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Noel Rooney

Worldbuilding 11: tools of the trade?

Tools of the trade?

Fantasy literature is a niche in the publishing market but it has spawned a rather larger industry online: the myriad websites, agencies and resourceful individuals that promise to guide you through the process of creation, from inspirational beginnings to successful outcomes. These various agencies hold out the promise that you are not alone in your ivory tower - help is at hand.
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Ask the Editor 17: Past or present tense?

Past or present tense?

For most of the history of literature, there was no question about which tense to set a story in. Stories happened in the past by definition (otherwise they would not be stories) and therefore they were written in the past tense. Simple.  Read more

Ask the Editor 16: Points of View

Points of View

One of the more basic options - or quandaries if that's how you see it - in writing a novel is whether you write in the first or third person (I know; in theory you can write in the second person too but examples are few and far between). The question of point of view (POV) is not quite as straightforward as it might seem; there are advantages and pitfalls in every choice.  Read more

Worldbuilding 10: the name of the rose, and other things

The name of the rose, and other things

There are more things in the world than folk, and there are more things in a novel than characters. The world you build for a fantasy setting should give the reader a sense of completeness, and consistency; this means that you should pay attention to the smaller, peripheral elements as well as the main characters and events.  Read more

Ask the editor 15: Writing a memoir

Writing a memoir

‘A memory,' writes Edward de Bono, ‘is what is left when something happens and does not completely unhappen.' Not the most romantic view of it, perhaps (for that you might want to read Proust or Cicero) but de Bono is pointing to something elusive about the past that is worth thinking about.  Read more

The Pedant 8: How to make your editor happy: Grammar rants

Grammar rants

Here's a couplet from the pen of Ben Jonson to ponder:

The maws and dens of beasts could not receive
the bodies that those souls were frighted from.  Read more

Worldbuilding 9: how should my characters speak?

How should my characters speak?

Your world is constructed: you have a comprehensive setting, a cast of characters (human and/or otherwise), and a plot ready to launch. You come to the first lines of dialogue in the story; how do your characters speak? In this article I'll look at some useful strategies, and some of the pitfalls, involved in fantasy dialogue.  Read more

Ask the editor 14: ... And endings

... And endings

‘Always leave them wanting more'; that little show-business adage has a lot to answer for. It colours our expectations, as an audience, of how a movie or a comedy act should finish; and it influences our expectations, as readers and writers, of books. I think the adage is true for precisely half of the books you read or write; for the other half it indicates a failure on the author's part.  Read more

Worldbuilding 8: non-human characters

An elf, a dwarf and a goblin walk into a tavern: no, that's not the first line of a terrible joke. All too often, however, it is the default setting for fantasy literature; a convention that, from some angles, rather resembles a cliché. In this article I'll examine some of the pros and cons of having non-human characters and how they affect your worldbuilding.  Read more

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