by Joseph Malik | Sep 27, 2016 | Dragon's Trail, Writing Craft
This article was written as a part of VirtualFantasyCon 2016. So, personally, I took a bit of a different tack on the hero’s journey. Pour yourselves a cup of coffee; I’m going to show you how I got here, but it’s going to take a minute. When I started my...
by Joseph Malik | Sep 23, 2016 | Worldbuilding
There was a wonderful demonstration at DragonCon this year where two guys took a mild steel helmet and used a hardened-steel helmet to literally turn it into a pancake. Check this out at 11:45. Now, as cool as this is, these guys miss a huge point during the...
by Joseph Malik | Sep 16, 2016 | Worldbuilding
So the question came up on KBoards as to how to address a king. I’m not going to give you a history lesson because I don’t write history. Well, not Earth history. How you address various ranks and levels of royalty in fantasy is totally up to you....
by Joseph Malik | Sep 7, 2016 | Worldbuilding
Today, I want to touch on the only thing in fantasy more divisive than elves. Prologues. Let me start by saying that I don’t hate prologues. At least, not categorically. In fact, I’m thrilled when I read a properly-written prologue, and yes, there is a...