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- Writer's Digest Interview: On Writing F&SF.
- Porter Anderson vs. Movie Examples: With some nice things to say about my Living Dialogue seminar at the Writer’s Digest conference.
- Horror Authors: How to Scare the Heck Out of Your Readers A guest post at The Write Life with practical tips for scaring the crap out of your readers.
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- Monsters in D&D, Books, Movies… Dicegeeks Podcast interview with Phil!
- How to Create a Magic System: M.S. Farzan and Storyteller’s Handbook features The Guide to Writing Fantasy and Science Fiction
- How To Write Monsters With Philip Athans The Creative Penn Podcasts me!
- Classic Monsters, Modern Love: How a New Generation of Fans is Keeping the Universal Monsters Alive
- Longwinded One Podcast: Episode 158: Philip Athans: The Years of Phil
- Inside Storytelling: Writing Monsters, Creatures & Villains
- Hunting for MANHUNT: The behind the scenes tale of my lost MegaTraveller adventure!
- G.W. Tirpa Lives! (or lived, anyway) Jordan Sorcery on Dark*Matter…gone but not forgotten.
Past Posts
Category Archives: Science Fiction & Fantasy Novels
DO YOUR CHARACTERS EXHIBIT GREATNESS AND GRANDEUR?
A couple days ago I started reading The Deceivers by John D. MacDonald, chosen at random from my huge shelf of old paperbacks. Very early in the book, two characters, both of whom are readers, have a late night conversation that centers on … Continue reading
Posted in authors helping authors, authors to writers, best fantasy blogs, best genre fiction blogs, best horror blogs, best science fiction blogs, best websites for authors, best websites for writers, Books, characters, fiction writing blog, fiction writing websites, freelance editing, help for writers, helping writers become authors, horror novels, how to write fantasy, how to write fiction, how to write horror, how to write science fiction, Publishing Business, Science Fiction & Fantasy Novels, SF and Fantasy Authors, websites for authors, websites for writers, writers to authors, Writing, writing advice, Writing Community, writing fantasy, writing horror, writing science fiction, Writing Science Fiction & Fantasy
Tagged author, authors, best fantasy novels, best sellers, Books, creative process, editor, Fantasy, Fiction, genre fiction, horror, Philip Athans, Publishing, Publishing Business, Science Fiction, Writing, writing advice, writing fantasy, writing horror, writing science fiction
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BOOKS FOR FANTASY AUTHORS XXXIX: TAKE JOY, AGAIN
I recommended Take Joy: A Writer’s Guide to Loving the Craft by Jane Yolen here at Fantasy Author’s Handbook way back in April of 2010. Since then it’s remained on the top of my list of books on the art and craft … Continue reading
Posted in authors helping authors, authors to writers, best fantasy blogs, best genre fiction blogs, best horror blogs, best science fiction blogs, best websites for authors, best websites for writers, Books, characters, fiction writing blog, fiction writing websites, freelance editing, freelance writing, help for writers, helping writers become authors, how to write fantasy, how to write fiction, how to write horror, how to write science fiction, indie publishing, Publishing Business, Science Fiction & Fantasy Novels, SF and Fantasy Authors, Story Structure, websites for authors, websites for writers, writers to authors, Writing, writing advice, Writing Community, writing fantasy, writing horror, writing science fiction, Writing Science Fiction & Fantasy
Tagged author, authors, Books, creative process, editor, Fantasy, Fiction, genre fiction, horror, Philip Athans, Publishing, Publishing Business, Science Fiction, worldbuilding, Writing, writing advice, writing dialog, writing exercises, writing fantasy, writing horror, writing process, writing science fiction
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ADVERBS ARE FINE!
