How to tackle one of the most ambiguous plot beats. — When talking about plot structure, most of the important plot beats are easy to grasp. The inciting incident is exactly what it says — an event that sets the wider story in motion. The point of no return is, usually, the point where the hero can no longer go back. …

I’m in charge of anthologies at a small indie press. …

How to invoke the blessings of the word gods — I’m writing this while sitting on top of a finished novella — a shiny stack of 21,300ish words that I’m curling around and protecting as viciously as Smaug the dragon guards his gold. And yet when I last watched a Disney movie, none of these words existed. Hell, even the…

Why I used the strategy I did, and how you can too — If you’ve watched or read any sort of advice on self-publishing a book, you’ve probably come across people saying the same thing: Launching a book should be a slow process. Cover reveals, interviews, giveaways — all that stuff — should be done before the book is released during a lengthy…

Some submission calls writers should keep an eye on — There are many presses out there publishing anthologies — collections of short stories from different authors. But most are only open for a few weeks or months at a time, and it can be difficult keeping track of which ones writers can currently submit to. With that in mind, I’ve…

My impression after the first episode — Welcome to the new Game of Thrones. That was my overarching thought as we zipped across the map of Middle-Earth (and beyond), zooming in on different groups of characters, each with their own problems. It’s clear that Amazon wants this to be truly epic in scope, covering multiple plotlines and…

Anthology submissions are now open — It’s exciting times over at the publishing house I work at — Lost Boys Press. As of today, we are officially open for submissions for our next anthology, Empire of Beasts! We’re asking for short stories containing and focusing on anthropomorphised creatures (If you don’t know what that means, it…

Examples of this game’s timeless beauty — I have a few points to make, but you need to see this game first. So. Let me tell you about a typical day in Valheim. (Through screenshots, of course.) It began with a moment of contemplation in the early morning — lingering in the hall I built, piece by…

You might have noticed a change in the way Grammarly advertises itself in recent years. Nowadays, its ads are aimed at students or professionals — people who are engaged in technical writing that needs to be perceived a certain way. They don’t target novel writers. Can Grammarly improve a short…