#merchantstale

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The History of World-Building

I don't take the world as it is; I make a world that suits me. The History of World-Building | @MDellertDotCom

One of the coolest things about working in the speculative fiction genre is that I don’t have to take the world as it is; I can make up a world that suits me.

But don’t get the idea that world-creation is a wondrous free-for-all in which you come up with all kinds of fantastical ideas, ask your questions about “why,” “how,” and “then what,” and then there’s this big magical pile of good stuff,…

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The Road is Dark, and Full of Terrors

"People ask me what the road to publication is like." The Road is Dark, and Full of Terrors | @MDellertDotCom #APC

People often ask me what my road to publication has been like. It’s not a question that lends itself to a short or particularly intelligent answer. It was long, bumpy, uphill, dark and full of terrors, plagued by dead ends and switchbacks.

For years, I wanted to write. I kept a journal and built worlds in my basement, but I never took it too seriously. There were always other things that seemed…

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Clarity vs. Mystery: More Things You Don’t Know about Book Cover Design

Clarity vs. Mystery: More Things You Don’t Know about Book Cover Design | @MDellertDotCom

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a bit of an amateur aficionado of book cover design. I grew up on the amazing artwork of fantasy and science-fiction book covers, and I’ve always been fascinated by them: Do they represent something in the book? Do they conceptualize the theme? And perhaps most importantly: How did they do that?!

The Art of First Impressions

Everyone knows the saying, “You can’t…

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Clarity vs. Mystery: More Things You Don’t Know about Book Cover Design

Clarity vs. Mystery: More Things You Don’t Know about Book Cover Design | @MDellertDotCom #IndiePublisher #APC #IBBS

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a bit of an amateur aficionado of book cover design. I grew up on the amazing artwork of fantasy and science-fiction book covers, and I’ve always been fascinated by them: Do they represent something in the book? Do they conceptualize the theme? And perhaps most importantly: How did they do that?!

The Art of First Impressions

Everyone knows the saying, “You can’t…

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How to Write a Serial Novella in Five Drafts

We all want to write a story. But how do you do it? How to Write a Serial Novella in Five Drafts | @MDellertDotCom

We all want to write a story. We’ve got an idea or maybe just a dream, but we’re not sure where to go with it or what to do next. How do you know when it’s time to write that story and, more importantly, how do you write the story?

That’s a question I get asked on a daily basis, and there are as many answers as there are writers. There are also different answers depending on what kind of story…

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Don’t Strangle Your Unborn Story

Trust your curiosity. Don’t Strangle Your Unborn Story | @MDellertDotCom

Too many writers walk into their creative process with half a notion of the story in mind, and then do everything they can to shoehorn their creative faculties into that half-notion of a story. Don’t strangle your unborn story like this. Give it time to live and breathe first. In the earliest stages of writing a story or a novel or a screenplay, you’re not structuring it yet. Instead, allow your…

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Imagining a World

"You have to give yourself time to play." Imagining a World | @MDellertDotCom

The first step in the writing process is to simply imagine the world of your story. When you attempt to plot out your story, you may find yourself just writing your idea of the story. The idea isn’t necessarily wrong, in fact, it might be bang on. But it’s probably not the whole story.

The story lives somewhere in your heart, your soul, your subconscious. Or wherever else you keep stories; maybe…

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Nine Sources of Unforgettable Characters

There's no magical process involved. Nine Sources of Unforgettable Characters | @MDellertDotCom

Note: On Friday, 9 January 2016, I’ll be releasing a free serial novella called A Merchant’s Tale: Second Tale in the Matter of Manred. Continuing on from the events of Hedge King in Winter, this exciting new story is nevertheless not a sequel. New elements of the Manred milieu will be explored, new challenges will be encountered, and new characters will be introduced. The following is a study of…

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