Fantasy author of epic, adult and young adult fiction. An English degree taught me how to read; classic sci-fi and fantasy authors taught me how to write.
Five tasks for page one of your fantasy novel.
Introduce MC
Hook reader.
Set scene and tone
Hint at conflict, mystery or central question
World-building.
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The First Quarter Debate.
When the novel's protagonist resists engaging with the plot.
Why won’t they engage with the plot? What’s holding them back?
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No New Stories Only New Twists
After thousands of years of storytelling, all possible plots are written. What's an author to do?
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Magic Conjures a Plot Hole.
In the fantasy genre, the reader's version of magic is better than the author's version with rules and limits.
Nothing disappoints like bad magic.
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Six Essential Action-Genre Story Beats
Without these, the novel lacks both genre and story.
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Robin Catling: fantasy author of epic, adult and young adult fiction.
Not every protagonist needs to be sympathetic and likable.
Just compelling enough that the reader will invest their precious time.
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When YA Tropes Turn Toxic.
They are the mandatory elements of the genre, but are we offering impressionable readers healthy goals, ambitions and role-models?
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Fantasy Book Cover Cliches no.10: The Wolf in the Hood
The dark rehash of a classic fairy tale.
Refreshing twist or cynical cash-grab?
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A Ten-Point Story Audit
A few minutes here could save your novel in the early drafting stages.
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The Early/Late-Wide/Closeup Opening.
Did I start my story in the wrong place?
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ProWritingAid’s Not Fit for Fiction.
It's a bad LLM producing AI garbage.
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Six Essential Elements of Story.
A writer’s cheat sheet: six prompts to a satisfying story.
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How Many Drafts?
How many drafts does it take to finish a book?
And what counts as a ‘completed’ draft?
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It’s All in the Edit
Editing is a broad term for several stages of hard work.
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The Escarri Series, ebook and paperback live on Amazon: https://t.co/dhv3I8RG9S
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The most valuable writing lesson I’ve learned: make every scene a story.
Every scene has to be a complete story in itself.
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Murphy’s Twenty-four Chapters
Derek Murphy’s twenty-four chapter story structure holds all my novels together.
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Three foundations of plot:
Promises,
Progress and
Payoffs
From Brandon Sanderson's BYU 2020 lectures
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Can the protagonist walk away?
Are the events of the story inescapable, or can the protagonist walk away?
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