure: Revisiting the Three-Act Structure In the Beginning… There is perhaps…
Surfing the Network – Part Two
Sandra Norval
If you missed Part One of this article you can read it here. So I’m sitting on a ledge, a little way up Mount Publication, eating some lunch. I’m checking…
The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander
This is the first in a semi-occasional series that examines classic or influential YA and children’s fantasy—the sorts of books that fantasy fans remember as the stories that brought them…