Create Memorable Characters the Pixar Way
No Film School has published some of Pixar's tips for creating memorable characters. From Woody to Nemo, Pixar's characters have a unique way of sticking with you, whether it's due to their hilarious banter or heartbreaking humanity. But what is it that makes them so...
Survey: What Readers Really Want
A few days ago, Written World Media (WWM) published the results of a survey on what readers really want. The company has five reader-facing brands such as Freebooksy, Bargain Booksy, and Red Feather Romance, that allow authors and publishers to reach the right...
Medieval Name Generators
You may recall my previous posts on naming your characters (Old Anglo-Saxon Character Names, Free Online Character Name Generators, and Naming your Characters the Easy Way). There is now a new character naming tool on Reedsy, the Medieval Name Generator. If you’re...
5 Worldbuilding Mistakes to Avoid in Your Sci-Fi Novel
This is a guest post by Savannah Cordova. Savannah is a writer with Reedsy, a marketplace that connects self-publishing authors with the world's best editors, designers, and marketers. She loves science fiction and fantasy. 5 Worldbuilding Mistakes to Avoid in Your...
Visual Marketing & Its Influence On Your Book’s Social Media Marketing Success
Use tools like Canva that provide millions of templates, fonts, colors, themes, and graphics to make your textual content as attractive as the visual content.
Are There Any Celtic Words in English?
Long-time followers of my blog may remember my post on the origins of English. The language tree in that post shows that English is largely derived from Germanic, specifically Anglo-Frisian. So, where are the Celts? Are there no Celtic words in English? As several of...
Space Farts and Crappy Jobs
The wee one's fascination with bodily functions (as witnessed by her poetry) must be rubbing off on me, as I couldn't stop browsing Quora to learn more about toilet habits, old and new. Sher Afgan and Silvia Serra have shared a brief illustrated history of toilets...
How Did They Make Iron in the Iron Age?
The Iron Age (800 BC-100 AD) took its name from, well, iron. This kickstarted a number of technological and social changes, with centuries-old Bronze Age (2200-800 BC) civilizations based on copper and tin falling prey to invincible newcomers who wielded formidable...
History of the Cuirass
Cavalier guards, the charge is short, and therefore so sweet. The trumpet sings, the field is open, and somewhere saber ringing is heard. The sound of strings still echoes but the captain's already on the saddle. Do not promise young maidens eternal love on earth...
The City that Vanished into the Sea
When people speak of climate change, I often think of Dunwich, a town on the Suffolk coast that has almost entirely vanished into the sea. Dunwich is a pleasant city that consists of just about one street and a museum, a shingle beach, and a nearby forest. As George...
Giannoulis Chalepas, Greece’s Mad Sculptor
Late last year, an article of mine was published by John Maberry's Eagle Peak Annual on the life of one of Greece's best-known sculptors, Giannoulis ("Little John") Chalepas. I'm sharing here with John's kind permission. Chalepas translates into "hardship" in Greek...
The Workers Who Tricked the Devil
I came across a delightful story on Atlas Obscura the other day and wanted to share with you. When the Gothic-style St. Mary Church (Marienkirche) was being built in Lübeck in the mid-13th century, local legend has it that none other than Satan himself stopped by the...