So, first, a few updates and announcements to get out of the way. I’ll be embarking on another round of edits for The Xiaran Mongrel next week. It’s going to need a lot of edits. I’m not the kind of writer who takes pride in clean first drafts and am pretty happy to just have …
The last week has been a clusterfuck, and I’m still trying to process my feelings about it. My thoughts are all over the place. I came in here wanting to write a thorough article about certain topics, you know, bulletin points and all that, but then I realized I’m not in the right frame of …
Read more ““Just Write Well” — The Last Week, In Retrospect”
In epic fantasy, do you prefer character or worldbuilding? Which is “better” for a story? I know, you’re onto me now. It’s a trick question. I don’t believe there should be a separation. I love characters in books just like many people do, but I think great character work goes beyond just giving them well-rounded …
Read more “Epic Fantasy Ramblings: On Character and Worldbuilding”
After two years writing full-time, I came across an interesting revelation. The loudest voices aren’t always right, or the best, or even the majority. I KNOW, MINDBLOWING, RIGHT? But now I want to stretch that a bit further when it comes to book marketing and promotion. One of the biggest game-changers for me–the one that …
I have been reading some of Jose Rizal’s essays over the weekend, particularly The Indolence of The Filipino. My husband is an avid historian, and one of our favourite conversations of the past seventeen years has been on Philippine history. I frequently get dates and facts wrong, which always makes him scratch his head, so …
