RITA ® Award-Winning Author of Fantasy Romance
//A dive into genre today, along with a discussion of whether there’s an identifiable plot arc for Science Fiction or Fantasy (hint: there isn’t), and what I’ve recently discovered about writing a Romance.
//I’m digging into how I balance the various demands of being a hybrid author, giving details on my current decision-tree, how I decide what to give my agent to submit to traditional publishing, etc.
//Spoilers for Guardians of the Galaxy 3 and Oppenheimer – I’m talking story structure, breaking the gridlock of chronology (which both of these do), the difference between backstory and flashbacks, and how a climactic beat CAN happen in a flashback!
//For lovers of The Mark of the Tala, I’m asking a question. Otherwise I’m talking about POV choices, how to decide, and rewriting from different POVs. Also, I’m teaching a Worldbuilding class in Portland August 4!
//The ROGUE FAMILIAR audiobook is out now! I’m talking about Jacqueline Carey’s CASSIEL’S SERVANT, how it compares to KUSHIEL’S DART, and on making choices about where to begin a story.
//On trusting the Story Brain, making choices and questioning those choices – authors, I’m looking for comments on your experiences – and also how much I loved Naomi Novik’s Scholomance trilogy.
//Creativity and vacations/holidays, moving from writing as a hobby to a career, taking your mental health seriously, maintaining writing productivity, meeting deadlines, and methods for aggressively filling the well.
//Tough love talk on how our families and the people who love us most can be the biggest obstacles to getting that writing time. Related: wants and needs, the difference between them and how other people try to tell what ours are.
//How I’m getting better at balance, increasing my wordcount, getting business done, and having more time to relax! Also, using AI “tools” as a writer and examining the whole point of being a creative in the first place.
//What it takes to be a career author – particularly a novelist – the kinds of sacrifices you have to make to carve out enough silence to hear the words of a story, and how there are no straight line trajectories.
