A.L. Phillips's Blog

It’s the first weekend of spring! The sun shines longer each day, the birds wake up weary adventurers with their oh-so-cheerful predawn calls, the earth smells of rain and growth (or snow and slush, depending on the variable weather), the sun’s warmth provides a much-needed counter to the chill breezes that still blow crisply through the land, and the kings of the many realms begin their preparations to defend themselves against the hordes of the enemy who will no doubt be moving very soon to...

As I continue to study at the Ph.D. level, I become ever increasingly struck by the power of story and narrative on the human psyche. Academics and scientists like to pretend that facts and numbers drive society forward. If we can find statistically significant results, they say, we can change the way the world views important issues! We can eliminate disease and poverty; we can make people happy, wealthy, and wise! Surely, they say, if people just knew the facts, they would change their beha...

Have you ever considered how language itself influences the way we think? As a fantasy writer and sociologist, I am fascinated by how our
perceptions of reality as a society are influenced by the words we use,
and the way in which we use them. I came across several interesting
articles this week that speak to various ways in which language has
shaped the way we see our world – and that can give interesting ideas to
writers who are looking for other worlds to create.

First, our language shapes...

I was asked recently how, as a female writer, I approach writing male characters. In several of my works, including The Quest of the Unaligned, the point-of-view character is male, meaning that I write as if I am
inside that character’s head. How do I make sure that it sounds right?

I’ve actually thought about this issue quite a bit – I want my
characters to be real and sympathetic to readers, to behave in a manner
consistent with who they are and who they have been raised to be by
their socie...

When you want to discover what you think about an idea, what do you? Do you write an essay? Do you call up a friend? Do you sit in a chair and ponder? As a novelist, I found it interesting to discover recently that writing plays a very different role in my thought processes than it does in the thought processes of some of my other friends. Understanding the role of writing in the mind of a given author can be helpful for readers and other writers alike, as different writers will use their wri...

Sanderson’s First Law:

A very thoughtful and insightful look into magic systems in fantasy, from one of the best modern fantasy world-builders, Brandon Sanderson. I would definitely view my writing as falling into the “hard magic” rather than the “soft magic” camp, but I do see the advantages of each. Good advice!

madddscience:

Good definition of science fiction: “No, it doesn’t make sense, but it’s internally consistent in the lack of sense it’s making.”

Happy Valentine’s Day!

You know what I’d like to read more of? Valentine’s Day stories involving non-romantic love. Romantic love has gotten more than its fair
share of stories – but love is far more than most Valentine’s Day tales
make it out to be. In fact, ancient Greece (the birthplace of Western
civilization!) had four different words for love, referring to four
different emotions. Only one of these (eros) is what Valentine’s Day
stories typically revolve around. In today’s post, I’d like...

“Children’s and YA books are about being brave and kind, about learning wisdom and love, about that journey into and through maturity that we all keep starting, and starting again, no matter how old we get. I think that’s why so many adults read YA: we’re never done coming of age.”

- Betsy Cornwell, interview in Uncommon YA (via betsycornwell)