It’s not unheard of for fantasy fiction writers to spend a lot of time and effort on world-building. Character-building, on the other hand, often takes a back seat, resulting in one-dimensional archetypes instead of a cast with personality and motivations. Imagine the depth and complexity fantasy fiction characters might have if writers spent as much time as RPG powergamers did figuring out the optimal build for their characters.
These character builds are often developed through mathematical …Read the rest»
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“We’re here.” Pelban halted before the unlit porch of the old house and turned to face me. The play of shadows cast his weathered features in ominous planes. I frowned, my brow furrowing for just a moment before I smoothed my features. Pelban’s smile told me he saw anyway. “Trust me, Keldon,” he said. I nodded. He walked up to the door and knocked once, twice, and four times. I heard the sliding of a bolt thrown open and the click of a key turning in a lock. The door swung open with a creak and a dark-haired, middle-aged aylar woman poked her head out.
“Can I help you, sirs?” …Read the rest»
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I write for a living. I spend eight hours a day, Monday through Friday, sitting at a desk writing. I write business requirements, use cases, test cases, and technical documentation. It is a rare occasion that I finish my day feeling like a writer, however. No sense of euphoria or completeness, as though I’d found my calling.
My lunch time writing has become a highlight of my work day, and I’ve enjoyed a lot of progress on my fantasy fiction projects. “Relvan’s Rescue” is finished and making the rounds. I finished the second chapter of Shattered Amulet and am pounding out scenes from chapter three. …Read the rest»
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I’m aborting my foray into RPG blogging. I am often overcome with a variety of creative impulses, and tend to follow too many of them, until I find my resources stretched thin and in danger of snapping. The last couple months have been a time of assessment and pruning, until my course realigned with the goals I had the ability and the opportunity to accomplish.
One of the features of my other blog was a weekly fantasy fiction serial based on the 4E D&D game I started playing in. My intent was to sharpen my writing muscles with short format pieces. I want to continue the exercise, so I’m going to move the feature over to this blog. Starting next Friday, I will reprint the first post from the …Read the rest»
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Awards serve two primary purposes: to stroke the ego of the award-winner and attempt to raise awareness. There are three major awards for fantasy fiction: the World Fantasy award, the Hugo, and the Nebula.
Both the Hugo and the Nebula do not differentiate between science fiction and fantasy in their categories. Nominations and voting are restricted to the members of the WorldCon and the …Read the rest»
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