I’m sure by the title of this post, you think I’m going to talk about faerie lore references, fantasy name generators, and several different editions of the dictionary and thesaurus. If this were an actual educational post, those things might actually get mentioned in more than the opening paragraph. Of course, this is not an actual educational post, so all of those important tools are being banished to the land of the opening sentence, where they will probably be forgotten over the next few minutes.

Coffee

Have you ever seen a writer going through caffeine withdrawals? My husband has, and let me tell you, it’s not a pretty picture. He’s actually told me multiple times that if I ever quit drinking coffee, he’s going to hide for at least a month while I detox. Almost any writer – fantasy writers in particular – will tell you that without coffee and caffeinated drinks in general, the fruits of their labour would never have made it past the idea-baby stage. The fact of the matter is, late night coffee buzz is the best writing fuel.

Insomnia

Even as I sit here writing this, insomnia is a not-so-missed companion. Most of Welcome to Mystery was written on caffeine fueled insomnia nights. To be honest, most of my best writing has been done on similar nights, and probably will be for many more years to come.

Cats

The ultimate supervisors and distractions. They’ll ignore you while it’s time to work, and then they’ll tell you in no uncertain terms when it’s time to take a break. Oh, and by the way, they’ll also insist on being a distraction when you’re trying to work through a particularly exciting or important scene. My cat is fat and, in general, pretty lazy. He’s generally lazy, that is, until it’s time for me to work on the pivotal fight scene, or the first time the hero kisses the heroine. Then, he’s tearing around the house, running the circuit from the front door to the bedroom, bedroom to bathroom to kitchen, and back through the living room to yowl at the imaginary threat outside the sliding glass door. This, of course, allows me a chance to sit back, take a breath, and just laugh. Ask most fantasy authors, and they’ll tell you they’re managed by a cat as well.

So there you have it, my friends. For the first official post of JaniceMcKonly.com, I give you my three essential tools for the fantasy writer. Check in next Wednesday for another walk in Mystery with me, and in the meantime head over to Goodreads to sign up for the giveaway!

~Janice