Never assume you’re bad at something until you get a 2nd or 3rd opinion. I used to think I was bad a writing dialogue. But, workshops, beta readers and editors kept complimenting my dialogue. We are probably the worst at telling what’s good or bad about our writing. I read somewhere that you need to…
All the advice said writing a fantasy series is better than several standalone books. Despite, that, when I first started thinking about publishing, I had no intention of writing a series. I don’t remember why exactly. I think up until that point, I’d only ever written standalone books and wasn’t interested in a series. However,…
I mentioned in the last post 2 Ways to Make Fantasy Maps in Photoshop, that I, as the title says, use Photoshop to make my fantasy maps. But, I am curious if there’s an easier way. I like Photoshop but is there a better fantasy mapmaking software out there? Inkarnate I made this with the…
I’ve learned to never say I won’t write something. I used to say I’ll never write romance. Now, most of my books have a romantic subplot. I didn’t used to be a fan of epic fantasy. Now, I’m writing an epic dark fantasy series. Didn’t plan on it. My Merging Worlds series kept growing. Now,…
You don’t have to reinvent the wheel when creating your fantasy plants and animals. I gave some inspirational ideas in the post World Building: Creating Fantasy Animals and Creatures. Add a city or town name in front of peppers and you get Fatham sweet pepper found only on the Fatham Isles. Recently, I’ve been having…
Fantasy worldbuilding can be as epic or a small as you need it to be. It’s both fun and challenging. Done right, it gives your readers a solid sense of place. Readers should feel like they can visit your world. This topic has been on my mind a lot recently because of my WIP. Book…
Over the years, I’ve talked a lot about my love for diverse fantasy worlds. I particularly enjoy seeing black and brown people in non-stereotypical roles. In general, I love fantasy worlds where the main cast isn’t all white, het, cis, male. But, I’ve avoided writing a post about this topic because others have already talked…
Creating fantasy races is probably one of my favorite parts of world-building. I talked a bit about this topic in the post Creating Unique Magical Fantasy Races. I love when authors deviate from the typical fantasy characters to create something new. If you’re using known fantasy races like elves, you can probably find books or…
I’ve talked a lot about fantasy writing but the only world building template I created is in the book Building Dark Worlds. I thought of putting the template all in one post. But, that would be pretty long. Welcome to the Fantasy World Building Template series. Today, we begin with my favorite fantasy element. Magic….
Weeks ago, Cartoon Network posted a video mentioning black medieval knights. Black inventors, heroes, and leaders are often left out of history. Ask yourself as you’re learning…who is the focus? Why? Question the story ✊?✊?✊?✊✊?✊?? The Crystal Gems say BE ANTI-RACIST! Visit https://t.co/5ukinriWYO to learn more. pic.twitter.com/gNLYLO9PER — Cartoon Network (@cartoonnetwork) December 3, 2020 I…
