Category: Writing About Fantasy

Character, Save Yourself – The Strong Fantasy Character

Nan Sweet is the author of the Dusky Hollow Series. Check out the first book in the series for free here.

Fantasy writers like to rescue their heroes. While every genre has mentors and rescuing heroes, fantasy writers are prone to make things a little too easy. Sometimes, we write ourselves into a corner. Instead of making our characters do the work, we rescue them. Why? Because we’re stuck, too. For example, if my heroine, Carrie is locked in a cage, and I don’t know how to get her out, one option is to send her best friend, Ivy to look for her. Yes, that gets her out of the cage, but is there a better way?

If your character is stuck in a situation, and you find yourself equally stuck, start at the end of the scene and work your way backward. Maybe your heroine escapes, or maybe she is taken into servitude. Maybe she spends the whole book trapped. Whatever you want the end result to be, challenge yourself to use your character’s wit and ability to escape. When wit and ability aren’t enough, empty her pockets and see what she’s carrying. If you have a group in a dire situation, then apply that challenge to the group as a whole.

Let’s say your character has been locked in a room with brick walls and high windows. Can she get herself out? Think of weaknesses in the room. Are there ledges on the window, a brick sticking out? What does the character have in her pockets or on-hand that can be used? The great thing about writing is that you can go back a couple of pages and give her a belt or a pocketknife, even if you didn’t know she needed it at the time. As long as the items make logical sense, give them to her. The escape should be hard to accomplish without jarring the reader’s sense of believability.

If there are no weaknesses, create the weakness that your heroine can exploit. Is the dungeon impenetrable? Maybe your character is a fast-talker. You can write a guard on the other side of the door. Is there a grate in the floor or a weakness in the wall? Maybe your character is a gymnast or magician.

What happens if your character is an underdog? What if you have a strong-willed character whose weaknesses won’t allow them to save themselves? One of my all-time favorite heroines is Mercy Thompson written by Patricia Briggs. Although Mercy has some ‘superpowers’, they are limited to changing into a coyote and talking to ghosts. That leaves her in some desperate situations.

Spoiler Alert

Although Mercy has been rescued a few times, Patricia Briggs worked in some clever ways of bringing Mercy’s strengths to the rescue. Because of her loyalty, Mercy in her weakness is a defender of the weak. She finds unusual help from fae objects, one of them a wooden staff that follows her around. It is a plot device Briggs works perfectly. Before it could become a crutch where the reader groans and thinks, “Okay, now the staff will save her,” Briggs found a way to distance Mercy from the staff. (I won’t say too much because this is a series every fantasy lover should read.)

It’s okay to lapse from time to time and use a rescuer.

Even the greats, from J.R.R. Tolkien to C.S. Lewis have used heroes to rescue or advise their group. The point is to be aware when you’re taking the easy path and check for a better way. Thank you for reading.

Special thanks to Cady Hammer for allowing me to guest on her blog!

Writing A War

Hey writers! I know it’s been ages since I put content out, but I’m hoping to return to sharing more advice with up-and-coming fantasy writers. I’m considering branching out from sort of the overall mechanics and tricks of the trade for fantasy writing into tips for writing specific tropes, plot points, and character archetypes. Today, I want to talk about building a war.

One of the most common plotlines in fantasy is the brewing of a new war. This war has most likely been building for a while, and it is your job to bring your readers right into the pivotal moment where all hell breaks loose. Between planning for war, gathering soldiers and supplies, and fighting in large magical battles or long drawn-out sieges, you may have a lot of ground to cover. My most recent book was my first venture into writing a fantasy war, and I want to share my best writing tips from that experience.

#1: Your war needs a clear purpose and a clear cause.

In order for a war to be worth fighting for, there has to be an underlying purpose and a clear cause or set of causes. Why do people go to war? Sometimes it’s because one land wants to take another land’s wealth or resources. Other times, two differing religions or two nations with strong nationalistic ideals can’t coexist beside each other. Whatever reason you choose, you have to build that reason into your worldbuilding. The history of the two sides that you are working with has to show the building blocks. Nothing in your world should happen spontaneously. Every event is rooted in someone’s past or some nation’s past. Also, make sure your reason is big enough. For your war to be believable, its purpose has to be something that people would be willing to die for. 

