I'm a sucker for second-hand bookstores (because of the price, of course!) and a lot of the time some of the books that I grab in my buying frenzy are not exactly top-shelf material. So what happens is I try to read the book, and after at most two pages I go, 'What's this dross?/Oh god this is so boring/Yap-yap-yappy-yap/etc', and 'even *I* can write better than this!'

So I put the book down, get my notebook and begin to write. Quite possibly similar levels of dross, but at least I'm...

I've always found that maps can be very useful when writing fantasy, both in helping to build your story along and in giving you more ideas on the backstory for your world.

I've also recently found that under certain circumstances, they should be ripped out of the drawing/writing pad, crumpled, torn into a hundred pieces and consigned to the flames. Especially when they're having the reverse effect of restricting your creativity and forcing your to write your story in the way that...