All fiction is a contemplation of human existence. This is perhaps nowhere more obvious than in the historical genre, which purposefully looks back in time and seeks to create context for and find meaning in the events that have already happened to the human race. Learning how to write histori...
In this article, learn ten secrets about how to write a story, and more importantly, how to write a story that's good.
In order for a fantasy/sci-fi story to be convincing, there are many guidelines you have to follow. Notice, I didn’t say rules. Rules are meant to be broken. And, asNeil Gaiman once said, you can break any rule you like if you do so with confidence. Guidelines are different. They...
If you are going to write a young adult novel, you have to write something that will appeal to teens. It seems obvious, but you would be surprised how easy it is to forget that fact.Writing a bookwith teenage characters is not enough to make a book YA. You have towrite authentic cha...
In many stories, the inciting incident is when the main character gets invited to join a mission, quest, or tournament. This is especially common in the genres of action/adventure, fantasy, and sci-fi. Sometimes this takes the form of a literal invitation, like a letter in the mail. Othe...
If agents are intrigued enough to ask for the rest of the book and learn that it's not ready, they'll likely either move on or get frustrated with the author for wasting their time on an unfinished project. Related Tips and Resources for Writing Your First Sci-Fi/Fantasy Novel ...
Duneby Frank Herbert - a sci-fi epic with adventure elements that wasallegedly inspired by a trip Herbert took to Oregon Don Quixoteby Miguel de Cervantes - one of the oldest surviving adventure stories, first published in 1605, about a man who reads so many romances he loses his mind and...
(Please note, this is a fantasy/sci-fi narrative, with a mention of a fictional language in it!) Could he tell her? Yes, he could. Should he was perhaps the question he was asking. His mind floundered for a single, logical thought. Find the pros and cons, weigh the outcomes, that...
Learn how to write fantasy stories by studying popular books and movies in the genre. Characters in Fantasy: Choose Your Protagonist and Your Antagonist Carefully Protagonists in fantasy are traditionally heroic, but can run the gamut as in any genre. Depending on the story’s stakes, the antago...
How to Write Convincing Death Scenes This article is part of theScience in Sci-fi, Fact in Fantasyblog series. Each week, we tackle one of the scientific or technological concepts pervasive in sci-fi (space travel, genetic engineering, artificial intelligence, etc.) with input from an expert...