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Editor's advice

Worldbuilding 9: how should my characters speak?

Mon, 04/11/2024 - 5:15pm
How should my characters speak?

Your world is constructed: you have a comprehensive setting, a cast of characters (human and/or otherwise), and a plot ready to launch. You come to the first lines of dialogue in the story; how do your characters speak? In this article I'll look at some useful strategies, and some of the pitfalls, involved in fantasy dialogue.  Read more

Ask the editor 14: ... And endings

Mon, 21/10/2024 - 5:09pm
... And endings

‘Always leave them wanting more'; that little show-business adage has a lot to answer for. It colours our expectations, as an audience, of how a movie or a comedy act should finish; and it influences our expectations, as readers and writers, of books. I think the adage is true for precisely half of the books you read or write; for the other half it indicates a failure on the author's part.  Read more

Worldbuilding 8: non-human characters

Tue, 08/10/2024 - 8:50am

An elf, a dwarf and a goblin walk into a tavern: no, that's not the first line of a terrible joke. All too often, however, it is the default setting for fantasy literature; a convention that, from some angles, rather resembles a cliché. In this article I'll examine some of the pros and cons of having non-human characters and how they affect your worldbuilding.  Read more

The Pedant 7: How to make your editor happy: Close encounters of the word kind

Mon, 29/07/2024 - 9:43am
Close encounters of the word kind

To coin a rather hackneyed online expression, I tried a paraphrasing tool so you don't have to. And my experience suggests that you probably don't want to. Whatever a paraphrasing tool is for, it's definitely not for writers; though it might, alas, be an invaluable gift for plagiarists.  Read more

Ask the editor 12: The limitations of editing software

Tue, 02/07/2024 - 8:51am
The limitations of editing software

A new writer, setting out on that curious and occasionally perilous journey that, sometimes, ends in publication, needs help getting there; very few writers get it all right without advice or intervention. The internet has made the task of finding appropriate help and advice much easier; if your ivory tower is connected, that is.  Read more

Ask the editor 11: English language editing

Tue, 04/06/2024 - 5:11pm
English language editing

English is the world's lingua franca. Over two billion people speak it as a first or second language. It is the official, or everyday, language in fifty-nine countries. Perhaps two billion more have considerable experience of English via movies, gaming, pop music, or (increasingly) social media. That's half the world.  Read more

Worldbuilding 7: It's a kind of magic

Sun, 19/05/2024 - 3:44pm
It's a kind of magic


In the first article on magic in fantasy writing we looked at power scaling, plot armour and plausibility. Here we will look at the different types of magic and, more importantly, the cost of magic. Like many other elements in a constructed world, magic is, effectively, a technology; and technology always has a cost.  Read more

Worldbuilding 6: Magic

Mon, 15/04/2024 - 3:38pm
The uses and limitations of magic in fantasy worldbuilding

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Ask the editor 10: Writing your blurb or cover copy

Tue, 12/03/2024 - 4:50pm
Writing your blurb or cover copy

It's not a pretty word, 'blurb'; it smacks of nonsense, or slightly less than entirely honest marketing. Which is unfortunate, because a blurb is a useful and necessary thing; without it, your book is at risk of being a blank text, what you might call a closed book.  Read more

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4 November 2024 - What's new

November 2024
  • ‘I usually go back a little bit and then move forward. The objective is that I want the reader to be transported. Writing is like a ride - you're getting into a spaceship and you're going somewhere where you're going to have an adventure. It takes you away from the moment that you're in and your real life... It's a strange thing when I start a book.
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