I know I have readers who are neither christian nor religious. Most of what follows may not have relevance to you, but I do make some applications to fantasy fiction writing with regard to presenting deities and embedding messages in your story. I encourage you to read through the entire post and take from it [...]
The Bible as a storytelling pattern
Filed under Tips & Tools on October 12, 2009
Tagged: Bible, christianity, fantasy fiction, Old Testament
Heroic Fantasy Quarterly publishes first issue
Filed under Market Report on August 25, 2009
Tagged: Black Gate, ezines, fantasy fiction, Heroic Fantasy Quarterly, Relvan's Rescue
I think I’ve found the next market I will submit “Relvan’s Rescue” to, barring acceptance from Black Gate. Heroic Fantasy Quarterly, an ezine that began accepting submissions back in February of this year, published their first issue at the end of June. (I just heard about it last week via Grasping for the Wind.) HFQ [...]
Power levels fluctuating
Filed under Tips & Tools on July 28, 2009
Tagged: fantasy fiction, superheroes
I recently watched disc 1 of Justice League animated series’ first season. I’ve been a fan of Bruce Timm’s other DC universe productions, but found myself sorely disappointed in this particular endeavor for one reason alone: lazy writing.
How do I know the writers were lazy? Because they committed a cardinal sin of comic book writing. [...]
My review policy
Filed under Market Report, Soapbox on July 14, 2009
Tagged: book reviews, book trailers, fantasy fiction, Young Dragons
I’m a voracious reader. If you watch my “Currently Reading” widget, or friend me on Goodreads, you’ll note that I cycle through a book about once a week or so. I’d probably finish quicker, but I limit myself to reading during my weekday commutes (I take a 15-20 minute ride on the light rail). Given [...]
Building a fantasy fiction character
Filed under Tips & Tools on June 23, 2009
Tagged: character motivation, character traits, character-building, fantasy fiction, origin story
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 [...]

