Skip to content
  • mail@randyellefson.com

  • Fiction Home
  • Book Series
    • Box Sets
      • The Dragon Gate Omnibus 1
      • The Dragon and the Fiend
    • Ascension Quest LitRPG
      • Death Singer
    • Dragon Gate Series
      • The Dragon Gate
      • The Light Bringer
      • The Silver-Tongued Rogue
      • The Dragon Slayer
      • The Majestic Magus
    • Talon Stormbringer
      • The Ever Fiend
    • The Art of World Building
  • Biography
    • Bibliography
    • History
    • Frequent Questions
  • News
  • Patreon
  • Contact
    • Newsletter
    • Privacy Policy
  • My Other Sites
    • Llurien
    • World Building
    • Guitar Music
    • RandyEllefson.com

Category: Articles

How Mountains Affect Rainfall

November 27, 2017January 16, 2021 Rand

When drawing maps of continents, being realistic is a good idea even when inventing for a fantasy or SF landscape. We’re not freed from plausibility unless we’re purposely throwing out the laws of physics and nature. Most of us are Read More …

Articles, The Art of World Building, World Building

Guest Post: Unconventional Writing Tools

May 30, 2017January 16, 2021 Rand

4 Unconventional Tools to Fix Common Creative Writing Problems by Guest Blogger Ethan Miller Once upon a time, there lived a writer who churned bestsellers after bestsellers without breaking a sweat. Words flowed out of him with such ridiculous ease Read More …

Articles, Writing

My Guest Post

May 23, 2017 Rand

Today, author John Robin was kind enough to publish a guest post of mine about species and races in world building. You can read it here. The article is drawn from Creating Life (The Art of World Building, #1), which Read More …

News, World Building

The Importance of Death

May 16, 2016June 10, 2016 Rand

I watch a lot of SciFi (and when available, fantasy) on TV and in movies.  All too often, death means nothing.  A major character can be killed off and I just shrug, knowing they’ll be back, sometimes before the episode Read More …

Articles, Writing2 Comments

Author’s Shouldn’t Try to Be Funny in Their Bios

September 16, 2015June 10, 2016 Rand

There’s a lot of advice on how to write a professional author bio, and here’s mine: don’t try to be funny or clever.  It seldom works.  It can also make you look juvenile, narcissistic, and unprofessional.  Here are some examples of bad Read More …

Writing

Evaluating Artist Feedback, Part 2

July 9, 2015June 10, 2016 Rand

This is part two of the blog about evaluating feedback on your writing or other artistic pursuits. Read part 1 here. Biased Feedback A person giving negative feedback can be biased in some way. We can sometimes tell from their Read More …

Articles, Writing

Evaluating Artist Feedback, Part 1

July 9, 2015June 10, 2016 Rand

Whether a musician, author, or other artist, we’ve all received feedback on our work.  Obtaining meaningful feedback is an art all its own.  Sometimes we have to work at it, deciphering comments to figure out what someone means, so I’ve Read More …

Articles, Writing6 Comments

Virgin Sacrifices in Fantasy Stories Are Stupid

May 25, 2015June 10, 2016 Rand

So I’m sitting here watching Conan The Destroyer, which includes the age-old premise that a virgin will be sacrificed.  Personally, I think that’s a waste of a perfectly good virgin, but what struck me is the silliness of this.  There’s no Read More …

Articles, Critiquesfantasy, fantasy fiction, Fantasy tropes and conventions, Science Fiction and Fantasy, writing fiction10 Comments

How Agents and Publishers Think About Manuscripts

May 21, 2015June 10, 2016 Rand

Like most authors, I’ve submitted books to agents and either gotten no response or the form rejection letter. Well, let me be specific – I’ve sent a query letter, one page summary, and anywhere from 5 pages to 3 chapters Read More …

Articles, Writingauthor, Book, literary agent, publish, Query letter, Self Publish, traditional publisher17 Comments

Writers Block vs. Idea Block

May 1, 2015June 10, 2016 Rand

Most authors have “writer’s block” at some point, but I suspect we’re often suffering from something I call “idea block”.  The definition of writer’s block is “the condition of being unable to think of what to write or how to Read More …

Articles, Writingauthor, fantasy, Fiction, writing, writing fiction2 Comments

Posts navigation

Older posts
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • Twitter
  • Goodreads
  • Amazon
  • Patreon
Copyright. All rights reserved.
Proudly powered by WordPress | Education Hub by WEN Themes
Get a FREE copy of THE EVER FIEND (Talon Stormbringer) eBook!
Get Free Book Now!