#2: War affects everyone

No matter what walks of life your characters come from, you need to be able to show your readers that everyone is affected by war. From the highest government officials to the poorest peasant in the village, none of your characters are immune to war and its costs. Whether a character survives the war or not, they will be affected. Perhaps a friend or a colleague of theirs dies. Maybe their home or farm is burned to the ground during a battle. The effect could be positive too: your character may step into a leadership position that changes their life forever. War affects everyone, so do some research on potential consequences and assign them to your characters accordingly. 

#3: Know how to structure your war. 

During my research, I learned that there are two main elements of war that you will likely be writing about: open battles and sieges. Here is what you need to know. In an open battle, one side always wins, and the other loses. Even in a draw, there is usually a clear side who has taken the most damage. Battles often only last for a few minutes and can really only go up to an hour or two at the most. Open warfare is extremely costly, and each side must agree on that cost in order to go to battle, which is often the lives of their men. 

Conversely in a siege, the conflict can last days and days. One force, knowing that they are outnumbered or low on resources and weaponry, falls back to a stronghold where they can prepare to defend. This can reduce their disadvantage of fewer soldiers. The more powerful force then surrounds the stronghold and begins the siege. Although this type of warfare can be very slow, it can be a great way to build tension and anxiety among your characters. In a strongly written war, there’s a good combination of these two types. 

#4: Writing a battle means maintaining many elements at once.

There is this beautiful complexity to writing a battle. Although battles only last a short period of time, many things are happening at the same time. When I read battles in my favorite fantasy books, I have always found them to be chaotic and confusing at times, but still cohesive. It’s important for you as the author to guide the reader through the chaos. One of the best ways to do this is to set key points throughout the scene that you can follow like a roadmap and build the chaos up around it. Doing this will keep your reader glued to the page without losing them in the details. 

When you’re in the midst of the chaos, make sure you’re still keeping the fundamentals tight. Your plot points should move in a logical format, your world should feel full of detail, and most importantly, your characters need to have and show emotion at every turn. Don’t let the basics slip while you deal with the many, many details. 

#5: Momentum and morale are essential to victory.

On both sides of a conflict, everyone is dead set on victory. That means that in between battles and sieges, other major steps should be taken to achieve that goal. These can come in multiple forms, but I would say the major two categories are momentum and morale. On the momentum side, your heroes could be traveling across dangerous territory to form critical alliances or gathering supplies from nearby villages and recruiting people to the cause. In terms of morale, perhaps your protagonist goes down to the barracks to speak to the soldiers personally and give a grand speech or a large holiday ball is thrown to boost morale during a ceasefire. But don’t forget: the villain’s side will also be making these kinds of steps. It could be interesting to showcase both sides. 

Looking forward to sharing more writing content soon. Happy writing!

Guest Post: How I Increased Narrative Tension by Giving My Protagonists Psychologically Realistic Flaws

Noah Lemelson is a short story writer and novelist who lives in LA with his wife and cat. Lover of Science Fiction, Fantasy, New Weird, and Punk. He received his BA in Biology from the University of Chicago in 2014 and received his MFA in Creative Writing from the California Institute of the Arts in 2020. He has had several of his short stories published in both print and online magazines, such as Allegory, Space Squid and the Outsider’s Within Horror Anthology. Visit his website here to learn more about him and his upcoming book.

I’m not into the whole Chosen One thing. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to toss a hot take that all Chosen One narratives are bad. Like any trope they can be done well. But it has been done, and done, and done, and done some more. When I sat down to write The Sightless City (then “Untitled Lazarus Roache Project”), I wanted to tell a story about comparatively normal characters, not heroes chosen by gods or destiny. But normal does not mean boring. Too often books allow their protagonist to become dullest character. It’s a genuine challenge to make sure your point of view character is not just some window with legs, but a full and complex human being (or fantastical human being equivalent).

My strategy to make my POV interesting was to make each protagonist flawed in some significant way. They would be united in their opposition to Lazarus Roache, but I wanted each of their struggles to be individual and internal. They had been wronged, but they were not passive victims, they had active flaws that got them into their situations, and make it more difficult for them to escape.

