top of page

Stories

  1. The Unspoken History Inside a StoryReaders often remember a short story for the history it never states outright. A character flinches at a familiar song, breaks a habit learned from a parent,…
  2. When Two Realities Meet in Short FantasyParallel worlds offer short fantasy writers a powerful way to make the familiar strange. A character steps through a railway tunnel and emerges in another…
  3. Writing a noir heroine with a dangerous edgeA compelling noir heroine is more than a sharp-tongued detective in a leather coat. She may be a public defender, rideshare driver, journalist, debt collector,…
  4. The art of the cold open in speculative fictionA cold open drops readers into a story before they have been given the map. In speculative fiction, that first move can be especially potent: a character may…
  5. Writing Magic With A Deadly CostWriting a story where the magic system has a deadly cost begins with a simple creative decision: power must leave a mark. If a spell can heal a wound, summon a…
  6. Why Tartan Noir Uses Landscape as a Psychological MirrorIn Tartan Noir, the landscape is rarely a neutral setting. A rain-darkened glen, an abandoned croft or a narrow street under winter cloud can reveal as much…
  7. How a Secondary Character Can Reveal a Protagonist’s FlawsA secondary character can do far more than provide comic relief, deliver information, or wait for rescue. Used carefully, this figure becomes an emotional…
  8. The importance of pacing in a dialogue-heavy short storyDialogue can make a short story feel immediate, intimate and alive. A few well-chosen lines may reveal a family history, expose a lie or turn an ordinary…
  9. Crafting A Fantasy Language That Feels Organic, Not ArtificialA memorable fantasy language should feel as though people have used it for generations, shaped by work, migration, geography, affection and conflict. Readers…
  10. Writing a noir story with a female antagonist in powerNoir has always thrived on moral decay, shadowed alleyways, and characters operating at the edges of respectability. For decades the genre leaned heavily on…
bottom of page