Ways to Use Your Invented Language to Create Story Conflict
If you love worldbuilding, inventing a language for your story world – be it a few words or a full-blown grammar – can be almost as fun as writing the story itself. But it can also be one of the hardest elements to work into your story in a meaningful way. You don’t...
5 Reasons Your Novel Might Need a Line Edit
Just before Fabled Planet was born, I hesitated to add line editing to our list of services – solely because so few authors know what it is and how it can improve their manuscript. I included it anyway. Because the truth is, a lot of authors who come to an editor...
5 Awkward Questions to Ask About Your Magic System
Magic is the exclusive domain of fantasy and a cornerstone of our genre. So it makes sense that when worldbuilding, this is something you need to spend a bit of time on. A perfectly designed system of magic might just pop into your head while in the bath… or it might...
Top tips on writing historical fantasy from 8 successful novelists
Fantasy is never created in a vacuum, and much of its foundation and inspiration comes from the past – be it mythology or historical cultures or events. This is all the truer if you’re writing historical fantasy, a story with fantastical elements rooted in a specific...
You’ve Just Received Your Freelance Editor’s Feedback! Now What?
Congratulations! You’ve written a full manuscript and chosen to submit, or are considering submitting, it to a freelance content editor (a.k.a. developmental editor). After a few weeks, you’ll have in your inbox an in-depth evaluation of your work. But while we...
8 Types of Inciting Event for Your Next Fantasy Story
Do many of your fantasy stories start in a similar way? Perhaps with the protagonist witnessing a loved one being arrested, abducted, or killed. Or discovering a magical power they inherited from a mysterious, long-lost parent. Or being chosen to embark on a heroic...
Writing Case Study: How Lindsay Buroker Made Dragon Storm Unputdownable
(Warning: spoilers ahead.) Getting lost in a world of your own making is part of your job as speculative fiction writer. But to help your readers to settle into your world as comfortably as you do, you’ll sometimes have to step back from your story’s detailed...