To both explain what I mean, and to give a hint at how to write realistically flawed characters, let’s talk about the self-narratives. We each have a narrative about ourselves, explanations for what we have done, what we are doing, what we will do, and why. Often identities are a big part of this, labels either given to us or chosen by us (often a bit of both). These self-narratives give us a sense of who we are, and influence our future decisions, but they aren’t necessarily “true.” I’m not saying they’re always “false” either, obviously. It’s just that self-narrative are, like everything in society, constructions, ideas that are sometimes based on facts, sometimes on emotion, but often come from a blurry mix of reality, emotion, and expectation.

Marcel Talwar is a war hero. He fought to free Huile, giving up his leg and losing his friends in a fight for freedom. This is the identity he was given and one he embraces fully. But there is another narrative, another possible identity. Marcel Talwar is a war criminal. He caused thousands of brutal deaths. This alternative reading of his actions, as factual as his other identity, is abhorrent to Marcel. He does not actively consciously consider this possibility, and I don’t explicitly call him out on it in the book, but on some level he is aware of this darker narrative. This other interpretation does not make him question his war hero status, quite the opposite. He is so utterly convinced he is a war hero because the alternative possibility is so horrid. This leads to a massive emotional block preventing him questioning from his own decisions and the outcomes of those decisions. This is a significant character flaw. Marcel is a good person, in that he tries to be a good person and do good things, but he can be blind to reality when that reality threatens to unravel his self-narrative.

Sylvaine also has her own issues with self-narratives and identity. She is a Ferral, a beast-person, discriminated against her whole life. Ideally, she might find pride and security in her identity, and create a positive self-narrative, but she is unable to. Instead, she seeks to reject her Ferral-ness and prove, to the world and herself, that she is something more. This self-defense mechanism has found its focus in Ætheric Engineering. Ferrals are stereotypically considered primitive and simple. Engineering is the exact opposite of that, civilized and intelligent. She believes subconsciously that if she can just become an engineer, that will prove she is not just a mere bestial Ferral. She believes it will prove, to the world and herself, that she is deserving of respect and dignity. That’s not to say her interest in engineering is not genuine. She does actually love engineering, but her obsession is colored with a desperate self-loathing brought on by years of bullying and discrimination. Of course, this is what makes her inability to control æther so devastating, it’s not just the death of a dream, in an assault on the identity she is trying to claim, a cut into an old and deep wound. She keeps trying again and again to become an engineer, each failure just building more self-loathing, and as her desperation grows, as does her willingness to make questionable decisions if she thinks it might make her a real engineer.

Of course, its not just enough for these characters to have flaws, to have contradictions in their self-narratives, but these flaws need to manifest as actual conflicts in the plot. (I mean you could have a fully internal narrative, that might be interesting, but genre conventions for fantasy mean that at some point, something in the world has to change in meaningful and usually violent ways). So in comes Lazarus Roache, who, unlike the protagonists, is not trying in the least to be a good person. He is able to manipulate the protagonists not through simple threats or bribery, but by playing on their self-narratives, and their desperation to be the person they think they are.

So then the tension of the story becomes two-fold. 1) Will my protagonists defeat the villains. And 2) Will my protagonists be able to work through the inner contradictions own sense of self? But these two conflicts are interconnected, failing to stop the villains can push them deeper into holes of their own psyche, while these flaws can in turn prevent them from effectively fighting the villain. To resolve the external conflict, they have to overcome their internal ones, and those are often much more complex and difficult to face. And I think, also more interesting to read about.

Urban Fantasy vs. Magical Realism

Hello writers! How have you all been? It’s been a while, I know, but I have just been lost in a sea of work. Kindle Vella is launching next week, and I have been working on my fantastic Ivy Labyrinth project that I mentioned to you all a couple months ago. I did an entire post on tips for writing urban fantasy, and it seemed to be reasonably enjoyed by all of you. But as I was writing the first few episodes of my serial, I realized I wasn’t actually writing urban fantasy. It had similarities, but it did not quite fit based on what I had read about the genre. I went searching for answers, and I discovered a new genre for me: magical realism.

Today, I’m going to share with you a short comparison of these two genres so you don’t make the same mistakes I did when starting a new project.

