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Things Worth Reading: Shadow Play
Shadow Play: Ten Tales from the In-Between by Sarina Dahlan is a collection of short stories that all have an element of the otherworldly. Most of the stories have a death or ghost element and they are all filled with emotion. Through many of them, you are waiting for a reveal that never lets you down. My personal favorite is the first, and titular, story. You are dropped in a world rich with details and have to figure out its secrets. I actually got to beta read The Bench after meeting Sarina on Twitter. That story won an honorable mention in the Writers of the Future contest. As wonderful as…
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Things Worth Reading: Samantha Mills
This edition of Things Worth Reading is actually a Someone Worth Reading, short story writer Samantha Mills. I first encountered Samantha Mills on Twitter. She would say something witty and I would like it. Then one day she announced that she had a story in Strange Horizons so I had to check it out. I cried. Then I accidentally ran across another of her stories in Beneath Ceaseless Skies. I cried again. I was wary when I found out she had another story online on Diabolical Plots but I decided I loved her style and creative stories so much I’d read it anyway. This time I didn’t cry but I…
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Things Worth Reading: The Apothecary’s Curse
I was fortunate enough to meet Barbara Barnett at Capricorn 39 this past February. She was on a panel called Indistinguishable from Magic where they discussed the blurred line between some science fiction and fantasy stories. As part of the discussion she described her book and I knew I had to read it. She said she couldn’t firmly put it into any one category and she’s never even dreamed of trying. It has magic, science, history, and a touch of horror. How could I resist? I must say, it didn’t disappoint. While I have no problem firmly placing this book under fantasy, I can see where she was coming from.…
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The Flight
I wrote this short one all in one sitting. I sometimes start writing with a line and see where it takes me. I rarely make it a whole story with no planning, but this is one of those. I am planning two more to make a kind of a series. More of a triptych for flash fiction. Get some different perspectives on the story. I hope you enjoy it! Let me know in the comments what you thought. The blue glow of her hands told me she knew she’d found me at last. The others dining at the inn had all stopped eating and drinking and laughing to look at…
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Inspiration for Magic Stories
You have done your brainstorming and are well on your way to setting up the rules for a magic system. Now what? If you want to share it with others you’ll need a story that showcases it. I have come up with 10 prompts to guide you through thinking about different aspects of your world and your magic and how you could craft a story out of it. For more tips on turning your idea into a story, see my article here. 1) Lack of Magic I have only read one book that I can recall where it was commonplace for everyone to have magic and the kid who doesn’t…
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12 Prompts to Create a Magic System
One of the most fun things a fantasy writer can do is invent a magic system. Pure creativity, no boundaries honed into a coherent system that does have rules unique to a world you created. There are few things more satisfying. As part of my series on Creating Magic Systems, I have come up with a list of prompts for starting the process. I am sure that every conceivable magic system has already been tested by some writer somewhere. I am not claiming that the following prompts are never-seen-before ideas but they are good starting points. Prompts to get you thinking about your system and how you can make it…
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Legacy
I’d like to apologize for my absence the last couple of weeks. As they say, life happens. This is a short story I wrote based on the first prompt in my Irish Mythology list. I couldn’t get that scene out of my head and it turned into this flash piece. I hope you enjoy it! Gann looked out over the battlements. The cold fog clung to his beard and beaded on his skin. The watchmen had called for him as soon as the ship was spotted. The initial sighting had caused quite a stir. No ships should be coming from the northern sea at this stormy time of year. High winds…
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Best Authors for World Building
It’s a great feeling to get lost in a book. To be so thoroughly transported to a new world that you can imagine exactly what it would be like to live there. Fantasy and Science Fiction books give the reader something other genres don’t and that’s the ability to experience something completely new. There are many experiences on Earth, historical or contemporary, that we will never experience personally, but the thrill of alien worlds and magic-wielding heroes is satisfying in a way that real-life experiences, no matter how compelling, just can’t compete with. Here are a few of my favorite authors to read just for the world building. They do,…
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10 Tips to Keep Readers Engaged with your Fantasy World
World building for a Fantasy novel or story can be incredibly fun and rewarding. But it’s easy to forget about your reader while you craft your sparkly new geography, fauna, and cultures. As the author you know all the ins and outs of your new world and can picture everything clearly. The reader must be introduced to everything you’ve created and can sometimes get intimidated or confused by all the new information. I’ve made a list of tips that can help keep your reader engaged with your new Fantasy world. 1) Keep some things familiar. The reader needs something to use as an anchor while they explore your new world.…
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Bequest
This story is long overdue. The inspiration for this one came from the article on the discovery of the Ottoman tomb. My original plan proved …inadequate and I had to start over. Not completely, I still used the elements I set out in that article, but the plot I had in mind needed some major tweaking. So here is the story I promised all those weeks ago. Hopefully, my next one won’t be so long in coming. Enjoy! Bequest Silvaria flew into the tent, her amethyst and gold robes fluttering around her. The room was tinted by the sun filtering though the orange fabric. The table full of gleaming instruments…
