Some of you may recognize parts of what follows from things I have said in discussions on the forums here, or from critiques I have given here or elsewhere, but I am, I think, bringing all of it together for the first time. Though it is principally addressed to fantasy writers, it applies to science fiction, too.

On World-building

Back in the days of my youth, I used to spend a good deal of my time in costume: because I was involved in my local Renaissance and Christmas...

And now a break from my usual type of post for a little self-promotion:

When the Goblin Moon rises, strange things happen ...

Coffins float down the river, hobgoblins emerge from their dens, alchemists pore over ancient texts in search of the secret of creating life, and the gentleman blackguards known as the Knights of Mezztopholezz practice rituals far exceeding the worst excesses of the Hellfire Club.

Meanwhile one man fights a secret battle against cruelty...

Part II

We all know that most fantasy and science fiction stories owe their origins to the question “What if ____?” Yet we shouldn’t be content to leave it at that, because it’s a very good question to ask at every single stage of the writing process. “What if, instead of what I had originally planned, my character decided to do this?” “What if, instead of following the obvious course, I choose to examine one of the other possible consequences of this particular set of circumstances?”...

In spite of the artfully sinister title, this was originally written to encourage new writers. (Of course, old writers need encouraging, too.) I've put it through quite a bit of revision since. I hope that it will be inspiring.

However that might be, this is another one of my long-winded articles that contains more characters than the software allows, and so, perforce, must appear in two parts.

ON ORIGINALITY (WITH SOME ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON THE SUBJECT OF STYLE)...

Part II

Now I don’t believe that any one work of fiction, all by itself, ever did or ever would drastically alter the way that readers think. What I do believe is that a book can reinforce and encourage ideas that we already have or already feel inclined to adopt. When somebody reads a book, they are most likely to take away something very similar to what they brought with them.

But do we read fantasy to confirm what we think we already know? Or is the best fantasy...