Manipulative characters 101: A guide to slippery b*stards

Manipulative characters 101: A guide to slippery b*stards

Last updated Apr 17, 2024 | Writing Tips

Across the genre, fantasy has more than its fair share of shifty, manipulative types pulling strings from the shadows. Little Finger, Sand dan Glokta, Lord Vetinari. But how do you write a character like that? Unless you spend your days in the political halls of power...
20+ contests for science fiction and fantasy writers

20+ contests for science fiction and fantasy writers

Last updated Mar 21, 2024 | Writing Tips

Hey writers! Have you written a story that you think is the absolute cat’s pyjamas? Maybe it has vibrant, detailed worldbuilding or transcendent turns of phrase. Now, you want to stand on the nearest rooftop and shout its glory to the world. The next step in your...
That critical second draft

That critical second draft

Last updated Feb 25, 2024 | Writing Tips

Congratulations! If this is your first finished novel, extra congratulations. Now close the desktop or notebook folder your manuscript is in and don’t open it for at least two weeks. Minimum. A month will be even better. Do whatever it takes to forget that novel...
Top tips on writing fantasy from 21 successful novelists

Top tips on writing fantasy from 21 successful novelists

Last updated Jan 31, 2024 | Writing Tips

The internet has no shortage of advice from writers on writing, but fantasy-specific tips can be harder to come by. That’s why we asked 21 published authors to give their top tip on writing in the genre. From paranormal romance to grimdark, you’ll find most subgenres...
Creative email subscriber magnets for fantasy authors

Creative email subscriber magnets for fantasy authors

Last updated Dec 20, 2023 | Writing Tips

So you’ve taken the leap and built your very own snazzy author website. It’s very ‘Look out, world’ with a side of chic. You even have some reader traffic finding their way onto your home page. But now, how do you grab and keep their attention? By building up that...
How to use AI in your worldbuilding

How to use AI in your worldbuilding

Last updated Dec 14, 2023 | Writing Tips

AI gets a lot of flack from writers. It’s a new technology, barely out of its infancy. We are only just starting to understand and debate the legal ramifications and the uses of programs like ChatGPT. Some authors are up in arms. How dare software companies use their...