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This article is by John M. Haley. Not long ago, I started a web comic called “Huntresses Attack Monsters …in 2D!” I did it because I was itching to do something with characters I created long ago, and I felt like doing something different. I didn’t just jump into the project all willy-nilly. I read … Read more
This article is by Nicholas Cockayne.
Sadly the answer would seem to be, yes.
Firstly, it is worth stating that the fantasy genre gets a lot of bad press for having no literary value, a totally untrue assertion. Fantasy literature is almost unrivalled in its ability to transport the reader to different worlds of imagination, to inspire a little magic into the mundane humdrum of everyday life, to explore the best and the worst of the human character.
This article is by E.L. Skip Knox.
I don’t get writers block, but I do get something that’s just about as bad.
Writer’s fatigue, sometimes simply known as burnout.
I can write, that’s not a problem. But sometimes I get tired. I get more than tired, I get weary. Writing becomes a burden. I write in a basement room and some days I can feel that burden descend on my shoulders as I descend the stairs. I know what I have to do, but I have no enthusiasm for doing it.
This article is by Autumn M. Birt.
Have you read a classic novel recently?
Or maybe have a child/nephew/cousin reading one of the touted best of the best in school? Something like Moby Dick or Ivanhoe, maybe even Pride and Prejudice or Wuthering Heights.
If so, have you heard them complain about being bogged down in description?
This article is by Daniel Adorno.
Have you read an epic fantasy novel recently?
Ever notice how every race in a fantasy world must have a unique culture, history, and language?
It’s almost unheard of to not include each of these aspects in the genre. It’s become a convention fantasy readers have expected since the days of Tolkien. If you leave any of these out in your story, you’ll probably pay a heavy price in readership.
That’s why savvy fantasy authors include them. Not just to meet the conventions mind you, but also to create an engaging world.
This article is by Thomas Cecil.
I recently attended WisCon, a feminist SFF convention in Madison Wisconsin. I saw and heard a lot of great things, but one of the panels I keep thinking about is the one about policing and how we can use fiction, particularly science fiction and fantasy fiction, to help imagine solutions to a very real world problem.
I realized while writing this article that the entire question about reforming our police forces is only a political question. What I can do, and have done, is keep my personal beliefs out of this and just reported the panelist’s discussion.
This article is by Sara C. Snider.
For those who don’t know, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is an assessment tool created by Isabel Briggs Myers and her mother, Katharine Briggs, as a means of understanding and making accessible the different psychological types theorized by Carl Jung.
The result of this tool is the collection of 16 different personality types, based on four different sets of preferences one leans towards in everyday life: Extraversion (E) or Introversion (I); Sensing (S) or Intuition (N); Thinking (T) or Feeling (F); Judging (J) or Perceiving (P).
This article is by Daniel Adorno.
As a fantasy and scifi geek, the settings I choose for my stories are always quite imaginative. I want to transport the reader to some distant planet outside of our galaxy. Or to a magical realm with a deep history and interesting creatures like centaurs or wyverns flying around. It’s the fun stuff that comes with being a speculative author: worldbuilding.
Unlike realistic genres like thrillers, crime, and romance, the environments in fantasy and science fiction novels are very important. They’re almost another character in the story.