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The Sisters Mederos and a theory of magic

Update11/21/20: In my semi-regular series of posts for NaNo, I’m reboosting my post on magic. Usual disclosure: This is my theory of magic in fantasy. There are other points of view. I personally do not find magic systems with rules to be particularly appealing, but many authors and readers clearly think otherwise. The reviews are coming out about A Wrinkle in Time,  and they made me think about The Sisters Mederos. Not just, “damn, I Read more…

By Patrice Sarath, ago

Writing a novel? Don’t do NanoWriMo

It’s another Throwback Thursday! And it being November, it’s time for the classic “Don’t Do Nano” post that made waves years ago. The funny thing is, ha ha, guess what I’m doing this year? Yep. I evolved. But this is the post that started it all, including a mention on TIME’s website and an interview on NPR. I  reread this post and I think, boy, I was all about prescriptivism back then.  I look at Read more…

By Patrice Sarath, ago

Writing lessons — beads on a string

It’s another Throwback Thursday! Because when it comes to plotting, it’s not just one damn thing after another. Let’s say your work in progress has a lot going on. Lots of episodes, lots of scenes, a complex plot, many characters. Things happen. Your character goes places. More things happen. How do you put it all together? A novel isn’t just a a bunch of stuff happening over several pages. As a writer you have to Read more…

By Patrice Sarath, ago