It would be a disaster to not give me a read!
Image credit here! A heavy discussion point in the horror genre is whether or not to show the monster. I know many people say it's better not to see it, but I personally disagree. Granted, a badly-made monster is better left unseen, but that would be something I'd count as a major flaw in your…
Continue reading ➞ Horror Discussion: Should you Show the Monster?
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect a lot of people, which can be expressed in creative elements like writing. A good plot point could be utilizing diseases like this to tell a story and send a message, be it how your characters would respond to such a disease, or how society does so as a…
Continue reading ➞ 5 Ideas for Creating Magical Diseases/Curses
This piece of Hades is by eldrtchmoon! The Gods are a hot topic in many works, whether they're present as a singular god, multiple, or not there at all. Religion is one of the most important aspects of society, and it tends to change over time. I think progression in a religion is a very…
Picture credit here! The hatred for toxic ships goes farther than skin-deep. On the surface, it's something to be angry about because you're unhappy characters are together despite various toxic situations like gaslighting, jealousy, or abuse. Digging deeper, however, you begin to realize it might influence real life or even seep into your own. That's…
This wonderful piece of Goliath Elapid & Sam Viper is by Harcloniter! Love it or hate it, Enemies to Lovers is a popular trope, and one of my personal favorites. With Valentine's Day coming up on February 14, I wanted to talk about why I love this trope so much. An author I love, Whitney…
Continue reading ➞ Enemies to Lovers: What I LOVE about the trope!
Picture credit here! Weather in stories is always a pain point of mine, so today I wanted to discuss strategies for writing it. Timelines are also not my strongpoint, which could be relevant to weather due to seasons. Not to mention, if you’re working in any sort of fantasy or horror, the weather can really…
Continue reading ➞ BRING THE THUNDER! Describing weather and climate in fantasy stories
Art credit here One of my all time favorite things about world building is creating monsters! I typically grab a mythical creature and modify it into something that's mine, like what I did with my living vampires, but today I wanted to talk about creating an entirely new monster with no basis in mythology. That's…
Continue reading ➞ BUILD A CREATURE: 5 Things to Keep in Mind while Building Monsters in Writing
Image credit here! I am someone who adores fantasy and never really thought of myself as a sci-fi author, but the truth is, I'm both. As seen in Deep Dive on Sci-fi, people commonly think of aliens, space, and innovation when it comes to the genre. My series doesn't have any space theme, really, but…
Continue reading ➞ Genre Blending: How I blend Fantasy & Sci-fi in my works
Image credit here! WARNING! THIS ARTICLE HAS HORROR CONTENT SUCH AS SCARY NOISES AND GORE! One thing that's particularly hard to capture in writing is sound. Visual stimuli is the easiest, in my personal opinion, as you can describe color, texture, and movement. The sense of touch seems a bit more straightforward as well. Sound,…
Image credit here! Ah, the holidays. What an excellent time for hot chocolate, spending time with family, cheerful music, and blood. LOTS AND LOTS OF BLOOD! Wait...what? Well, my brain never stops even during a relatively happy time, and I am sure other creatives who work with horror feel the same. Therefore, I wanted to…
Des M. Astor 