Urban Fantasy

In urban fantasy, the setting is most commonly a urban city although I have seen a few instances where the setting is a major or even rural town. Whoever and whatever your fantasy creatures are, they should live in the city and interact with the population, but their true magical identities are unknown to mortals. They should integrate seamlessly into the universe and fly pretty much undetected. Until the main character discovers them, of course, and gets drawn into their world and their struggles. My favorite example of urban fantasy is the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare.

Magical Realism

In magical realism, fantasy and reality operate side by side. Magical elements blend into the real world like they are one and the same. Through the main character’s eyes, magic is presented as fact, as something that always has been and always will be. Sometimes the author doesn’t even explain how the magic works! They operate through the eyes of the main character who sees magic as an everyday occurrence, encouraging the reader to accept it as such as well. From what I have read, magical realism often contains a social or political critique of society. In my opinion, this doesn’t have to be an overly obvious factor. For me personally, I’m still trying to figure out where or if that element fits into the piece I am working on.

So there you have it: my very quick breakdown of urban fantasy vs. magical realism. I hope this helps some of you when figuring out which subgenre your story fits into. Happy writing!

Preliminary Tips For Writing Urban Fantasy

Hello writers! I’m finally winding down my semester, which has been the most chaotic yet. I apologize profusely for not putting out as much content in the last six months. There has been a whirlwind of things happening. The most recent one is the subject of this post.

When Amazon announced their upcoming Kindle Vella platform, I was super excited. I am writing something entirely new for the platform. The piece is actually an idea that I worked on in middle school and am now revamping and upgrading to a young adult urban fantasy serial. Urban fantasy is a genre that I have always enjoyed reading, but I have never tried to write it before.

Then again, I had never tried writing epic fantasy before I wrote my first book.

So I have done some research into what it takes to write urban fantasy, and I want to share that advice with all of you.

Tip #1: Setting Matters.

On every site that I read through, writers pinned setting the most important aspect of urban fantasy stories. In fantasy, the setting always acts as another character in the story. It should be well thought out and well developed. I spent eight months working on the worldbuilding for Chasing Fae due to its complexity. Urban fantasies are set primarily in cities, though some take place in an outer suburb or something similar. These cities can exist in the modern world, but they could also be set in an alternate world or universe. Authors often draw from real-life urban environments to construct the most realistic setting. Some even play around with the era, taking a city from the past and bringing magic into it.

One of the most important elements of developing your settings is where the magic and urban world meet. Writing Tips Oasis conveys it best: “There are two different ways that you can portray the city: as it is, or as it would be because of the magic”. Magic can either be hidden in plain sight or portrayed out in the open. It has to be perfectly blended with the modern world. Technology like airplanes, the internet, and cell phones are often utilized by characters from the mortal and the magical world. At the same time, the magical institutions should have their own set of rules and technology that work together with or alongside the mortal one. I’m still learning about what that looks like!

Tip #2: Choose your lead protagonists wisely.

Whether or not you are choosing one protagonist or multiple protagonists, it’s important to find those characters that you can showcase “unique, but accessible” points of view. Whether they are mortal, vampire, or dragon shapeshifter, your characters need to feel believable to your reader. The magical aspect should not define your character. Instead, they should be given a full personality. They should have desires, strengths, weaknesses, and that one thing that keeps them going during the day.

I am planning on writing my Kindle Vella story from four perspectives. Serials specifically lend themselves well to multiple perspectives. One will be a mortal woman, one is a male dragon shapeshifter, one is a naiad with siren blood, and the last is an elemental fire mage. There are quite a few more magical races that I am including, but I don’t feel the need to have each of them have a main voice. Hopefully, I’ll be able to showcase many of them through secondary characters.

Tip #3: Pacing Is Important.

Though there is a variety of advice out there about what kinds of urban fantasy plots are the best, the pacing notes seem to all be the same. Readers of urban fantasy expect their stories to have a healthy dose of action. Of course, there need to be quieter moments to allow readers to breathe, but this genre tends to be fast-paced. Subplots are also important to help bring layers to the story. Romance is often a chosen subplot, but it’s important to make sure that you don’t let it take over the story. That may transfer your story into paranormal romance! Writers’ Digest adds that urban fantasy is sexy; a good sex scene or subtle eroticism teased throughout the book keeps the reader’s heart pounding.

