What Is The Right Chapter Length?

Nat RussoPlot and Structure, Process, Writing 21 Comments

New writers invariably get around to asking me the same question: “What is the right chapter length?” So let’s dig into this in a little bit of detail and figure out the answer! Let me just preface everything I say in this article with “In the case of my style of writing…” That should drive the point home that I’m not trying to establish any “rules” I think people should follow.   For me, chaptering is a tool that serves at least four different purposes, and sometimes each at the same time.    

4 Common Attributes of Successful Writers

Nat RussoOpinion, Writing 31 Comments

If this is the first time you’re putting pen to paper, or finger to keyboard, in an effort to produce a poem, short story, novel, or even some other form of art, know that you’re going to doubt yourself. You’re going to struggle to “get it right”. You’re going to feel like a fish out of water. And you’re going to want to quit. Each of those things is a signpost on the road to success, because each is one of the four common attributes of successful writers.

Necromancer Awakening: Chapter 1

Nat RussoNecromancer, Writing 1 Comment

The release of Necromancer Awakening: Book One of The Mukhtaar Chronicles is right around the corner. To celebrate, and to give you all a taste for what you’re in for, I’ve decided to release the first chapter right here on the blog.   I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. And don’t forget, if you want to read the rest of the story, Necromancer Awakening will be released on Friday, April 11 on the Kindle store, followed shortly thereafter in other formats. Read on past the jump for Chapter 1. [UPDATE 5/10/2014] A month after release, Necromancer Awakening remains on 5 Amazon bestseller lists! Read on to see what all the fuss is about.   …

Wicked Words – A Guest Post by Mel Massey

Nat RussoGuest Posts, Publishing, Writing 11 Comments

Mel Massey, author of Earth’s Magick, (published by Solstice Publishing just this week!) had a difficult journey from idea to published manuscript, and she suffered from many of the same fears and failures we all do. Mel was kind enough to accept my invitation to write “Wicked Words”, a guest article for A Writer’s Journey, and what a wonderful story and lesson she’s shared with us. Enough of me…I’ll let Mel tell her story in her own words.

World Building: Magic Systems

Nat RussoBasics, How-To, Magic, World Creation, Writing 41 Comments

As a Fantasy author, the subject of World Building is near and dear to my heart. If you’re going to build a convincing fantasy world, you may be thinking about developing a magic system. In Necromancer Awakening (now available on Amazon), I went through a painstaking process to build a unique magic system involving “Life” and “Death”. While I was constructing a magic system based on necromancy, it occurred to me (in hindsight) that there are three things a writer should know before attempting this at home:

Structured Descriptions

Nat RussoDescription, How-To, Process, Writing 25 Comments

The journey from world building to prose is a long and twisted one. We know what a specific plaza in a specific city looks like. We have all of the elements: weather, sound, objects, people, etc. But unless we put them together in some kind of rational order and present them in a logical sequence, all we have are pieces of a jigsaw puzzle scattered on a table. We need to employ structured descriptions to allow the puzzle pieces to fall into place.    

Eliminate Unnecessary Stage Directions

Nat RussoBasics, How-To, Process, Writing 27 Comments

One of the best directors of the twentieth century, perhaps all time, had this to say: Alfred Hitchcock was accused of many things in his day, but being “dull” was never one of them. The little dull bits known as “stage directions” that are cluttering your work are driving readers away. Let’s see how to avoid them.