Tag: writing

Why I Chose Tarot as a Tool for Authors and Game Masters

Posted on by

Recently, I released Tarot for Storytellers on DriveThruFiction.com. This book is sourced from my personal experiences studying the narrative aspects of tarot and the writing workshops I’ve been teaching. For the past couple of years, I’ve been running a writing workshop called “Tarot for Storytellers” at the Gen Con Writer’s Symposium and online. Often sold […]

[...more]
Blogs Comments Off on Why I Chose Tarot as a Tool for Authors and Game Masters

Tarot for Storytellers Launches on DriveThru!

Posted on by

Tarot for Storytellers is a full-color eBook written by author, narrative designer, and FlamesRising.com contributor Monica Valentinelli (World of Darkness, Cyberpunk RED, Shadowrun: Court of Shadows, etc.). The eBook is jam-packed with prompts, guidance, and examples to teach you how to develop new characters, plots, and setting using a deck of tarot cards. Tarot for […]

[...more]
Articles, Features Comments Off on Tarot for Storytellers Launches on DriveThru!
BooksOfM Logo

Love Tarot? And Writing? I’m Releasing my Tarot for Storytellers Draft to Patrons!

Posted on by

In just a few days, at the Gen Con: Writer’s Symposium, I’ll be running my popular Tarot for Storytellers writing workshop. I’ve ran this workshop at Gen Con and online through Clarion West and the Rambo Academy for Wayward Writers. I’ve had a great response and wonderful feedback! So, I wrote an eBook inspired by […]

[...more]
Blogs Comments Off on Love Tarot? And Writing? I’m Releasing my Tarot for Storytellers Draft to Patrons!
Tarot for Writers | Rambo Academy for Wayward Writers | Valentinelli

Save the date! Take an Online Tarot for Writers Workshop

Posted on by

In this two-hour Tarot for Writers workshop, author and narrative designer Monica Valentinelli (Vampire: The Masquerade, Shadowrun, Firefly, and more!) will show you how to use tarot in your storytelling. From inspirational prompts to building characters and scenarios, you’ll come away with fresh ideas to help you brainstorm everything from character relationships to plot twists. […]

[...more]
News, Resources Comments Off on Save the date! Take an Online Tarot for Writers Workshop

10 Non-Fiction Books for Writers

Posted on by

Heya, are you participating in CampNaNoWriMo? Got a novel in the works? Your own game? I put together a list of ten books to help! Every book in this list is on sale through July 31st as part of the massive Christmas in July sale at DriveThruFiction.com.

In no particular order, here’s ten great non-fiction books to help your craft. I picked books that’d be great for genre authors and narrative designers. Check ’em out!

[...more]
Articles Comments Off on 10 Non-Fiction Books for Writers

Looking back at the Design Essay Series

Posted on by

The Flames Rising Design Essay Series started in 2008 when Preston DuBose and I were chatting about different projects we’ve worked on (including Buried Tales of Pinebox, Texas which we had recently released) and I asked him to write a little something about the next project on his agenda, you can find the essay below. Like other parts of the site, this series started out in RPGs, but soon expanded to include Fiction, Comics and we even have one essay about Film.

The series continues to evolve and has become an ongoing project where authors, game designers and others can tell Flames Rising readers about the creative process that went into a particular project. We have no plans on stopping this series, but I thought I’d take a moment to look back at some of the essays we’ve posted so far:

[...more]
Blogs Comments Off on Looking back at the Design Essay Series

Writing Game Fiction by Monica Valentinelli

Posted on by

Freelance writer Monica Valentinelli (whose upcoming work includes the Tales of the Seven Dogs Society, a novella based on the Abstract Nova game Aletheia) has dedicated her blog recently to writing about game fiction.

Monica has covered audience, theme, and plot to highlight many of the challenges that well-loved and small press games have when writing and publishing fiction. Check out Words on the Water for these articles.

[...more]
Resources Comments Off on Writing Game Fiction by Monica Valentinelli

Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures Review

Posted on by

Great for writers and game designers, I’ve never come across a more thorough and massive work detailing creatures so rare you may not recognize them. There are two, other books in the series entitled, The Element Encyclopedia of 5000 Spells and The Element Encyclopedia of Witchcraft. If either of those two books are as down-to-earth and fact-filled as this one, I wouldn’t hesitate to buy either one to add substance to my fantasy stories.

[...more]
Nonfiction, Reviews Comments (1)

Taking a Bite Out of Horror: A Guide to Reviewing Horror Films Like the Pros

Posted on by

Horror-genre lovers (like you and me) can’t resist sharing our love of the macabre. If we tell our friends about a dog of a film, they probably won’t go to see it. How then do we write a film review that finds the happy medium between gushing over the latest hit and bashing that worthless dud?

[...more]
Articles Comments Off on Taking a Bite Out of Horror: A Guide to Reviewing Horror Films Like the Pros

On Reviewing Fiction

Posted on by

These days almost everyone with a home computer at some point or another wants to be a writer. As a consequence the fiction market has been flooded with new authors: some good, some bad. But what makes a piece of fiction “bad”? How does the average reader know what’s worthwhile to read and what isn’t?

[...more]
Articles Comments Off on On Reviewing Fiction

How to Write Reviews of Role Playing Game Books

Posted on by

The purpose of a review is to provide readers with enough information to decide whether they would like to spend their time or money on reading the book, watching the film or, in our case, playing the game. Whether or not the reviewer enjoys or is enthused by the game is of less importance. The reader must come first.

[...more]
Articles Comments Off on How to Write Reviews of Role Playing Game Books

Horror Plot Devices

Posted on by

Plenty of articles deal with setting the mood for a horror RPG. As a result, I’m not going to tackle that topic. Instead, I’d like to talk about plot devices that, when in operation at a level of generality above specific mood elements, set the stage for creating a truly horrific RPG.

[...more]
Articles Comments Off on Horror Plot Devices