I’m looking forward to tackling this story idea. Any one else who enjoys reading or writing urban fantasy? Any advice you want to share with the rest of us?

Happy writing!

Structuring Your Novel – Save The Cat! Beat Sheet

This month, I have been primarily focusing on getting Chasing War into a place where I feel confident that over the next few months, I can make it amazing. This sequel has tested me a lot already in the drafting stage. The story is good, but there are much more problems than when I was drafting Chasing Fae. Maybe that’s me though; there may have been just as many problems back then too. 😀

A few weeks ago, I just knew something was wrong with the book. But for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out what it was. At first, I thought it might be a bunch of missing plot points. Maybe the book needed more substance? But that didn’t quite feel right. Although I needed much more character development, this was a second draft, and something more was missing. I took to Twitter to ask for help. An author, Shawn T. Anderson (@ShawnTWrites) told me about Save The Cat! Writes A Novel by Jessica Brody, a book about novel writing. He told me it was a great diagnostic tool for plot problems.

I did some searching and ended up on Samantha Gilbo’s website where I found a great step-by-step guide on how to outline your novel using Brody’s book. It included a free beat sheet that I would highly recommend you grabbing; it helped me visualize the process much more clearly. I don’t want to directly copy over what she has said, so I’ll give you a basic overview and have you read her article on your own.

Act 1: The Beginning

  • Opening Image – A scene that shows the protagonist in her world before the adventure. It can be an introduction to your main character or if it’s a sequel like my book, a showcasing of the new state your protagonist found themselves in at the end of book 1 before everything changes again.
  • Setup – Multiple scenes that reveal the protagonist’s current life and the world around them with all of their flaws. Sometimes you may introduce supporting characters or some sort of initial goal for the character to work towards.
    • Somewhere in there, there will be a scene where your main theme is stated, something that hints at what your protagonist will learn over the course of your book.
  • Catalyst – A scene where a life-changing event happens to your main character that launches them onto the path of the rest of the story.
  • Debate – Several scenes where the protagonist debates what to do next.
  • Break Into Two – A scene where the protagonist decides to accept their new role, embark on their new adventure, and/or otherwise enter upon the point where everything will change.

Act 2A: The Middle (Part 1)

  • B Story – A scene that introduces a new character or a series of supporting characters that will ultimately help the protagonist on their journey.
  • Fun and Games – A multitude of scenes where the protagonist either succeeds or fails in a series of events that show off the new world they have been thrust into.
  • Midpoint – A single scene where the above section either ends in what Gilbo describes as a “false victory” (if the protagonist has been succeeding so far) or a “false defeat” (if the protagonist has been failing so far). Gilbo provides some great examples in her description.

Act 2B: The Middle (Part 2)

  • Bad Guys Close In – Depending on which direction your midpoint takes, the next several scenes will show an impactful turn in the protagonist’s path. In the situation of a “false victory”, everything will go downhill from there. In the case of a “false defeat”, things will slowly begin to get better and better for your main character. In either choice, the external bad guy (antagonist) or an internal enemy (like fear or a false belief) are closing in.
  • All is Lost – A scene that takes your main character to their lowest point.
  • Dark Night of the Soul – Multiple scenes where the protagonist takes time to process everything that has happened so far. This usually brings forth some revelation that ushers them into the story’s finale.
  • Break Into Three – A scene where the protagonist realizes what they have to do to fix the external story struggles as well as their internal struggles.

Act 3: The End

  • Finale – The protagonist takes matters into their own hands in this multi-scene segment and solves their dilemmas. Gilbo breaks this out into five separate parts, which I would highly recommend reading about in her article. I found it super helpful.

My Results

After reading over this format and filling it out for Chasing War, I found out what my problems were! Turns out, the issues with the draft had to do with structure rather than plot. I ended up making a sheet to rearrange the entire first half of the book. The inciting incident needs to occur earlier, and magical lessons needed to be spread out throughout the story. In the process, I found seven places to add new chapters that would connect subplots better. When I wrote everything out, I instantly felt this wave of relief and honestly, thrill wash over me. I had solved my problem!

All in all, I would highly, highly recommend using this method if you are having problems with plot or structure in your novel. It absolutely revitalized my excitement for this sequel. If you try it out, let me know how it goes!

