Most scenes in a story consist of people having a conversation, in one way or another. Or fighting, of course, which is bizarrely similar. Even if there’s only one character in the scene, the chances are they’re thinking — and that’s communication of a kind. This is fine, but there a scene usually needs moreContinue reading “Decorating the White Room”
Tag Archives: story
The Shape of a Legend & Wyrmbane in Quest — 22 Stories of the Hero’s Journey
It’s exciting to have any story published, but I’m especially looking forward to the release, on 21st September, of Quest — 22 Stories of the Hero’s Journey. An anthology published by Fantasy-Writers.org, which I’ve been a member of since 2004, it features two of my stories among the twenty-two. A communal effort by the members,Continue reading “The Shape of a Legend & Wyrmbane in Quest — 22 Stories of the Hero’s Journey”
Fantasy-Writers.org Anthology —Author Interview with David Staiger
As I highlighted in a recent post, the writers’ group I belong to, Fantasy-Writers.org, is about to publish an anthology of members’ stories. This is Quest: 22 Stories of the Hero’s Journey. To whet your appetite, this is an interview with David Staiger, one of the seventeen authors represented in the anthology, about his storiesContinue reading “Fantasy-Writers.org Anthology —Author Interview with David Staiger”
Quest — A Fantasy-Writers.org Anthology
There have been a few moments in my writing life that have changed everything. One was a long walk I took the family dog on when I was fifteen, in the course of which I thought up and planned a story which proved to be the germ for much of what I’ve written since. AnotherContinue reading “Quest — A Fantasy-Writers.org Anthology”
You Get Your Sword and I’ll Get My Trowel — Archaeological Fantasy
We’ve always been fascinated by far-off lands, unknown civilisations and lost cities. Ancient legends, from Gilgamesh to Odysseus to St Brendan, told of voyages that discovered lands lying just a little off the map. During the late mediaeval and early modern period, countless books were published purporting to tell of voyages to bizarre and fantasticContinue reading “You Get Your Sword and I’ll Get My Trowel — Archaeological Fantasy”
First-Snow Feast — A Story for Christmas
Gerda and the Darkness Published in Death +70
My story Gerda and the Darkness was recently published in Death +70, the rather curiously titled anthology from the equally curiously titled imprint Harvey Duckman Presents. This is a collection of eighteen stories by a variety of authors, whose theme is described as “Tantalising Tales from Beyond the Apocalypse”. The publisher describes it as “aContinue reading “Gerda and the Darkness Published in Death +70”
A Fantasy World That’s All Grown Up
There’s a very clear traditional idea of what a fantasy world is supposed to be like. It has warriors riding horses and wielding swords and axes. It doesn’t have them travelling on planes and operating computers. It just doesn’t. But why not? After all, our world has had all that and much, much more, atContinue reading “A Fantasy World That’s All Grown Up”
My Writing Goals for 2024
New Year is a terrible time for resolutions. We make them because we feel under pressure to do so, not because we really want to. We “ought” to go on that diet or join the gym, and the commitment quickly runs out because it comes from outside. Far better to make the resolution at whateverContinue reading “My Writing Goals for 2024”
Introducing Loshi vi Assarid — The Thief of Shimeth
Back in the late 1970s, I wrote a short story called The Gift of the Outcast. It was a deliberate attempt to write something that was closer to traditional sword & sorcery than the more elaborate fantasy I was writing. It concerned a young thief, Loshi, in a city called Shimeth who was hired toContinue reading “Introducing Loshi vi Assarid — The Thief of Shimeth”
The Fantasy Worlds of Nyki Blatchley 