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How to Write an Effective Character Death

Posted on April 15, 2025March 5, 2025 by R.M. Archer

Most of us have a character death or two that we can point to as having effected us as readers, whether or not we can identify why exactly that particular death struck us so powerfully. In this post, I’m analyzing some of the character deaths that I’ve found most impactful–both as a reader/viewer, and from the storytelling perspective as an author.

Note: Due to the nature of the topic, this post does include spoilers for Warehouse 13, Arcane, and The Maze Runner trilogy.

The Crux of the Matter: Character Deaths Should Have an Impact

You probably already know this–on an instinctual level as a reader if not from an authorial perspective–but character deaths must have an impact on the story in order to feel meaningful to the reader. There must be some sort of impact on the story and/or the characters left behind, or else Continue reading “How to Write an Effective Character Death” →

Getting Past the Chapter 8 Slump

Posted on April 1, 2025March 5, 2025 by R.M. Archer

A few years ago, I had a conversation with someone who said he’d tried to write a number of stories, but could never seem to get past chapter eight. I was familiar with the feeling, and maybe you are, too. It’s easy to blaze through the start of your story, fueled by all the excitement of a bright new idea, banking on momentum until… that momentum inevitably runs out. Today, I want to talk about how to get past that initial loss of momentum to keep going and complete that exciting new project you’ve started.

*This post contains affiliate links, marked with an asterisk. Purchases made through these links earn me a small commission and help support my work at no extra cost to you.

What is the “Chapter 8 Slump”?

For the purposes of this post, I’m discussing that first big case of “writer’s block” after you’ve started a new story. For some reason, it seems that has a tendency to hit around the chapter-eight mark, or after 10-20k words. In my own personal experience, it’s also more prevalent when “pantsing” a story vs. working on a story that has already been plotted out ahead of time, but that could just be a personal issue; if this “chapter 8 slump” is a problem you’ve faced, I’d love to hear in the comments whether you’re usually a “pantser” or a “plotter”!

Tip #1: Expect the Slump

Here’s the thing: Every new story idea loses its luster and causes the author’s momentum to falter. As Rick Riordan put it,

“Writing a book is always hard work. It’s much easier to think of new ideas. You’ll get to the middle of the manuscript and you’ll think, ‘Oh, this is too hard. I’ll start another book instead and that will be easier.’ DON’T! That new book won’t be any easier.”

Part of having a strong defense against the chapter 8 slump is to expect it and prepare for it ahead of time. One way to do this Continue reading “Getting Past the Chapter 8 Slump” →

What is Your Cover Saying? – 4 Keys to Quality Cover Design

Posted on March 18, 2025February 26, 2025 by R.M. Archer

Adapted from “Clean Fantasy and Boring Cover Syndrome,” originally published Nov. 28, 2017

Since subscribing to a number of clean fantasy authors’ newsletters, I’ve come across a disappointing trend. A lot of clean fantasy books have really unimpressive covers. The same is often true of indie authors, as a whole. You know the old adage “don’t judge a book by its cover,” and that’s great in principle, but when it comes to books, readers really do judge books by their covers. As a reader myself I can attest to this. Heck, it’s why I’m writing this post.

The fact is, that’s not a bad thing. Cover art should Continue reading “What is Your Cover Saying? – 4 Keys to Quality Cover Design” →

Developing Fictional Views on Providence, Luck, and Fortune

Posted on March 11, 2025February 18, 2025 by R.M. Archer

St. Patrick’s Day has nothing to do with leprechauns, four-leaf clovers, or lucky pots of gold… except in grocery stores and on my blog today because I did allow the seasonal aesthetic to inspire today’s topic. Today we’re talking about how your fictional cultures view providence, luck, and fortune–whether they see all three as synonymous or maintain distinct categories. Let’s get started! (And to be fair, here’s a video–albeit a somewhat comedic one–about the actual reason we’ll be wearing green next week.)

Establish Your World’s Baseline

Before you develop individual cultures’ views of providence and luck, it’s beneficial to have an idea of what those terms really mean in your world and who (or what) is truly responsible for events occurring the way that they do. Is your world guided by a sovereign god/pantheon? Do things really come about by chance or luck? Are events steered primarily by man’s choices?

Knowing how things truly work in your world will inform Continue reading “Developing Fictional Views on Providence, Luck, and Fortune” →

5 Benefits of Writing Challenges

Posted on March 4, 2025February 18, 2025 by R.M. Archer

Originally published Sep. 17, 2019; adapted and republished Mar. 4, 2025

While many of us may have developed a habit of preparing for NaNoWriMo in the fall and have now migrated to various alternatives, there is still something to be said for participating in designated writing challenges. Maybe you’re a veteran author who’s done NaNoWriMo or other writing challenges before, maybe you’re a veteran author who’s never been sold on short-term challenges working for you, or maybe you’re new to the community and you’re wondering what “writing challenges” I’m even talking about. Wherever you stand, here are five benefits I’ve found of participating in writing challenges.

First of all, a quick explanation of NaNoWriMo and writing challenges for anyone who’s new to the idea: NaNoWriMo is short for National Novel Writing Month; it refers to an event that spans the month of November, in which authors are challenged to write 50,000 words in a month. This is the average length of a novel, and the idea is that the month results in a completed first draft of a novel you haven’t started yet. That’s not always the case, since some novels are longer, or some authors (myself included) choose to work on an already-started draft, but that’s the basic idea.

The organization behind NaNoWriMo has unfortunately taken a nosedive in the past five years, but there are still similar challenges to be found online–including my personal favorite, Christine Smith’s FicFrenzy challenge, one installment of which is coming up March 15-April 15!

What these writing challenges have in common is a designated time frame in which to collaborate and compete with other authors to accomplish a particular writing goal–whether that goal is designated in the challenge itself or decided by the individual participating author.

Now, on to the benefits of participating in such things! Continue reading “5 Benefits of Writing Challenges” →