Roleplaying D&D 5E Druid Subclasses Ranked, Part 1 Last time, I wrapped up my cleric subclass rankings. Now, it’s time for the druid. As a reminder, there are three main categories I’m looking at as I judge the power level of each subclass: combat strength, allowance for a range of powerful builds, and … read more »
Q&A Where Do I Start My Story? Hi again. So I’ve done all the worldbuilding, I have the plot and know where I want my story to go, but how do I start it? I started with the first chapter but it was boring. I want to show the reader that my … read more »
Podcast 335 – Training in Fiction Sometimes, you just need to up your power level so you can master the ultimate technique and open yourself to the universe, which means it’s training time. Training is a common feature of spec fic, and it can be a lot of fun. It can … read more »
Storytelling Six Signs of a Weak Throughline Throughlines are the conflict that ties your story together from beginning to end. The throughline is a story’s core, and if it isn’t working, chances are that very little else is. Unfortunately, a weak or missing throughline is easily the most common problem my content … read more »
Writing Five Simple Ways to Make Your Prose Easier to Read Some stories have succeeded despite their purple prose or clichéd descriptions. But if your narration is hard to read, you’ll have trouble just finding beta readers, much less agents, publishers, or happy customers. However, we all start somewhere, and naturally, some of us are more … read more »
Roleplaying D&D 5E Cleric Subclasses Ranked, Part 3 Last time, we continued our journey through the cleric’s 14 subclasses. Now, we finish that journey. As a reminder, there are three main categories I am looking at as I judge the power level of each subclass: combat strength, allowance for a range of powerful … read more »
Q&A Can I Conceal Information in a First-Person Viewpoint? Is it possible to have a first-person narrator hiding a secret from the reader (and from other characters), which would be revealed at some point later in the story? And I mean not being an unreliable narrator. I can see how this could be done … read more »
Podcast 334 – Monarchy in Spec Fic All hail the once and future podcaster, hidden away among the common folk until their true audio greatness could one day be revealed! That’s right, we’re talking about monarchies in speculative fiction: why writers use them so often, how they can be a problem, and … read more »