Tackling A Fairytale Retelling

Hey everybody! I’m back! I finished up my last class of the semester on Friday, and now (despite exams), I have much more time to concentrate on my writing and on this blog. I have been trying to brainstorm topics relating to writing fantasy that readers would be interested in. I have a few, but if you have any ideas or topics that you would love to read about, please shoot me a comment or a message!

For today’s blog post, I want to chat about a subgenre of fantasy that I am thinking about attempting: the fairytale retelling. After the Chasing Fae trilogy, I’m considering taking on a Robin Hood retelling. It is one of my favorite childhood stories, and I have some pretty solid ideas to take the story in a new direction. It’s a subgenre that I enjoy reading, but it has to be done right. So I have been exploring the web for the best tips for writing a fairytale retelling, and these are the top three that I found.

Tip #1: Read Your Chosen Fairytale Carefully.

Before you take on your fairytale retelling, you must read the original! Whatever the story or fairytale may be, find the original version and read it from cover to cover. Make some notes on the various elements of the story. Essentially, you have to take stock of what you have to work with: characters, general plotline, what details of the world are available. It may seem tedious, but you want to capture every detail you can so you can build from there.

Tip #2: Figure out what you want to change.

Next, you’ll want to decide how much you want to change for your retelling. Here’s a few ideas you may want to think about:

  • Whose perspective do you want to tell the story from? Will it be the protagonist, or will you take it from a different perspective?
  • Do you want to update the setting? For example, will you be changing the time period to the present day? How will the world change?
  • How do you want to enhance the characterization? How can you make the main characters more full, more well-rounded to suit your purposes? What minor characters might jump into the spotlight?
  • What is your twist? What is your unexpected element that is going to make this retelling unique?

Tip #3: Build a world around the story.

One of the things that is interesting about classic fairytales is that often the setting can be quite nondescript. You hear about the “beautiful castle” or the “rolling hills”, but it has very little other details. This gives you the ability to dream big with your worldbuilding. That is one of the things that I am most excited to tackle in a fairytale retelling. Take this opportunity to take those little details and go wild. If you want more inspiration on how to take your worldbuilding to the next level, check out my Worldbuilding tab for worldbuilding questions and tips.

That’s all for now, friends. I’ll write more posts soon! Happy writing!

Bringing Characters Back For The Sequel

Hello friends!

Now that my first book is out in the world, it is time for me to turn my attention to writing book 2. As I have gotten back into the swing of writing a first draft again, I am realizing that there are just as many, if not more elements to consider in writing a fantasy sequel than writing the first book or a standalone. The world that I have created has to be maintained while I am also elaborating on places the reader has already seen and creating new destinations for them to enjoy. I must create an entirely new storyline that must bring people in just as much as the first one. But most importantly, I need to recapture characters that I have already created and let the reader see more. This is the topic I am going to be addressing today. I want to share a little bit about what I am learning in the early stages of starting the sequel to Chasing Fae.

Lesson #1: Keep Details and Initial Personalities Consistent.

Readers have seen Grace move throughout the Three Realms for over three hundred pages, and they have a distinct idea of who she is and the kind of decisions she tends to make. When the second book begins, I don’t want to stray too far from that, at least in the first chapter. I feel like it’s important to re-ground your reader in the main characters you have already introduced, particularly the protagonist. I enjoy books that take a moment to subtly reacquaint the reader with where they are, who they are with, and when the story is picking up from before diving in only a couple of pages later. I am hoping that I will be able to accomplish that with the beginning of Chasing War.

Lesson #2: But Don’t Forget Your Characters Need To Have New Arcs.

In Chasing Fae, both Grace and Aiden went through visible major shifts as people from the beginning to the end of the story. Those two arcs were closed, not to be reopened again. Instead, I have to now take both of those characters to new places and work in new character development. It isn’t enough to show them in their newfound state from the end of book 1; as an author, you have to reintroduce new challenges and states of mind that will push your characters to transform in unique ways. And remember, that transformation should be as varied and complex as the first time around. Grace had quite a few failures that brought her development as a person backwards before she found ways to push forward. I plan on doing more of that to keep things interesting.

Lesson #3: Elaborate On Secondary Characters.

