https://fantasyhandbook.wordpress.com/feed/
-
![]()
LET’S REJECT REJECTIONSYour query to an agent has been rejected. Your short story was rejected by a magazine. You are a potato and are starting to show roots so the chef...
-
![]()
HAPPY 15th BIRTHDAY, FANTASY AUTHOR’S HANDBOOKA special Sunday post just to take a moment to celebrate the fact that this blog has been running now, every Tuesday, since June 15, 2009, when I...
-
![]()
ALL FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION IS ALLEGORICALWe believe that we invent symbols. The truth is that they invent us; we are their creatures, shaped by their hard, defining edges....
-
![]()
WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM A RANDOM SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL: LAND OF THE GIANTSOkay, you’ve probably never seen Land of the Giants , but when I was a kid it was one of my favorite science fiction TV series, even if I could...
-
![]()
COMPLETELY BROKENThis week, I’m going to sell you my book. I’ve recently revised and finally made available in paperback my horror novel Completely...
-
![]()
BOOKS FOR FANTASY AUTHORS XLI: FICTION WRITING MASTER CLASSFrom time to time I’ll recommend—not review, mind you, but recommend, and yes, there is a difference—books I think authors should have on their...
-
![]()
ROMANTASY, SCIENCE FICTION, AND THE PUBLISHING GENDER GAPIt started with this question: Is Romantasy Killing Science Fiction? Stephen “Outlaw Bookseller” Andrews says, “Yes.” Please watch this video...
-
![]()
BEWARE OF FRIENDS BEARING FEEDBACKFeedback. This is the thing authors crave the most—at least in the formative years of our writing careers. We desperately cry out for...
-
![]()
THE TRADITIONAL BOOK BUSINESS IS NOT GOING ANYWHEREPeriod. I know this will trigger a lot of my friends in the indie publishing sphere, and other people who have seen various “exposés”...
-
![]()
A LITTLE MORE ON GOODREADS, REVIEWS, AND SO ONFirst, watch this video… Okay, so then that’s my opinion of reviews, critics, the critical mob on social media, etc. But is...
-
![]()
THIS IS NOT MY WRITING MANIFESTOHonestly, I don’t write manifestos. I’m not sure I’ve actually ever even read a manifesto. In fact, I can’t help feeling that when someone sits...
-
![]()
AREN’T WE WONDERBRINGERS?I happened upon this Big Think video this morning and it got me thinking. It’s only six minutes long, so watch it now, please....
-
![]()
DO YOUR CHARACTERS EXHIBIT GREATNESS AND GRANDEUR?A couple days ago I started reading The Deceivers by John D. MacDonald, chosen at random from my huge shelf of old paperbacks . Very...
-
![]()
BOOKS FOR FANTASY AUTHORS XL: GROWING GREAT CHARACTERS FROM THE GROUND UPFrom time to time I’ll recommend—not review, mind you, but recommend, and yes, there is a difference—books that I think authors should have on...
-
![]()
STOP ALREADY WITH “TROPES”A bit of rant here, to take or leave. There are a lot of ways to take a shortcut past thinking and into talking and for what at least...
-
![]()
DON’T KILL YOUR DARLINGSThere’s good writing advice , interesting writing advice , iffy writing advice , and then there’s terrible, awful, spirit- and...
-
![]()
SEARCHING FOR THE SOUL OF AII have been vocally anti-AI/LLM/Chat bots “writing” fiction—“writing” anything—or making any sort of “art” since the first rumblings made...
-
![]()
FANTASY AUTHOR’S HANDBOOK ON YOUTUBE: A CALL FOR SUBSCRIBERS!As of this morning, this blog has 910 subscribers, and the accompanying YouTube channel has 224. So… what are the other 686 of you waiting for?...
-
![]()
DON’T BE HATIN’ ON PROLOGUES (AGAIN)Most of this post is from the original version of this from back in September of 2015, but a wild Twitter kerfuffle over the past twenty-four...
-
![]()
WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM A RANDOM SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL: “SHOW” VS. INFO DUMPHarkening way back to December of 2014, and the first appearance of “ The Sci-fi Paperback Grab-bag ,” and continuing a series of posts showcasing...
-
![]()
ACTIVE SEARCH: BECAUSEThis was going to be a short one this week because… Oops, I mean… This was going to be a short one this week. I want to talk...
-
![]()
BOOKS FOR FANTASY AUTHORS XXXIX: TAKE JOY, AGAINI recommended Take Joy: A Writer’s Guide to Loving the Craft by Jane Yolen here at Fantasy Author’s Handbook way back in April of 2010. Since...
-
![]()
ADVERBS ARE FINE!I won’t always repeat subjects/text between here and the YouTube channel , but this one seemed to strike a chord, and I think it’s usually better...
-
![]()
DESCRIBE CHARACTERS AS YOU GO ALONGIn previous posts, I’ve railed against too-specific physical descriptions of characters , asking valid questions like, “Who cares what color her...
-
![]()
GET THEE BEHIND ME GOALSIt’s January again, and time to watch those well-intentioned New Years resolutions starting already to crumble. If you’re reading this thinking,...
