Character Immersion And The Narrative Voice
Aaron Miles
The protagonists in a story are the reader’s window into the world, and getting the narrative voice of your character right is one of the hardest techniques to master. If…
characters
Is It Better To Be A Blank Slate Or To Have Some Character?
Eric Christensen
In a recent blog post, Mark Lawrence commented on the trade offs of creating a blank slate character versus a more defined, idiosyncratic character. In the post (and I highly…
Trees in Fantasy – Part Two: Trees as Characters
Steff Humm
In the first part of this series we looked at trees as symbolism in fantasy literature. We discussed the role of individual trees in mythologies and creation stories around the…
Five Reasons To Cast Your Novel
Adrian Faulkner
At the heart of every great novel are great characters. Love them or hate them, their escapades propel the narrative forward. Readers empathise with them, cheer them on and cry…
But I Just Want to be Normal!
Victoria Hooper
“Why me?” the protagonist cries as she throws an angry lightning bolt at the sky. Ever since she discovered her superpowers and incredible strength, being a hero has been such…
White vs Grey Heroes
Samuel S. B.
A little while ago, I started a discussion about the grey heroes and the Mr. or Ms. Goody-two shoes. Interestingly, there were a lot of people that supported the entire…
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,…
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: What it Means to be a Female Hero
It’s been nearly eleven years since the end of the cult TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer but after all this time it remains a significant contributor to fantasy history.…
I Don’t Need No Women In My Fantasy
Stephen Deas
My Twitter stream regularly expresses a variety of opinion on the treatment of women, or of people of colour or unconventional sexuality, in genre fiction. This is, I presume to…
Love in SFF – From True Love to BFFs
Leo Elijah Cristea
Romance in SFF is one of those things that people either love, hate, or are frankly indifferent about. I’m not one of those; I will eagerly admit that I love…
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…
Fandom and Creativity
Fandom is a funny thing. It’s also a complex thing with practically a life of its own; an organic organism that has taken on a different meaning besides stereotypical lines…