Below you can find some of the best dystopian books for young adults. What is a dystopia? Whereas a utopia represents a perfect world, a dystopia is a dark and hopeless world where people live oppressed lifes. There is usually a totalitarian governmnet in place where the state’s needs surpass that of the individual—their individuality is slowly taking away. So, why are dystopian novels appealing to young adults? (and adults, too.) It’s likely that the characters in these novels are inspiring, performing ultimate acts against authority. That’s appealing for teenagers, who are in a time of th ..read more

Structural editing (or developmental editing) is one of the most crucial yet difficult to grasp types of editing. There’s a lot of advice out there on how to start writing your first draft. However, there’s less advice on what to do after finishing the first draft (or the drafts after this).  Below you can find my steps for doing your first developmental edit. Identify your genre/main plot. Check if this genre is clear from the 1st 10 pages. Identify the conventions & expectations of your main genre/plot. Identify the 5 main elements within your story. Divide your story into ..read more

I looked at the royalties of the five most commonly used platforms for self-publishing your book to answer the question: How many books do you need to sell as a self-published author to earn 20k? Specifically, I looked at the royalties from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, iBooks, and IngramSpark for e-books, paperbacks, and hardcovers. You can find the settings and price points I used for comparison below. This is followed by a summary of the findings (click here to jump straight to the summary). Read on to find out where you could potentially earn the most with the least amount of book s ..read more

A subscription box for writers: does that even exist? Sure it does! In fact, below you can find multiple subscription boxes for writers that will give you everything you need while you write your next story. Also: don’t let the term “subscription” box steer you away from them. With many boxes, you can order them for one month (so one box). Just be sure to read their guidelines and cancel your subscription in time (if this is necessary). A one-time book subscription box also makes for a great gift! Save this post for later! Ye Olde Grimoire If you know me ..read more

Capitalization of fantasy and sci-fi races can be tricky. If you write fantasy or science fiction, it’s quite likely you’re also writing different races. Elves and dwarves living among humans or people coming from a different planet, like Mandelorians or Hutts. And as great as it is to come up with your own races—or use more established ones—once you get to the copy editing and proofreading stage, one question remains: Should races be capitalized in fantasy and sci-fi? Save this post for later! What’s the difference between race and species? First, let’s get our terminology straight. R ..read more

The difference between witchcraft and sorcery has been confusing me lately as I write my book. Hence this article: witchcraft vs. sorcery. When can you call something witchcraft? And when is it sorcery? My search, however, potentially led to even more confusion. I think the short answer to the question, “What’s the difference between a witch and a sorcerer?” is that it depends on your fantasy world. But that’s a rather dissatisfying answer, don’t you think? So, below, I’ll try to explain the main differences, the overlaps, and why it’s confusing (basically, there’s not really a consensus ..read more

Need some portal fantasy writing prompts? Not to worry, I got you covered! Portal fantasy stories are fun to read and even more fun to write. Not to mention, they’re incredibly popular (think Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland or the Narnia series). In a portal fantasy, the characters are usually ordinary humans who travel through a doorway of some sort into a new fantastical world. Mind that this doorway doesn’t have to be an actual door—it can be a magic mirror, an old standing stone, or a talisman. Need some portal fantasy writing prompts to kickstart your imagination? No problem! Below ar ..read more

It’s not always easy to develop a fictional character. And yet we all want to write characters readers won’t forget. There are many different ways you can do character development, and one way is not necessarily better or worse than another way. So what do you choose then? This article will tell you my technique for writing strong main characters. Creating characters can be done with the following steps. Decide what drives and motivates your character. Find their underlying flawed belief (you need this to write a good character arc). Create their background. Think about their appearance an ..read more

If you’re an SFF writer, you’ve probably wondered: how do you worldbuild for a Fantasy or Sci-Fi novel? Well, today, I have two experienced writers who know exactly what goes into creating a book with great worldbuilding. Jason and Rose Bishop are the authors of the Storm’s Rising series (check out the first book, the Call!), where they’ve built an incredible world with an epic adventure. Find out more about them and their books on their website. Below you can find the interview, where we’ll talk about their inspiration, how they went about creating their characters and world—even how they ..read more

Selling short stories sounds like a great idea to gain exposure as a writer and get paid in the meantime. And it is a great idea. Only, it’s generally not that easy, especially when you’re a new writer. To get a short story published, you first need to write that story. You’ve poured your heart and soul into it, and then you’re ready to send it to the magazine you picked. And then… you wait. And wait. And wait some more. Only to hear after a month (or sometimes longer) that you didn’t make the cut. It sucks. And it can make you feel like you’ll never publish your short story. Luckily, it is ..read more