The Burning Ash: Hit The Climax

The Burning Ash: Hit The Climax

I spent far longer away from my novel than I had planned to but now I’m finally back on track to finish this thing once and for all. Funnily enough, I’m coming right back into it all at the climax of my story when the final battle is about to take place. I’ve always...
The Burning Ash: Hitting the Half-Way Point

The Burning Ash: Hitting the Half-Way Point

Earlier this week I hit an important milestone: I’m officially half-way through writing the first draft of my book! The process has most definitely not been smooth, but the camel’s back is finally getting broken. As I begin the journey into the second half, I feel as...
The Burning Ash and Narrative Structure

The Burning Ash and Narrative Structure

One of the most important aspects of a novel is its narrative structure. Do you present your story as linear or non-linear? How does the story fit into the typical three-acts of story-telling: setup, conflict, and resolution/beginning, middle, and the end? What are...
The Burning Ash: Utopia vs Dystopia

The Burning Ash: Utopia vs Dystopia

The other day I was re-watching the severely under-rated Tomorrowland (in my opinion, anyway) and I was reminded of just how much I love the optimism the film has. It asks ‘Why can’t [something] just be fun?’ but it also has a really wonderful analogy about dealing...
Introducing Summons to my Novel’s Fantasy Universe

Introducing Summons to my Novel’s Fantasy Universe

In previous blog posts, I’ve gone over how the roleplaying games I’ve played have inspired the way in which my novel’s fantasy universe works. These past two weeks I was writing the chapters which introduce another magical tool into the mix: summoning. If you look at...