All Stories

These days, it feels like everyone has already thought of everything; for any idea you might think is original, there’s someone out there who’s already thought of it, done it, and probably gotten rich for it. You can see it on social media—there are a million trainers, coaches, and people who want to sell you the sacred knowledge of the same thing that another thousand people are talking about. It’s the same with movies—you start watching one, only to realize halfway into the

I finished writing two fantasy novels before I began the project of publishing one. Each one took about a year to write and another half a year to a year to edit. Considering those timelines, I thought that getting them out into the world would be a piece of cake—I mean, the real work was already behind me, right? But I was wrong. Few things are more satisfying than typing the last word that marks the completion of your novel. That moment when you know you’ve got the juicy, t

There are two creatures residing within every writer—the inner mage and the inner goblin. One is creative, dreaming, and, at times, delulu. The other is critical, judgmental, and not very pleasant to be around (I also wrote about these characters and how to deal with them here ). Both of these creatures can be deranged in their own way, but both are also useful and needed to make you a good writer. ​ Normally, it’s a good idea to keep the inner goblin—also known as the inner

A piece of feedback I received on one of the early revisions of Monsters and Heroes was that the palace felt a bit too empty. For this story, I didn’t need Game of Thrones -level political intrigue. But while I wanted to keep things minimal, I did want the capital to feel alive, so I made a few tweaks to add more activity, people, and texture to the palace scenes. Writing the residents themselves wasn’t difficult, and relying on general knowledge was enough. We all know ther

Every protagonist needs an antagonist. A warrior needs a monster to fight, a clever heroine needs an oppressive system to navigate, and a detective needs a maniacal mastermind to catch. Monsters and bad guys (and gals) are a must in every story, adding the challenges and obstacles your main characters must overcome. But when it comes to writing villains and monsters, it’s easy to fall into the innate nature trap—they’re bad simply because they’re… well, bad. Why is the demon

Writing a book is hard. Whether it’s getting into the habit of writing, coming up with ideas, or just finding the time. But it’s also the fun part—the creative part—and once that’s complete comes the phase every writer dreads (and if they don’t, they should): editing. On one hand, editing is empowering. It forces you to identify and solve problems, taking your book to the next level. It transforms your story from a messy manuscript into a (hopefully) polished novel. But it’s

In our era of self acceptance and care, it’s easy to label criticism as a bad thing. I mean, if we’re all winners and doing our best is enough, a voice that dares suggest you could try harder doesn’t stand the chance of gaining popularity. We’ve also talked about silencing your inner critic while writing ( here and here ) , because nothing kills creativity, and stops you from ever completing the manuscript of the novel you’ve always dreamt of writing, like the gnawing voice

Being a child of the 90’s, I still remember a time when writing female leads who refused to await any savior and did the butt-kicking all...

The great hall doors swung open, and a procession of armed guards followed, heralding the entrance of Belrond, lord of the elven kingdom....