by kingdompen | Sep 18, 2017 | Articles, World Building
A fine line separates inspiration and imitation, or so the saying goes. Writers struggle to define this boundary more than most artists—they are, after all, rearranging the same twenty-six letters in various patterns judged to be the most pleasing to the mind and ear....by kingdompen | Sep 13, 2017 | Articles, World Building
By Amy CaylorI've always adored fantasy. I’m fascinated with princesses in castles and knights battling dragons. But I especially love magic (and yes, Christians can write about it with discretion). To live in a world where books have self-turning pages and...by kingdompen | Aug 21, 2017 | Articles, Plot
Your character wants something. But someone else in his world, perhaps a friend or a random stranger, wants the opposite. These incompatible goals define them as the protagonist and antagonist. They both can’t succeed, so when their desires clash, behold! You have the...by Josiah DeGraaf | Apr 29, 2017 | Articles, Theme
Few flaws can kill a story’s theme and message as much as blatancy. We’ve all read books that constantly hit us over the head with the author’s beliefs. Afterwards we resolve never to do this as authors. But then we sit down to write and realize how easy it is to make...by kingdompen | Apr 14, 2017 | Articles, Characters
It’s possible you were taken aback at the title of this article. Maybe you once read a novel about happy people doing happy things in a happy world that caused you to cry in agony and run as fast as you could in search of a caged fight. Love means nothing ever...