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- Completely Broken A novel of contemporary horror
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- A Reader's Guide to R.A. Salvatore's the Legend of Drizzt An essential companion to the greatest hero of the Forgotten Realms world
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- MegaTraveller: MANHUNT: Thirty-two years late, but better than never!
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- Classic Monsters, Modern Love: How a New Generation of Fans is Keeping the Universal Monsters Alive
- Publisher's Weekly “Is the Universe Expanding or Contracting?”
- Hunting for MANHUNT: The behind the scenes tale of my lost MegaTraveller adventure!
- Inside Storytelling: Writing Monsters, Creatures & Villains
- Porter Anderson vs. Movie Examples: With some nice things to say about my Living Dialogue seminar at the Writer’s Digest conference.
- 10 Questions with…ME! I get grilled by Ryan Schneider.
- SF Signal Mind Meld: Aliens I join other SF/F authors and editors on the subject of what makes a good alien.
- Ask the (Book) Editors: Panel video from 2013 Emerald City Comicon!
- Writer's Digest Guest Blog: How to Make a Vampire Not Suck
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- Writer's Digest Interview: On Writing F&SF.
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- Roleplaying Tips: Interviews me!
- The Fanitarium Podcast: Interviews Philip Athans
- 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 Horror: Reading, Breathing and the Long Sentence (at Writer’s Digest)
- Worldcasting: I join the guys from Worldbuilding Magazine for a chat about… everything!
Past Posts
Category Archives: Traveller
I RANDOMLY GENERATED A RELIGION
…and here’s why, how, and what I ended up with… This is part of what at this point is just kind of a fun exercise, exploring the idea of writing a randomly generated fantasy novel as part of an effort to maybe write … 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, Dungeons & Dragons, fiction writing blog, fiction writing websites, 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, Pulp Fiction, RPG, Science Fiction & Fantasy Novels, Traveller, 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, Dungeons & Dragons, Fantasy, Fiction, genre fiction, horror, Philip Athans, Publishing, Publishing Business, Science Fiction, worldbuilding, Writing, writing advice, writing exercises, writing fantasy, writing horror, writing process, writing science fiction
1 Comment
FOR THE LOVE OF PRETEND MAPS
Or, more accurately, for the love of maps of pretend places. Maps have been appearing in fantasy literature going back—how long? I’m not even sure. At least to Tolkien, yes? Homer? Maybe—some editions, at least. There are ancient maps of … 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, Dungeons & Dragons, fantasy movies, fiction writing blog, fiction writing websites, Game of Thrones, 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, Traveller, 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, Dungeons & Dragons, Fantasy, Fiction, genre fiction, Philip Athans, Publishing, Publishing Business, Science Fiction, worldbuilding, Writing, writing advice, writing exercises, writing process
10 Comments
WHY FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION
Why not? Isn’t that a good enough answer? It is for me, but let’s look at this subject again, and bring in some experts. I love fantasy and science fiction and I have all my life. I have refused to … 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, fantasy movies, fiction writing blog, fiction writing websites, 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, Publishing Business, RPG, Science Fiction & Fantasy Novels, science fiction movies, science fiction technology, SF and Fantasy Authors, technology, Traveller, 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, Dungeons & Dragons, editor, Fantasy, Fiction, genre fiction, Philip Athans, Publishing, Publishing Business, read more, Science Fiction, Writing, writing advice
1 Comment
THE VIRTUE OF SHELFIENESS
Hey, Objectivists, see what I did there? I’ve been seeing so-called “shelfies” all over social media for a while now, and have even shared a few glimpses of my own shelves from time to time, but this week, I want … 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, comic books, Dungeons & Dragons, fiction writing blog, fiction writing websites, 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, Pulp Fiction, RPG, Science Fiction & Fantasy Novels, SF and Fantasy Authors, Traveller, websites for authors, websites for writers, writers to authors, Writing, writing advice, writing fantasy, writing horror, writing science fiction, Writing Science Fiction & Fantasy
Tagged author, authors, best fantasy novels, Books, comic books, creative process, Dungeons & Dragons, editor, Fantasy, Fiction, Forgotten Realms, genre fiction, Philip Athans, Publishing, Publishing Business, read more, Science Fiction, Star Trek, Wizards of the Coast, Writing, writing advice
2 Comments
ANSIBLES, BLASTERS, AND CREDITS, OH MY!
