When all you have for counsel is yourself, you can never be sure if a re-write is the right thing to do. What if the original version is better? What if I've made it worse? There are, however, some things we can do to help make this crucial and difficult decision a little easier.
I had a short story published today in Kzine, the first one in what feels like aeons!
We're just under a month away from the release of A Fantasy Writers' Handbook and today I'm delighted to give you another glimpse inside the covers. When somebody first suggested blogging to me I told them in no uncertain terms to 'eff off'. My concern was that I had nothing worthwhile to say, nothing anyone would find interesting. In this teaser chapter, I reveal what changed my mind, what I've learned in my years of blogging, and some ways to make some cash in this developing field.
It's time to reveal the front and back cover for A Fantasy Writers' Handbook. I'm sure you'll agree that the wonderful artist behind it, Mark Vernall, has done an amazing job. I love every little detail, from the bored princess waiting to be rescued, to the drunken dwarf pissing gold. The many hours must have been… Continue reading Cover Reveal: A Fantasy Writers’ Handbook
Everything in this world of ours changes. Mountains crumble into the sea. Islands disappear. Forests become icecaps. Change is eternal. It is one of life’s only constants. For some of us, we welcome it, embrace it. Others resist.
Today I'm delighted to introduce Savannah Cordova, a talented writer with Reedsy. Savannah has tackled a topic I follow both with interest and despair.
No, I'm not dead. Not yet, anyway.
Writing fantasy can so often leave you caught up in a web of your own making. Most fantasy involves a secondary world, that is a world different from our own. Granted, it doesn’t have to be totally original, but it raises the question: how different should we make it? Should we scrap everything we know and play God and build from scratch? Should we shape and morph things that already exist? Or should we keep what everyone finds familiar? These questions can be asked when it comes to inventing anything for our worlds, but one such area in which it’s particularly prevalent is with language. In this new world of ours, does everyone speak the same language?
As you may or may not be aware, I'm in the process of drafting 'A Fantasy Writer's Handbook', a non-fiction guide to writing fiction, fantasy fiction in particular. The book is split into three parts: fiction writing, fantasy writing, and what to do when the writing is done. Today, as a little midweek treat, I thought I'd share one of the chapters from part one: Dialogue.
Hi. I’m John Jarrold. I’ve worked in publishing since January 1988 – for 15 years as a publisher of SF and Fantasy and more recently as a literary agent dealing with the same areas. But this blog will also cover my other interests, including books and reading in general, films, theatre, Shakespeare, music, sport, food and drink. Onwards!
My website and the blog I decided to create helped get me my first book deal. That’s what a website can do, and it’s why this article by Robert Mening is well worth a read
