FFF BLOG

ALL

Over-Complicated Fantasy Writing: The Problem

Tessa Barron

6 days ago
8 min

Over-Complicated Fantasy Writing: The Problem

Discover the common pitfalls of overly complicated fantasy writing and learn how to avoid them in this informative blog post.

1 view

How to Write a Crucible Story in 4 Ways: Part 2 Exploring Tasks and Symbolic Themes

Tessa Barron

Jan 23
9 min

How to Write a Crucible Story in 4 Ways: Part 2 Exploring Tasks and Symbolic Themes

Unleash your inner horror writer with our expert tips on "How to Write a Crucible Story." Part 2: The task Crucible and Symbolic Themes

1 view

In Defense of Tropes Part 3: The Chosen Many

K.E. Barron

Jan 19
10 min

In Defense of Tropes Part 3: The Chosen Many

Fantasy writer K.E. Barron gives us her unpopular take on the most hated tropes in the genre. This time she takes on the "Chosen One."

58 views

How To Write A Crucible Story in 4 Ways: Part 1 - Exploring Environmental and Relational Pressures

Tessa Barron

Jan 16
9 min

How To Write A Crucible Story in 4 Ways: Part 1 - Exploring Environmental and Relational Pressures

So you're wondering how to write a crucible story? In part 1 of 2, we explore two of the most popular forms: environment and relationship

23 views

Ancient Apocalypse: How the Netflix Hit Proves There is Still Uncharted Territory for Fiction

Tessa Barron

Jan 9
5 min

Ancient Apocalypse: How the Netflix Hit Proves There is Still Uncharted Territory for Fiction

Netflix's Ancient Apocalypse, a show that proves to me that there is still unexplored terrain for speculative writers. Here is why.

8 views

Be A Hoarder! Or How I Learned The Important Lesson Of Being Hungry For Inspiration.

Tessa Barron

Jan 2
5 min

Be A Hoarder! Or How I Learned The Important Lesson Of Being Hungry For Inspiration.

Today I'm sharing a bit of advice I DIDN'T get from my grandfather. To be a hoarder of knowledge and meaning.

14 views

Giving your readers "feels"—Crafting the Visual Page Part 2: Case Study

Tessa Barron

Dec 9, 2022
7 min

Giving your readers "feels"—Crafting the Visual Page Part 2: Case Study

Today we take what we learned about line breaks and the visual page and expand on it. With a case study of Blindess by José Sarmago.

20 views

4 Repetition Sins you Might be Committing and Not Even Know It

Tessa Barron

Nov 21, 2022
5 min

4 Repetition Sins you Might be Committing and Not Even Know It

I have recently read a fantasy that just about killed me to get through. So here are some of its major issues so you can avoid making them

45 views

Tessa Barron

Nov 18, 2022
8 min

What Makes a Great Short Story?

What makes a great short story? I have read and edited AND rejected a lot of short stories in my career. Here is what all the great ones do

348 views

The Power of the Line Break—Crafting the Visual Page Part 1

Tessa Barron

Nov 4, 2022
8 min

The Power of the Line Break—Crafting the Visual Page Part 1

Interested in learning some fiction self-editing tips for your novel? One skill that is often overlooked is how to craft the visual page.

20 views

Your Book is Not Finished Until It's Read

Tessa Barron

Nov 2, 2022
4 min

Your Book is Not Finished Until It's Read

The reason you need to be specific about your audience. Not so the publisher can market. But because you need to find this person for you.

11 views

Speculative Fiction Sucks at Giving us Satisfying Character Arcs

Tessa Barron

Oct 28, 2022
9 min

Speculative Fiction Sucks at Giving us Satisfying Character Arcs

Fantasy and Sci-fi writers can sometimes forget about character arcs to focus on worldbuilding and plotting. But you can do both.

14 views

Tessa Barron

Oct 25, 2022
7 min

Letter to Self-Publishers

Do I hate self-publishers? No. But some things they do can definitely irk me. Why do so many people put out such embarrassing novels?

10 views

Violence in Fiction: Navigating Around Reader Sensitivity (Or Plowing Right Though It)

Tessa Barron

Oct 12, 2022
8 min

Violence in Fiction: Navigating Around Reader Sensitivity (Or Plowing Right Though It)

Violence in fiction has always been a controversial topic. Some love it, some hate it. And why are we all so darn sensitive?

25 views

Tessa Barron

Sep 28, 2022
37 min

TODD by Turi T. Armstrong

Short story from The Beginning and End of All Things. Amidst a robot zombie apocalypse, an old man must deal with guilt and loneliness.