I won’t always repeat subjects/text between here and the YouTube channel, but this one seemed to strike a chord, and I think it’s usually better to see things like this—the text examples—in written form, so once more into the breach! … Continue reading
Posted in authors helping authors, authors to writers, best fantasy blogs, best genre fiction blogs, best horror blogs, best science fiction blogs, best websites for authors, best websites for writers, fiction writing blog, fiction writing websites, freelance editing, help for writers, helping writers become authors, how to write fantasy, how to write fiction, how to write horror, how to write science fiction, Publishing Business, Science Fiction & Fantasy Novels, SF and Fantasy Authors, websites for authors, websites for writers, writers to authors, Writing, writing advice, Writing Community, writing fantasy, writing horror, writing science fiction, Writing Science Fiction & Fantasy
Tagged author, authors, best fantasy novels, best sellers, Books, creative process, editor, Fantasy, Fiction, genre fiction, horror, Philip Athans, Publishing, Publishing Business, Science Fiction, Writing, writing advice, writing dialog, writing fantasy, writing horror, writing science fiction
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GET THEE BEHIND ME GOALS
It’s January again, and time to watch those well-intentioned New Years resolutions starting already to crumble. If you’re reading this thinking, What? My New Years resolutions never crumble! well, congratulations on your being a part of 0.1% of the population. The rest … Continue reading
Posted in authors helping authors, authors to writers, best fantasy blogs, best genre fiction blogs, best horror blogs, best science fiction blogs, best websites for authors, best websites for writers, Books, fiction writing blog, fiction writing websites, freelance editing, help for writers, helping writers become authors, how to write fantasy, how to write fiction, how to write horror, how to write science fiction, Publishing Business, Science Fiction & Fantasy Novels, SF and Fantasy Authors, websites for authors, websites for writers, writers to authors, Writing, writing advice, Writing Community, writing fantasy, writing horror, writing science fiction, Writing Science Fiction & Fantasy
Tagged author, authors, best fantasy novels, best sellers, Books, creative process, editor, Fantasy, Fiction, genre fiction, horror, Philip Athans, Publishing, Publishing Business, read more, resolutions, Science Fiction, Writing, writing advice, writing fantasy, writing horror, writing process, writing science fiction
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I GUESS WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT GOODREADS
First off, as a much-needed addendum to my post from last week regarding the epic career self-destruction of former debut author Cait Corrain, please watch the video “What the Cait Corrain Situation Says About Publishing” from librarian and BookTuber Bookish Realm in … Continue reading
Posted in authors helping authors, authors to writers, best fantasy blogs, best genre fiction blogs, best horror blogs, best science fiction blogs, best websites for authors, best websites for writers, Books, fiction writing blog, fiction writing websites, freelance editing, help for writers, helping writers become authors, how to write fantasy, how to write fiction, how to write horror, how to write science fiction, indie publishing, Publishing Business, Science Fiction & Fantasy Novels, SF and Fantasy Authors, websites for authors, websites for writers, writers to authors, Writing, writing advice, Writing Community, writing fantasy, writing horror, writing science fiction, Writing Science Fiction & Fantasy
Tagged author, authors, best sellers, Books, editor, Fantasy, Fiction, genre fiction, horror, Philip Athans, Publishing, Publishing Business, Science Fiction, Wizards of the Coast, Writing, writing advice, writing exercises, writing fantasy, writing horror, writing process, writing science fiction
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LET’S ALL LEARN FROM THIS DEBUT AUTHOR MEGA-FAIL
Oh, my goodness, I don’t want to be talking about this. I want to be positive, to be a cheerleader for everything and everyone books, and I work hard to be exactly that guy here, on YouTube, on GoodReads, and on social … Continue reading
Posted in authors helping authors, authors to writers, best fantasy blogs, best genre fiction blogs, best horror blogs, best science fiction blogs, best websites for authors, best websites for writers, Books, fiction writing blog, fiction writing websites, freelance editing, help for writers, helping writers become authors, how to write fantasy, how to write fiction, how to write horror, how to write science fiction, indie publishing, Publishing Business, Science Fiction & Fantasy Novels, SF and Fantasy Authors, websites for authors, websites for writers, writers to authors, Writing, writing advice, Writing Community, writing fantasy, writing horror, writing science fiction, Writing Science Fiction & Fantasy
Tagged author, authors, best sellers, Books, editor, Fantasy, Fiction, genre fiction, horror, Philip Athans, Publishing, Publishing Business, Science Fiction, Writing, writing advice, writing fantasy, writing horror, writing process, writing science fiction
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WHAT I’M THANKFUL FOR, 2023