I tackled the complex subject of genre clichés, archetypes, and originality in The Guide to Writing Fantasy and Science Fiction: Certain key components, like dragons in fantasy or robots in science fiction, are free for the taking. No one, even … 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, help for writers, helping writers become authors, how to write fantasy, how to write fiction, how to write horror, how to write science fiction, intellectual property development, Publishing Business, Pulp Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy Novels, science fiction movies, science fiction technology, SF and Fantasy Authors, technology, transmedia, Traveller, Video Games, websites for authors, websites for writers, writers to authors, Writing, writing advice, writing fantasy, writing horror, writing science fiction, Writing Science Fiction & Fantasy
Tagged author, authors, Books, creative process, Fantasy, Fiction, genre fiction, J.M. McDermott, Philip Athans, Publishing, Publishing Business, Science Fiction, Star Trek, Star Wars novels, Weird Tales, worldbuilding, Writing, writing advice
3 Comments
PLAY!
When I was in seventh grade and extremely into Legos I made a starship—really just the floorplan—and populated it with a crew of the newly-released mini figures. I then devised a monster with a tail that ended in the twirling … 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, Dungeons & Dragons, fiction writing blog, fiction writing websites, help for writers, helping writers become authors, 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, transmedia, Traveller, websites for authors, websites for writers, writers to authors, Writing, writing advice, writing fantasy, writing horror, writing science fiction, Writing Science Fiction & Fantasy
Tagged author, authors, best fantasy novels, best sellers, Books, creative process, Dungeons & Dragons, Fantasy, Fiction, Forgotten Realms, genre fiction, Philip Athans, Publishing, Publishing Business, Science Fiction, worldbuilding, Writing, writing advice, writing exercises, writing process
2 Comments
PORTLAND COMIC CON 2015
Okay, you just have to go to conventions. Unless you really live in the remotest of areas there is one nearby at least once a year, and if you’re willing to drive or even fly a few hundred miles there … Continue reading
Posted in Books, comic books, conventions, creative team, Dungeons & Dragons, horror novels, how to write fiction, indie publishing, monsters, Publishing Business, RPG, Science Fiction & Fantasy Novels, SF and Fantasy Authors, transmedia, Traveller, Writing
Tagged author, authors, Books, comic books, Fantasy, Fiction, genre fiction, Philip Athans, Publishing, Publishing Business, Science Fiction, Writing, writing advice
2 Comments
CATCHING UP WITH PHIL (AGAIN)
It’s late already for our regular Tuesday get-together, and all sorts of ideas for posts have been stacking up, but it’s been a while since I’ve done a sort of round-up of all the things that are going on with … Continue reading
Posted in Books, creative team, Dungeons & Dragons, horror novels, how to write fiction, indie publishing, monsters, NaNoWriMo, Publishing Business, Science Fiction & Fantasy Novels, SF and Fantasy Authors, transmedia, Traveller, Writing, writing advice, writing horror, Writing Science Fiction & Fantasy
Tagged author, authors, Books, creative process, Dungeons & Dragons, editor, Fantasy, Fiction, Forgotten Realms, genre fiction, Philip Athans, Publishing, Publishing Business, R.A. Salvatore, Science Fiction, watch less TV, Wizards of the Coast, Writing, writing advice, writing process
1 Comment
WHY AMAZON DOESN’T SCARE ME
Depending on whether or not you’ve put all your indie publishing eggs in the Kindle Select Program or not, you may see Amazon as the Great Liberator or the Great Satan. If you’re trying to run an independent brick-and-mortar bookstore—first … Continue reading
Posted in Arron of the Black Forest, Books, E-Books, horror novels, how to write fiction, indie publishing, POD, Publishing Business, Science Fiction & Fantasy Novels, SF and Fantasy Authors, The Fathomless Abyss, transmedia, Traveller, Writing, writing advice, Writing Science Fiction & Fantasy
Tagged Amazon, author, author self-promotion, authors, Books, e-books, e-readers, editor, Fantasy, Fiction, genre fiction, KDP, KDP Select, Kindle Unlimited, Philip Athans, Publishing, Publishing Business, Science Fiction, self-publishing, Writing, writing advice, writing exercises, writing process
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MORE TRAVELLER . . . FINALLY!
It’s been way too long getting the new fiction line for Marc Miller’s latest version of the venerable role-playing game Traveller up and running, and I have to admit that most of that is my fault, but at last . . . The … Continue reading
Posted in Books, creative team, E-Books, indie publishing, POD, Publishing Business, RPG, Science Fiction & Fantasy Novels, SF and Fantasy Authors, transmedia, Traveller, Writing, writing advice, Writing Science Fiction & Fantasy
Tagged author, authors, Books, creative process, e-books, editor, Fiction, genre fiction, Marc Miller, Martin J. Dougherty, MegaTraveller RPG, Philip Athans, Publishing, Robert E. Vardeman, Science Fiction, Traveller RPG, Traveller Universe, worldbuilding, Writing, writing exercises
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