In a sequel, it is important to take some time and explore those secondary characters who will continue to be instrumental in the overall series arc. I am so excited to build on those characters who took on small to medium sized roles in Chasing Fae. I have so many fantastic plans for bringing a couple of those people into the main plotline and giving them a full arc for readers to explore alongside Grace’s.

Lesson #4: Introducing New Characters Is A Must.

It matters just as much to create entirely new characters as it does to elaborate on the characters that are already present. Many of the secondary characters that will be showcased in book 2 were mentioned briefly in name only or perhaps had a very small cameo near the end. I am not sure if I consider writing them to be elaborating on previously established people because there is so much that the readers do not know about them. I might even consider them to be brand new characters for people to fall in love with. But on top of that, I do plan on bringing in one or two solid unheard-of-before-this-book characters to make sure that I get that element of fresh blood in the sequel.

These are my preliminary observations as I work on drafting. I may update this as I learn more through my writing. Until then, happy writing everyone!

An Interview With Roy Huff

Roy Huff

Roy Huff is a Hawaii-based best-selling author, peer-reviewed research scientist, and teacher. After overcoming significant childhood adversity, he moved to the islands and hasn’t looked back. He’s since earned five degrees, trained on geostationary satellites for NASA’s GOES-R Proving Ground, and written numerous bestsellers. He stumbled into writing, but what he didn’t stumble into is his love for all things science fiction and fantasy. Later, he contributed a series of fiction and non-fiction books as well as widely shared posts on how to design life on your terms. Despite early challenges, he embraces optimism, science, and creativity. He makes Hawaii his home, where he creates new worlds with the stroke of a pen and hopes you’ll come along for the amazing ride. I recently had the opportunity to do an interview with him, and I am so excited to share his answers with you.

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

Writing wasn’t something I grew up wanting to do. It happened by accident when I was
working on my fourth and fifth degree. I had to write a creative paper for an English
class, and one of the students who read the paper said she wanted to read a whole
book on Everville. That became my first book and series.

What does your fantasy writing process look like? What do you find the most effective? What do you find the most difficult? 

I used to marathon write. Now I write in smaller doses but more frequently. Typically, I
write in the morning after my daily journaling. I write in quiet, without distractions while
drinking coffee. I also tend to write new content in the morning and edit in the afternoon.

What is one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books?

It’s never good enough, so you have to be willing to have the courage to publish. You
must be committed to improving, and it helps to get comfortable with rejection and
negative reviews and feedback.

What is your best worldbuilding tip?

Include all the senses. Read what others have written, and practice your craft.

How many books have you written?

I’ve published four fiction and one nonfiction. That number will be up to five fiction on
July 2 nd , and six fiction likely in August. I also have a first draft of the final book in the
Everville series. At the moment of this interview, I’ve published five books in total and
written seven. I’m currently working on my eighth book.

Can you tell us about your latest project? What inspired you to write it?

I’m currently expected to publish a time travel book, Seven Rules of Time Travel, in mid to late July. Additionally, I just put out the books 1-4 box set of Everville. The Everville series
started from that single creative writing paper. But the time travel book has a lot to do
with my love for both science fiction and fantasy.

I grew up in very challenging circumstances. Both my father and grandfather died young
under tragic circumstances. I struggled under abuse and poverty for much of my
childhood. Fantasy and books were an escape. Thinking about escaping into other
worlds or being able to have knowledge of the future and do things over again was a
way to cope with ongoing trauma.

Who is your favorite author and why?

That’s a question I cannot answer. It’s like asking what’s my favorite food or place to
visit. There are so many, and singling out one would not do the others justice. I’m big on
J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, J.K. Rowling, Stephen King, George Orwell, and others.

How do you market your books? How much interaction do you have with your
readers?

I engage fans on Twitter @realroyhuff and Facebook. I also have a mailing list, where I
email fans periodically about projects and interesting facts and interests in my life at
https://www.royhuff.net I also do periodic promotions, like the massive June 18 th Free
Kindle promo of Everville: The Fall of Brackenbone and the 99 cents Kindle Countdown
Deal for Everville books 1-4 boxed set. I will be taking top spots on Amazon, so be there
or be square.

What words of wisdom do you have for young people who want to start writing
their first book? 

