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Secondary Characters: An Important Tool in a Writer’s Toolkit

This article is by AE Jones.

One of the hardest jobs for a writer is to pull a reader into their story. I mean, really, really suck them in until they think of the story as a world they can escape to and revel in for hours.

And how do writers do this successfully?

By creating characters that are relatable. Characters that we think of as our friend or our enemy.

Heroes and heroines are the lifeblood of the story. And in romance, the play between these two needs to be magnetic and evocative. Evocative in the sense of stirring emotions. As readers we want to cheer the couple on when they’re together and smack the snot out of them when they’re being obstinate fools.

Using Role-Playing to Rein in Your WIP

by Codey Amprim

So, you’ve been busy writing, I see. That work in progress (WIP) is coming along pretty well. But you just don’t know how your audience will feel about it. Or perhaps you’re ready to throw a new element into your story, but you’re not certain that your world is ready for it. So, you pace to and fro, sipping on a cup of coffee while you think it over. Suddenly an idea pops into your head:

“Hey, maybe I can get someone to be a beta reader!”

Suddenly, a knock sounds at your front door. But isn’t it, like, midnight? You open it, startled, and a bit confused to see a group of people clad in mail crafted from pop-can tabs and dresses woven from bedsheets. And there’s a guy in the back wearing sweats. But it’s okay, he has Cheetos.

Racial Diversity in Speculative Fiction

by Featured Author

This article is by Anne Leonard.

A current – and recurring – topic of conversation in the SFF writer/ blogger/ reader community is the lack of people of color (POC) writing and publishing in the field. (This is also an issue in the literary community in general; here’s a recent post on the subject that appeared on the Book Riot website.)

People of color are underrepresented in SFF for a lot of reasons, but one which I see frequently mentioned is that books without diversity make POC feel excluded. This creates a vicious circle – POC don’t read SFF, so they don’t write SFF, so there aren’t POC in SFF books, so POC don’t read SFF. One way to break the cycle is for white writers to include more diversity in their own work.

Making Romance Epic – 5 Tips for Writers

by Brian DeLeonard

Romantic relationships are a part of being human.

Not every novel needs a romantic subplot. But given enough time and depth, most characters will develop that side of their lives. If we’re ignoring love, we aren’t writing fully realized characters.

If we as writers can tap into the allure and mystery of romance, we have the opportunity to evoke more powerful and compelling emotions through our stories.

Here are five tips for making this happen:

Using Multiple Texts to Develop Your Story World

by Lisa Walker England

Recently at Mythic Scribes, we’ve enjoyed some exceptional articles on world building. I have incorporated tips from several already, with noticeable improvements in my organization and productivity in this challenging craft.

This process has also led me deeper into my worlds. In fact, lately I have been almost overwhelmed by all I have yet to discover about them—let alone communicate to my audience.

Faced with the gargantuan task of immersing readers in a whole world, one novel seems kind of, well, puny.

So I asked myself: “How can I redistribute that burden?”

Introducing Myths Inscribed – An Online Fantasy Magazine

by Mythic Scribes

I’m pleased to announce the launch of Myths Inscribed, an online fantasy magazine created by members of Mythic Scribes. The purpose of the magazine is to provide a venue for quality fantasy writing of all sorts—with a very broad interpretation of “fantasy.” Our first issue features original stories from Benjamin Clayborne, Alice Leiper, K.R. Foster, … Read more

The Mythic Archipelago – A Community Worldbuilding Project

by Tristan Gregory

The Mythic Archipelago — Click to see full map.

The sailors have had a long, hard voyage. Their shipmates have succumbed to sickness, sea monsters, and savages along the way. There are just enough of them left to keep sailing – and they do, for the cargo in their hold will make them all wealthy. As the sun burns the mists away from the sea-cliffs, they catch a glimpse of your isle.

Do they find civilizations to trade with? Do they find a deserted island with naught but trees and animals? Do they find a remote home of horrors, full of monsters that devour passers-by? Do they find pirates and conquerors, or artists and merchants?

Only you can decide.

Knowing What You Want

by Benjamin Clayborne

Question Mark | Image via Wikipedia — Do you know what you want?

It’s hard to know how to get started as a writer. Should you write short stories or a novel? Should you stick with one genre, or try several? Should you get an agent and submit to traditional publishers, or try the self-publishing route?

The answers to those questions depend entirely on what you want. A full-time career as a writer? Financial stability? (That’s a tough one to achieve by writing!) Fame and respect? To simply be able to say that you finished a novel-length story?

Some people say “I want to be a writer!” without really figuring out what that means. Other folks just want to be able to say “I’m a writer” at cocktail parties and high school reunions. They might not even need any publication credits; simply having tried makes them feel like a writer.