Over my week-long holiday I set myself a challenge to read the longest book on my shelf; "The Priory of the Orange Tree" by Samantha Shannon, which is over 800 pages. I can't begin to describe to you how detailed and cleverly woven the world-building in this book is. The way the world is designed, its scars and culture, moves through the characters' every actions. The world enthralled me and inspired this post. "The Priory of the Orange Tree"'s world is

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Somehow, due to the strange occurrence called 'time', it is now 2019. I was musing over what to write for this post yesterday (yes I am a very last minute blogger), about what would set the tone for Quill Pen Writer this year. One thing I always love to do here on the blog is help fellow writers. So, I hope today to make a helpful addition to my 'Questions to Ask When...' series, for all of you who are writing stories

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Fiction is full of fantastical creatures. From dragons, to giant worms, to griffins, creatures we can't see at our local zoo have always fascinated us. After all, who doesn't love animals, especially if they're of the magical variety? In my early writing years, I kept my made-up creatures very basic -- essentially copies of Earth animals, with a dash of the supernatural thrown in. But there are so many more things to consider when creating fictional creatures; not just about the

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It can be hard to find a fantasy story without kings, queens, princes, and princesses. So how do you make your novel's monarchy stand out? How do you make it feel like yours? Today I hope that with a list of questions to ask yourself, I'll be able to help spark an idea of how to make your story's monarchy shine! 1) What type of monarchy is it? Is it absolute, symbolic, or constitutional? In other words, how much power does the

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Whether your characters are in a public or private school, home-schooled, or being tutored (or in a fancy magical school) you can have fun with the setting! To help you out with creating a fictional school in your novel, I've compiled a list of questions to ask yourself: 1) Where is the school located? Is it in a busy, populated area, or isolated from the nearest town/city? How can students travel there? 2) How many classrooms are there? What do they

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    Lights flash, cameras hum. Murmurs join the shuffling of paper on clipboards as a red light blinks in the corner of the screen. The Author settles into one of the two high-backed leather armchairs. A make-up team flutters about her, applying a dash of blush, spraying a puff of rose perfume, then bouncing her curls one last time.     "Send them in," calls the producer, from behind the camera's vision.      The Author sucks in a breath

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    Backstory is crucial for characters. Unless your story starts the moment they're born, your character will have lived many, many years already. Figuring the ups and downs of their past will give you deep insight into who they are as a person. So let's get to some questions you can ask to learn more about them! 1) Where were they born? In a hospital, a home, elsewhere? Who delivered them; a midwife, a doctor, a relative? Were there any

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    Hello everyone, and welcome back to the blog series "Questions to Ask When..."! If you're new here, this series is meant to give you questions that can help you develop aspects of your story, especially world-building. These posts have been so much fun to work on, and I can honestly say that writing out today's post has helped me come up with a new story idea I am itching to write!      If you're interested in the other posts, I've

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    History. Some people love it, others stare at the textbooks thicker than their necks and whimper. Me? I fall in the middle. While I certainly wouldn't spend hours pouring over said textbook, I do think having an understanding of history, if not the world's, then your story's, is super important!     Which brings us to today's post! This is the latest installment in my "Questions to Ask When..." blog series, and you can check out my previous posts

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     It's no secret I am a wild fan of world-building. Creating worlds that I can mold with my hands and mind is one of my favourite parts of writing, so I've decided to make "Questions to Ask When..." a permanent blog series!      Today's topic is creating fictional cities! Don't worry, the questions aren't just for fantasy cities: you can apply them to any city setting in your story. 1) What is the city called by its inhabitants?

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    I am a total lover of fantasy. There are so many takes on it, from the more hard-core, almost 'traditional' fantasy, to the weird and wonderful. Some love it for great adventures or crazy animals. Personally, I adore it because of the world-building, and how I can craft entire worlds to my liking.    In today's post I've compiled a list of questions I ask myself when creating worlds with magic in them; hope you find them helpful! 1) Who

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