The term “antihero” gets thrown around a lot. Everyone seems to have a different definition, and they bring up every character from Severus Snape (who was most definitely not one) to Han Solo (also not an antihero. Lando in Empire Strikes Back maybe, but not Solo.) A true antihero is not a hero who does … Continue reading My 5 favorite antihero characters from books
Vicious by V.E. Schwab is one of those books that I could read in a single sitting, but I didn’t, because I wanted to make it last. And I still haven’t finished it, so no spoilers in the comments! Vicious is the closest I’ve ever seen anybody come to creating a superhero novel. (Though I’m … Continue reading Review: Vicious by V.E. Schwab
I’m writing this from on a train. It was a gorgeous day to depart Seattle, the sun high in the sky above the bay. It will be dreary and drizzly when we get back to Portland, but I love that just as much, if not more. The country going by is still verdant green, even … Continue reading ‘All The Ugly and Wonderful Things’ While Traveling The Cascades by Train
From the very beginning, I knew that I wanted my novel Dark City to have a very strong sense of place. I wanted the city to be alive, like Camorr or The Shire or Sin City in the graphic novel series. I wanted my book to have a noir aesthetic, a kind of Gotham vibe. … Continue reading How to make a setting come alive
My novel Dark City (which you can read about here) is reaching the final stages. That means that right now, I’m waiting for a few beta readers to get back to me before I jump into the last round of edits. While I’m waiting, I’d like to start a new project, but I’m struggling to … Continue reading Finding the inspiration to start your novel
I’m rapidly approaching the editing stage for my own novel, and honestly, I’m dreading it. I love editing other people’s work, but self-editing is a different beast entirely. Usually by the time a novel is finished, I’ve become so familiar with every word they start to blur together, and it’s hard for me to see … Continue reading 4 Tips for Self Editing
I’ll admit it, I love a bad guy (or girl.) Supervillains, serial killers, assassins, mob bosses, you name it. Villains rock. Whether they’re gleefully, mustache-twirlingly evil or absolutely terrifying, I adore them in all their dastardly, plot-driving glory. A good villain, a villain that I will come to love, is always complicated. Just like you … Continue reading Badass villains and how to write them
This post is the second in a series on writing effective character descriptions. In the first post, I studied a passage from Jim Butcher’s novel Storm Front. Today, I’ll be doing a careful reading of a character description from Patrick Rothfuss’s The Name of the Wind. This excerpt is from near the beginning, and describes the … Continue reading How to describe characters: The Name of the Wind
One of my New Year's’ Resolutions for 2016 is to review more books. I’m doing this because reviews are an excellent way to support other authors, and we authors could use all the help we can get. If I love a book, I want to tell people about it, and I want the author to … Continue reading The importance of book reviews
It’s that wonderful time of the year, when every blogger makes “Best of the Year” lists. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about which books meant the most to me this year, which books challenged me as a reader, inspired me as a writer, and were the most fun. Because it was so hard … Continue reading The 5 best books I read in 2015
Sarah Kay Moll 