35 views

Fiction Writing: Shallow Relationships and How to Write Yours Better

Tessa Barron

Sep 27, 2022
7 min

Fiction Writing: Shallow Relationships and How to Write Yours Better

Many writers have a problem with writing relationships in their fiction that feel believable and relatable. Here are 5 steps to help.

24 views

Cool Ideas, and the #1 Method I Know of to Come Up With Them

Tessa Barron

Sep 23, 2022
8 min

Cool Ideas, and the #1 Method I Know of to Come Up With Them

How does a fantasy writer come up with an epic, unique idea? Creativity can be hard. I know of only one tried and tested method that works.

29 views

4 Tips to Improve Your Writing Through Emotion not Facts

Tessa Barron

Sep 21, 2022
6 min

4 Tips to Improve Your Writing Through Emotion not Facts

These 4 tips will strengthen the emotional impact of your story and make your writing better. Find out more.

22 views

The One Thing Great Science Fiction Writers Have in Common

Tessa Barron

Sep 16, 2022
7 min

The One Thing Great Science Fiction Writers Have in Common

This post will be a bit of a rant about the meaning we find in our writing and the example we can take from science fiction authors.

14 views

What's the Rush? Why you Should Hold Off Publishing that First Book in Your Series

Tessa Barron

Sep 14, 2022
7 min

What's the Rush? Why you Should Hold Off Publishing that First Book in Your Series

Fantasy writers have an obsession with getting their first book in a series out as quickly as possible, but this is a huge mistake!

23 views

2 Strange Horror Writing Prompts Inspired by Even Weirder Real World Mysteries

Tessa Barron

Sep 9, 2022
5 min

2 Strange Horror Writing Prompts Inspired by Even Weirder Real World Mysteries

So today, I decided to change things up and describe a couple of crazy unsolved mysteries, followed by a writing prompt.

56 views

Writing "Rules." Should We Stick to Convention?

Tessa Barron

Sep 6, 2022
11 min

Writing "Rules." Should We Stick to Convention?

Do you know where your precious grammar and punctuation rules come from? Did you know in the not-so-distant past, there really weren't any?

19 views

THE FAIR: Blood Meridian. A western that puts horror to shame

Tessa Barron

Sep 2, 2022
6 min

THE FAIR: Blood Meridian. A western that puts horror to shame

Blood Meridian is a terrifying read not just because of the graphic violence, but because of the way it presents a world without hope.

33 views

3 Ways to Write Better Narrators and Why You Should Care

Tessa Barron

Jul 22, 2022
9 min

3 Ways to Write Better Narrators and Why You Should Care

Why you should be more focused on writing amazing narrators to improve your stories & 3 important ways to approach THEM.

35 views

HOW TO write truly SCARY STORIES using techniques all the BEST horror writers know

Tessa Barron

Jun 22, 2022
7 min

HOW TO write truly SCARY STORIES using techniques all the BEST horror writers know

Ever wonder how great horror writers can lure you in, scare the pants off you, and hang around in your mind for days, months, and sometimes

22 views

HOPEPUNK - A TREND IN SCI FI AND FANTASY I HOPE TO GOD GOES AWAY

Tessa Barron

Nov 24, 2021
11 min

HOPEPUNK - A TREND IN SCI FI AND FANTASY I HOPE TO GOD GOES AWAY

I came across a fiction niche called hopepunk and it is NOT ok. I'm going to have to rant about this.

246 views

Tessa Barron

Nov 20, 2021
12 min

How to REALLY Write What You Know

Probably still the BEST writing advice you will ever get, Learn what 'write what you know' really means and how to do it.

31 views

Alex Ganon

Feb 24, 2021
10 min

Alex Ganon Reviews: Legacy Cavepeople

We do other weird things that I think are funny; puking can be quite comedic. Our ability to change the shape of our body can be frustrating

36 views

In Defense of Tropes Part 2: You CAN Change Him

K.E. Barron

Feb 19, 2021
12 min

In Defense of Tropes Part 2: You CAN Change Him

In this installment, I aim to defend another trope. One that is just as overused in women's fiction but even more problematic. It's the roug

74 views

10 Reasons Your Short Stories are Being Rejected

Tessa Barron

Feb 17, 2021
9 min

10 Reasons Your Short Stories are Being Rejected

Are you a short story writer who is still trying to break into the published author category? Well, if you are, hopefully, this post will sh

175 views

Tessa Barron

Feb 12, 2021
15 min

My Ghost Story

Today I want to try something a little different. I set out to talk about horror writing and why I don't believe it can be scary in the...

43 views

Alex Ganon

Feb 9, 2021
11 min

Alex Ganon Reviews: Absent Aliens

I'm going to state the top reasons for why I believe our little light-bearing wise extraterrestrial guides will not show.

