Knocking People Out: Easier In Fiction Than In Real Life
Nicola Alter
It’s a common scenario in many kinds of fiction, including fantasy: a character passes out, either because they’ve been knocked on the head or injured or drugged, and the world…
writing advice
Blurring The Lines
Aaron Miles
So I started reading the Dragon Prince trilogy by Melanie Rawn. It’s part of the classical fantasy cannon, and the books have been on my TBR pile for ages. While…
How Ideas Become Stories
One of the most common questions an author will hear is, “Where do you get your ideas from?” As if that was all you needed to write a successful book.…
The A-Zs of Worldbuilding: Building a Fictional World From Scratch by Rebekah Loper
JC Kang
Though I usually don’t confess what I am about to tell you in polite circles, I imagine it will be a badge of honor on Fantasy-Faction: Once upon a time,…
Taming MICE – The MICE Quotient and Storytelling
Fantasy is a genre of strange and diverse stories covering countless themes, concepts and ideas, in order to gain a better understanding of how our stories work and the nature…
Reaching Outside the Genre
The fantasy genre is a curious beast, its wide reach covering a range of topics and themes. It has stories about growing up, stories about overcoming problems, stories about slaying…
The Problem with Abandoning the “Strong Female Character”
A. M. Justice
Yet another descriptor has been caught in the verboten term net. Recently, several essays have appeared arguing that people should stop using the term “strong female character” (SFC) or “strong…
Creating a Fantasy Race
The fantasy genre is filled with an astonishing array of wildly different races that populate our stories. Some are drawn from older myths and legends like elves and dwarfs while…
Locked Up Abroad: Lessons From the Streets of Fantasy – Guest Blog by K. S. Villoso
K. S. Villoso
You ever wonder if a fantasy novel can actually help you survive in a real life situation? I don’t mean teach you about sword-fighting and how to slay dragons, or…
Don’t Show, Don’t Tell – Guest Blog by K. C. Alexander
K. C. Alexander
We’ve heard it, right: “show, don’t tell.” A four-word reminder to make sure your work is rich with description, follow-through, actions rather than (in a non-literal sense) words. But what…
November: To NaNo or Not to NaNo?
Geoff Matthews
To NaNo, or not to NaNo? That is the question! And the answer is – yes you should! Take a look around at the people near you this November. What…
Swinging the Scythe
Death is an essential part of many of our stories, whether it’s just the threat of it to provide peril for our protagonists, or having some of the characters actually…
