Susan and John Ruff, Fantasy Authors

Tag: fiction

  • Writing in Paradise

    What is better than travel or writing? Doing both at the same time! My recent trip to Cambodia and Vietnam included a cruise down the Mekong River. The members of our tour group were the only passengers on the ship, which was a wonderful way to travel. One morning, when…

  • Is Fiction Writing Like Exercise?

    Prior to the pandemic, did you ever run into this scenario? You pay for a monthly membership to the local fitness center. At first, you’re all excited about the prospect of getting into shape. The friendly trainers at the center give you an orientation to show you how to use…

  • When You’re Bored…Write!

    Are you looking for more time to write your novel during your crazy, hectic schedule? Here’s a suggestion: Use those times when you are forced to sit and wait for an appointment. Even during the pandemic, we still occasionally find ourselves in a waiting room (or waiting in the car…

  • How Are Those Writing Resolutions Coming?

    We are now approximately one month into 2021. It’s a good time to take a moment and assess how well your New Year’s resolutions are coming. On January 1, everybody talks about them, but then we all seem to forget very quickly. How often do we follow up on those…

  • A Few Points About Multiple Viewpoints

    So whose novel is it anyway? Well, yes, of course, it’s the author’s book. But which character or characters are the focus of the story? Whose thoughts and observations drive the narrative? From which character’s point of view is the story told? When I first started writing, I did not…

  • Fantasy Novels and the Real World

    We have an interesting power as fantasy authors. We can invent a unique society that operates according to the rules we choose. As long as the world we write about remains consistent with its own rules and is familiar enough to be engaging to our readers, we have a lot…

  • How Did You Discover Your Favorite Genre?

    If you’re an author or a reader of fiction (or both), I’d love to hear the story of how you discovered your favorite literary genre. Feel free to leave a comment after this post or write a comment on Facebook to let me know. My favorite genre is fantasy. (Yeah,…

  • Our Next Exclamation Mark Anthology

    When Emerald Cove decided to try its first themed anthology (Kidnapped!), I expected all our stories to be similar. After all, we were writing on the same theme. To my mind, kidnapping stories followed a standard structure: a person is abducted, often for ransom, and the story revolves around what…