Show up, publish, iterate. Read what others have done. Find a mentor if possible.
Develop constructive habits and a routine. Reflect on your routine. Find ways to focus
and strive to improve that focus. If you get stuck, write anything, but keep writing. Don’t
let others tell you whether you should write to market or write what you want. You can
do both. Do what you want to do. Even if you don’t’ believe in yourself, have the
courage to show up and write anyway. Everyone starts somewhere. Some people may
believe it talent, but talent is just skill. And skill can be developed with deliberate
practice, reflection, and mentorship.

Check out Roy Huff’s books, and follow him on social media!

Social Media

Instagram & Twitter @realroyhuff 

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/realroyhuff

Website: https://www.royhuff.net/salvationship

Promotions This Week!

Everville: The Fall of Brackenbone: Free (June 18-June 22)

Everville Boxed Set Books 1-4: 99 cents (US & UK, June 18-24)

Buy links

Everville: The Fall of BrackenboneAmazon

Everville Books 1-4 Boxed Set

Tips For Character Building

I’m back! I took some time off there to celebrate my mom’s and my boyfriend’s birthdays as well as to finish revisions for Chasing Fae. Last night, I submitted my book for copyediting, and it is one of the most exciting things I have ever experienced. At first, I was really nervous because after this, I can no longer change any content of the book. But now I am realizing that Chasing Fae is ready. It’s ready to be seen by the world, and the story is just perfect the way it is. I can’t wait to see how copyediting turns out!

Now that Book 1 is wrapping up officially, it is time to look towards Book 2. And for me, that means creating new characters and new storylines. Over the past couple days, I have been working on a few secondary characters who will play some major roles in the remaining two books of the trilogy. While I was working on those, I ended up explaining to a writer friend of mine how I like to approach my character building and my thought process during that stage. I thought I would share those thoughts with you today.

Tip #1: Consider your character’s flaws before their strengths.

One of the things that every strong character needs is well defined flaws. Without them, your characters will feel flat and unrealistic. While talking to a writer friend, I have figured out that I like to figure out my character’s flaws before I think about their strengths. Take Grace, for example. Some of her biggest flaws involve prejudice against the Fae, stubbornness, and an inability to trust after her brother’s death. These were flaws that directly related to the plot that I had in mind. All of these components were necessary for the story to progress and for Grace to transform by the end.

When I thought about Grace’s flaws, I felt like they easily lent themselves to finding corresponding strengths. While Grace has a heavy inability to trust, it also means that in the relationships that she engages in, she is extremely loyal. If someone meets her high threshold for trust, she is going to put her faith in them and protect them at all costs. Her narrow-minded thinking in terms of her hate for the Fae allows her to be a very comprehensive planner and disciplined in her training. She doesn’t want to take any unnecessary risks in her mission. This also connects with her stubbornness.

It is an interesting approach, but I have had good results from it, I think!

Tip #2: Don’t be afraid to really get to know your characters, even the little things.

I really enjoy getting inside my characters’ heads. I love to see what they have learned over their lives and what makes them tick. In my opinion, as a writer, it is important to sit down and truly speak with your characters. Ask them questions: not just about the big things, but about the little things too.

I like to give my characters birthdays, and more importantly, to align those birthdays with their zodiac sign. Sometimes I can pull traits from the description associated with those zodiac signs to add another layer to my characters. I’ll ask my characters all sorts of small things like their favorite color, their favorite foods, their favorite games growing up, etc. These details may not be relevant to your story, and in fact, your readers may never see this information at all. But I find that the characters feel more real when they have interests and hates and quirks that define who they are.

Tip #3: Backstory is so important.

One of the comments that I kept hearing from my editors was that there was a decent amount of space to include more backstory. Knowing your characters’ backstories helps to put everything in context for your readers. Understanding where Grace had been and what she cares about from her past moves the entire story forward and clarifies her motivations in a clear way. Backstory has to be incorporated throughout your book in conversations and in your character’s inner thoughts revealing themselves (most likely your protagonist). And you can incorporate a lot more into your book than you might think. Not so much that it consumes the actual plot, but enough to give your readers a sense of where your characters came from. So it is important to create a strong foundational past for your characters. Make sure to dedicate some significant focus to that area, and you should be just fine.

That is all of my insight for the day! Happy writing, everyone.