Unless your futuristic society is comprised entirely of robots (a valid choice, of course), then there is going to be some sort of popular culture....
Pop Culture in a Futuristic Society
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J.S. Morin
Rebranding: Cover and Title Upgrades for Black Ocean
Sometimes you reach a point where writing another book isn't going to sell more of the earlier ones. One more promotion, one more guest blog,...
5 Worldbuilding Fouls (and How to Avoid Them)
If worldbuilding is the art of making someone believe in a world that doesn't exist (and it is), then anything that shakes that belief is a strike...
Self-Editing for Continuity
One of the biggest mistakes a writer can make is a break in continuity. Immersion grinds to a halt, the reader does a double-take, and if...
So You Want to Be a Writer
With the ever-increasing ease of self-publishing, more and more people are becoming writers. Most are doing it on the side of some other occupation,...
Why Science Fantasy Works
I hear the question come up every once in a while: "Can I write fantasy set in a sci-fi universe?" There seems to be some cognitive dissonance...
Medieval Stasis: Why is Fantasy Trapped in the Past
You're reading a story about a knight, a huntsman, and a wizard. They stumble across the ruins of a lost civilization, but something seems strange....
Series Mentality
Write one book, and you can feel confident in calling yourself an author. Write three, and you might make a career out of it yet. Write a dozen,...
Readers Are Rectangles; Writers Are Squares
All squares are rectangles, but not all rectangles are squares. Take that axiom from grade-school math class and replace "squares" with...
Worldbuilding: the Gift that Keeps on Taking
"I'm working on a story, but I'm stuck on the worldbuilding." I've heard some variant of this enough times that I felt the need to do...
Worldbuilding: One Versus One Billion
There are over 7 billion people on Earth. Your story world may have more, it may have fewer, but unless you are writing a creation myth, you're...
Who Is Your Protagonist?
When you write, you're bound to end up with a protagonist or two along the way (it would be a good trick not to!). Understanding your plot and how...
Arguing With the Universe: The Magic of Black Ocean
With the release of the 5th book in the Black Ocean series (Alien Racer), I figured it was a good time to start talking some about the...
Editing Dialogue: When the Rules Become Suggestions
I have written characters that speak like kings and professors. Perfect diction. Perfect use of vocabulary. Perfect grammar. This is fine for...
An Author is a Ventriloquist
'Never let the audience see your lips move.' To a ventriloquist, this seems like obvious advice. But to an author, it can be equally valuable. Part...
This is Why We Have Editors
I use commas the way the B29 dropped bombs: let them loose to fall where they may, and hope they land where you want them. I can't spell names I...
Wonder vs. Nostalgia: Two Reasons to Read Fantasy
There are two reasons people read fantasy. No, really. There are dozens of reasons to read, from escapism to information, spiritual growth to...
Black Ocean Series Trailer
I put together a trailer for the Black Ocean series. Let me know in the comments what you think.
Mark Lawrence’s Great Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off!
Back at the beginning of March, fantasy author Mark Lawrence put out a call on his website for self-published fantasy authors looking for exposure....
Year 2 of My 5-10 Year Overnight Success Plan
Just like last year, I missed commemorating the late-January anniversary of my first book's release. Firehurler came out at the end of January,...
Frodo versus Bilbo: Who Is the Greatest Hobbit Hero?
Middle Earth has a curious habit of producing heroes from the most unlikely of sources: the Shire. A home for the homebody. Comforting to the...
Leonard Nimoy and Spock – The Actor Who Became an Ambassador
Leonard Nimoy passed away on February 27th, 2015, at the age of 83. He was William Bell in the TV series Fringe, and appeared in Mission Impossible...
Worldbuilding Part 01 – Introduction to Worldbuilding
Transcript (for whoever might prefer it): What is worldbuilding? The term gets thrown around a lot when talking about science fiction and fantasy....
The Best Fantasy Story Ever… Hasn’t Been Written Yet
What's the best fantasy story ever? The Odyssey? Alice in Wonderland? The Lord of the Rings? A Game of Thrones? Odds are, as good as those are, the...