Category: Resources & Recommendations

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Should You Invest in Scrivener?

Posted on by R.M. Archer

Scrivener is a program I mention a fair bit for two reasons. First, full transparency, because I’m an affiliate for them. I make a small commission if you buy a Scrivener license through my affiliate link (and, yes, this post contains affiliate links, marked with an asterisk). But secondly, because it’s genuinely my go-to writing tool; I don’t join affiliate programs for tools that I don’t actually use and find valuable. My primary goal is not to make a commission, but to help you find the tools that will best serve your writing process! That’s why today I’m going to talk about why Scrivener might be a worthwhile investment for you… or why you might be better off going with something else.

Scrivener is for You If…

…Every Project Has Numerous Files

I used to have numerous files for each project I was working on, in folders within folders, and if I wanted to reference them I would have to open multiple separate Word documents and swap back and forth.

Then I found Scrivener.

Scrivener’s binder lets you Continue reading “Should You Invest in Scrivener?” →

7 of My Favorite Fiction Classics

7 of My Favorite Fiction Classics

Posted on by R.M. Archer

As fall hits, I always find myself wanting to read more classics. Something about the season just makes me want to return to older, (often) richer literature. Whether you feel the same way about fall or you’re just looking for classics to expand your horizons or strengthen your writing, here are seven of my favorite fiction classics (by order of how many times I’ve reread them).

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

A must-read for any fantasy fan, The Lord of the Rings makes Continue reading “7 of My Favorite Fiction Classics” →

Book Review: World-Building for Writers by H.C. Harrington

Book Review: World-Building for Writers by H.C. Harrington

Posted on by R.M. Archer

I recently discovered the existence of a couple of worldbuilding books I hadn’t previously come across in my searching, to my mingled dismay (that I had managed to miss them) and delight (that there are actually more authors writing about this topic). One was a series, and its collected volumes are huge, so it’s on the list to get later, but one was a reasonable impulse-buy price so I grabbed it, so here I am today with a review of World-Building for Writers!

What is World-Building for Writers about?

You Can Build A World

For many authors, there’s nothing that slows down their writing process more than world-building. Whether it’s deciding on what types of fantastic beasts to include in their stories or how to name characters and locations convincingly H.C. Harrington, Amazon Best-Selling Author of the Daughter of Havenglade Series, explains step-by-step how to create deep and engrossing worlds while saving time.

World-Building For Writers breaks down hundreds of examples of effective world-building from novels, films, and television to demystify the process, make it enjoyable, and help readers unleash the inner voice they never knew they had for creating worlds.

Prepare to enter the realm of your own imagination.

“In your hand is a map of creative imagination, good habits, and practical examples to ensure that you build a world that’s fun and functional, that births heroes, cultivates epic tales, and inspires awe in readers.”-Dustin Porta, author of The Dragon’s Hide

Review

Let me get the negatives out of the way first, most of which are fairly minor or Continue reading “Book Review: World-Building for Writers by H.C. Harrington” →

Book Review: World-Building from the Inside Out by Janeen Ippolito

Book Review: World-Building from the Inside Out by Janeen Ippolito

Posted on by R.M. Archer

There are a few reasons I don’t usually review craft books: 1) I don’t read that many, 2) I don’t feel equipped to review most of them, and 3) I’m more likely to lump them into a resource round-up and have a brief summary that contains most of my opinions on them and thus not feel like a full review is necessary. But this one is a worldbuilding book, so I feel equipped to comment on it, and I have enough thoughts to fill out a review (plus, I’m not doing another round-up any time soon).

This book has been on my TBR/wishlist for years, and what finally prompted me to pick it up was research into comparative titles for my own worldbuilding book. It’s really hard to find worldbuilding books that are really focused on the worldbuilding craft rather than being some sort of workbook, but this one is, so that was point 1 in its favor. Point 2 was reading the introduction and finding the premise focused around “cultural worldview” (which was actually in bold)! So I grabbed a copy for research. I will acknowledge upfront that the nature of my reasons for reading the book make it hard not to think about it in terms of comparisons between this book and mine, but I’ll do my best to be fair in my assessment.

What is World-Building from the Inside Out about?

Go to the heart of your world and build it well!

Memorable world-building enhances story, attracts readership, and sells books! Find the core of your science fiction or fantasy people and instill your narrative with universal themes and concepts derived from real-world cultures.

-Explore different religions and governments with concise entries that include ideas for plot and character development
-Develop key aspects of your society without getting caught up in unnecessary details
-Learn how the deeper effects of appearance and location can enhance your narrative

World-Building From the Inside Out challenges you to go deep and build fantastical worlds that truly bring your story to life!

Note: Janeen will be revising and re-releasing this book soon, so the new edition will likely be much stronger and the weaknesses I addressed here may be addressed in the revision.

The first thing that stood out to me about this book Continue reading “Book Review: World-Building from the Inside Out by Janeen Ippolito” →

Self-Publishing Resource Round-Up

Self-Publishing Resource Round-Up

Posted on by R.M. Archer

With the new year and new goals, it seemed like a good time to put together a list of resources for those of you looking into indie publishing. This is far from an exhaustive list, but it gathers all of the resources that I’ve used (as well as a couple I haven’t). Feel free to drop your additions to the list in the comments if you’ve found great self-publishing Continue reading “Self-Publishing Resource Round-Up” →