80 views

FFF Short Stories

Feb 5, 2021
28 min

Valhalla Interrupted

Note: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. by Matthew Stuart Evans (Taken from The Beginning & End of All Things,...

35 views

From Above You It Devours: 7 Best Cheesy SCI FI Movies With Aliens That Want You For Dinner

Tessa Barron

Jan 29, 2021
8 min

From Above You It Devours: 7 Best Cheesy SCI FI Movies With Aliens That Want You For Dinner

FFF's accountant/premier author has written a blog post for this month called, In Defense of Tropes. It's the first in a series about why...

93 views

I'm a Psychopath in Training, but it Makes me a Good Writer

Tessa Barron

Jan 27, 2021
4 min

I'm a Psychopath in Training, but it Makes me a Good Writer

One of the best things about writing, and something I think you can all relate too, is just how disturbing my internet history is!

29 views

In Defense of Tropes Part 1: Three is not a crowd

K.E. Barron

Jan 22, 2021
9 min

In Defense of Tropes Part 1: Three is not a crowd

As a child... ...I remember watching movies with my family, and I was always amazed at how my mom could say verbatim the line that the...

68 views

Alex Ganon

Jan 20, 2021
15 min

Alex Ganon Reviews: Surgery

It all started two years ago. I can't say I remember why, but for some reason, I'm at the clinic. Actually, I seem to remember it was...

73 views

5 reasons to love the world-building in Robert Jackson Bennet's Foundryside

Tessa Barron

Jan 15, 2021
5 min

5 reasons to love the world-building in Robert Jackson Bennet's Foundryside

So here are 5 reasons why Foundryside has some of the best fantasy world-building you will see.

48 views

You're Scared Cuz You had Helicopter Parents, But Horror can Help

Tessa Barron

Jan 8, 2021
13 min

You're Scared Cuz You had Helicopter Parents, But Horror can Help

What about way back during the infamous Black Plague. Was the fear as palpable then as it is now?

53 views

I Love You Because You're Here: Foul Fantasy Romances

Tessa Barron

Jan 6, 2021
10 min

I Love You Because You're Here: Foul Fantasy Romances

….I love a good love story. Sci-fi, fantasy, and horror are my be-all-end-all, but if a saucy romance is injected into these genres, I eat i

43 views

Alex Ganon

Dec 22, 2020
7 min

Alex Ganon Reviews: Neuralink

The quick recap is that they are basically building wearable tech that’s not really wearable but “built-in.”

37 views

Alex Ganon

Dec 9, 2020
7 min

Alex Ganon Reviews: Video Games...All of Them

We have a need to feel accomplished. It’s somehow encoded into us in such a way that we become sick without it (figuratively or literally,

39 views

Juxtaposition: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly...and the beautiful...cuz contrast

Tessa Barron

Nov 28, 2020
4 min

Juxtaposition: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly...and the beautiful...cuz contrast

Just as an artist knows that a piece needs contrast to be engaging, a good writer knows that a book needs contrast to engage the reader.

256 views

George Sandifer-Smith

Nov 26, 2020
9 min

On The Importance of Fanfiction

In this blog, I’ll be talking about fanfiction – my experiences of it, how it works, and why it’s important.

213 views

Alex Ganon

Nov 16, 2020
7 min

Alex Ganon Reviews: Masks

Once upon a time … maybe... there was us humans, wild and free, stupid and hairy. Imagine, back in a time, either 3000 years ago if you...

53 views

Tessa Barron

Nov 13, 2020
4 min

Dirty Worlds and Feeling Dirty

Nexhuman by Francesco Verso... there were many points in the story that left me wondering….is this bad, lazy, or genius?

37 views

Keeping it Simple, Stupid, In the Fantasy Genre

K.E. Barron

Nov 13, 2020
7 min

Keeping it Simple, Stupid, In the Fantasy Genre

Writing fantasy is anything but simple. And reading fantasy novels, as brilliant and epic as they may be, is often a slog.

60 views

Tessa Barron

Nov 12, 2020
3 min

Sci-fi's Place in our Brave New World

...speculative fiction is important. Even more so in times of crisis.

28 views

5 Types of Info-Dumps and How to Fix Them

Tessa Barron

Sep 22, 2019
3 min

5 Types of Info-Dumps and How to Fix Them

Info-dumps are one of the biggest issues I see come across my desk. Here are the 5 most common types of info-dump so you can avoid them.

37 views

A Series of Writing Mistakes - 8 of the Worst Series Writing Blunders

Tessa Barron

Sep 22, 2019
6 min

A Series of Writing Mistakes - 8 of the Worst Series Writing Blunders

It is rare that I get a good series comes across my editing desk. So here are the 8 most common mistake I see so you can avoid them.

15 views