I don’t do this every year, the Thanksgiving post, but I don’t know, why not…? I suppose one reason not to could be better explained by my post from two weeks ago, “Authorship in the Post-privacy Age,” in which I … Continue reading
Posted in authors helping authors, authors to writers, best fantasy blogs, best genre fiction blogs, best horror blogs, best science fiction blogs, best websites for authors, best websites for writers, Books, Dungeons & Dragons, fiction writing blog, fiction writing websites, freelance editing, freelance writing, freelancing, help for writers, helping writers become authors, how to write fantasy, how to write fiction, how to write horror, how to write science fiction, Publishing Business, Science Fiction & Fantasy Novels, SF and Fantasy Authors, websites for authors, websites for writers, writers to authors, Writing, writing advice, Writing Community, writing fantasy, writing horror, writing science fiction, Writing Science Fiction & Fantasy
Tagged author, authors, best fantasy novels, Books, creative process, editor, Fantasy, Fiction, genre fiction, horror, Philip Athans, Publishing, Publishing Business, Science Fiction, Wizards of the Coast, Writing, writing advice, writing exercises, writing fantasy, writing horror, writing process, writing science fiction
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ON “ON ORIGINALITY” BY HARUKI MURAKAMI
At the Fantasy Author’s Handbook GoodReads group we’ve been reading Novelist as a Vocation by Japanese author Haruki Murakami, who is one of my favorite novelists of all time. The book is a collection of essays Murakami wrote in part for the magazine Monkey Business and … Continue reading
Posted in authors helping authors, authors to writers, best fantasy blogs, best genre fiction blogs, best horror blogs, best science fiction blogs, best websites for authors, best websites for writers, Books, fiction writing blog, fiction writing websites, freelance editing, help for writers, helping writers become authors, horror novels, how to write fantasy, how to write fiction, how to write horror, how to write science fiction, Publishing Business, Science Fiction & Fantasy Novels, SF and Fantasy Authors, Uncategorized, websites for authors, websites for writers, writers to authors, Writing, writing advice, Writing Community, writing fantasy, writing horror, writing science fiction, Writing Science Fiction & Fantasy
Tagged author, authors, best fantasy novels, best sellers, Books, creative process, editor, Fantasy, Fiction, genre fiction, horror, Philip Athans, Publishing, Publishing Business, Science Fiction, worldbuilding, Writing, writing advice, writing fantasy, writing horror, writing process, writing science fiction
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HORROR AUTHOR’S HANDBOOK—THE HALLOWEEN EDITION
You know I don’t just write about writing fantasy here at Fantasy Author’s Handbook, right? I’ve talked horror quite often here, and in honor of Halloween falling on a Tuesday, how about a look back and some scary stuff from Fantasy Horror Author’s … Continue reading
Posted in authors helping authors, authors to writers, best genre fiction blogs, best horror blogs, best science fiction blogs, best websites for authors, best websites for writers, Books, characters, fiction writing blog, fiction writing websites, freelance editing, help for writers, helping writers become authors, horror movies, horror novels, how to write fantasy, how to write fiction, how to write horror, how to write science fiction, monsters, Publishing Business, Pulp Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy Novels, SF and Fantasy Authors, Story Structure, websites for authors, websites for writers, writers to authors, Writing, writing advice, Writing Community, writing fantasy, writing horror, writing science fiction, Writing Science Fiction & Fantasy
Tagged author, authors, best fantasy novels, best sellers, Books, creative process, editor, Fantasy, Fiction, genre fiction, horror, Philip Athans, Publishing, Publishing Business, Science Fiction, Weird Tales, worldbuilding, Writing, writing advice, writing fantasy, writing horror, writing process, writing science fiction
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FANTASY AUTHOR’S HANDBOOK INTO THE FUTURE!
Big things are happening at Fantasy Author’s Handbook! It’s not just the little blog that could anymore. I’m bringing it out into new vistas. Never fear, though, the weekly Tuesday blog will continue—is continuing, in fact. But so far two … Continue reading
Posted in authors helping authors, authors to writers, best fantasy blogs, best genre fiction blogs, best horror blogs, best science fiction blogs, best websites for authors, best websites for writers, Books, fiction writing blog, fiction writing websites, freelance editing, help for writers, helping writers become authors, how to write fantasy, how to write fiction, how to write horror, how to write science fiction, indie publishing, Publishing Business, Pulp Fiction, RPG, Science Fiction & Fantasy Novels, SF and Fantasy Authors, websites for authors, websites for writers, writers to authors, Writing, writing advice, Writing Community, writing fantasy, writing horror, writing science fiction, Writing Science Fiction & Fantasy
Tagged author, authors, best fantasy novels, Books, creative process, editor, Fantasy, Fiction, genre fiction, horror, Philip Athans, Publishing, Publishing Business, Science Fiction, Writing, writing advice, writing exercises, writing fantasy, writing horror, writing process, writing science fiction
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Fantasy Author's Handbook 