What We Can Take From Travel Inspiration When Writing Fantasy

So, your first question may be – what the hell has travelling in this world got to do with the fantasy world I’m building from scratch? Can you really use travel inspiration when writing when your novel is set in a world that doesn’t really exist? Well, I firmly...

Society and Governments in Fantasy Worlds

If you are building an entire world from scratch for your fantasy novel(s), then there are lots of big-picture things to think about. One of those things is the overall society structure and types of governments in your fantasy world. The chances are that there will...

Top Tropes in Fantasy to Avoid If You Want a Unique Story

Tropes appear in all genres of course. We couldn’t get to the year 2020 without a few things getting repeated over the years. Tropes in fantasy and cliches aren’t necessarily a bad thing in themselves. Things are repeated and become cliche because a lot of people tend...

Should You Write Under a Pen Name? The Pros and Cons

New to the writing world or new to putting yourself out there? It’s a difficult thing to do, whether you would call yourself a shy person or not. Let’s face it, many of us writers are pretty shy. One way people try to minimise this fear of self-promotion is to...

New Year’s Resolutions for Fiction Writers

Christmas and New Year are over and it’s time to get back to normality for many of us. Oh god. I don’t usually set New Year’s resolutions because I know what I’m like and I never stick with them. Plus I’m usually stuck in some kind of chocolate haze at the end...