Tag Archives: fantasy

Breaking the deadly loop of the debut writer

Posted on May 28, 2013 by Rati Mehrotra

I’ve heard it time and again. If you’re a debut science fiction and fantasy novelist out there shopping your nine part epic fantasy on the Aardzork empire wars – don’t. Your first novel must stand on its own, regardless of … Continue reading →

Posted in Science fiction and fantasy, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Monsters, myths and machines

Posted on May 21, 2013 by Rati Mehrotra

I hid in the closet for years. Everyone around me is so literary, I never really admitted to my love for writing fantasy and science fiction. That’s changed now but the conversation still leaves a little something to be desired: … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and media, Science fiction and fantasy, Writing | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

The tears of the second draft

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Rati Mehrotra

I just finished the first draft of a new 47000-word middle grade fantasy. “Tada!” I thought triumphantly as I tapped out the last line. Now I can relax and celebrate go back and read it and discover just how crappy … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

Enchantment and escape: fantastic books

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Rati Mehrotra

I just finished reading The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne Valente. What a delightful, charming, original book it is! I can’t recommend it enough. I am definitely looking forward to reading the rest … Continue reading →

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Fragments of (non) sense

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Rati Mehrotra

Woe is me. Even my illustrator, the inimitable Amy, thinks I cannot write. “You use too many sentence fragments!” she scolds. “Try not to begin sentences with ‘and’ or ‘but’”. But Amy! We don’t speak in complete sentences. Must I … Continue reading →

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Riddle me this

Posted on April 10, 2013 by Rati Mehrotra

‘The riddles are three, but Death is one’, Princess Turandot warns her suitor Calaf in Puccini’s famous opera Turandot. Undaunted, Prince Calaf answers all three riddles correctly: What is born each night and dies each dawn? (Hope) What flickers red … Continue reading →

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Rejecting the Frivolous Cake

Posted on April 4, 2013 by Rati Mehrotra

Some things are not meant to be analyzed. Poems and rejection slips, for instance. I stare at my latest editorial comment on “multiple points of view” and “episodic plot” and give up after a bit. The latest news from Galleycat … Continue reading →

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Winnie the Pooh or zombies?

Posted on March 27, 2013 by Rati Mehrotra

Just finished reading ‘Memory of Light’, the fourteenth and last installment of the Wheel of Time series. THANK GOD IT’S OVER. Robert Jordan, RIP. Brandon Sanderson did a stellar job, though we wish it could have been you. Over 4 … Continue reading →

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Frog and faerie

Posted on March 22, 2013 by Rati Mehrotra

In the last week, I have read “The Big Wide-Mouthed Frog” about 150 times to my three-year old. She never tires of it. “Again!” she shouts, with a grin as wide as the chirpy frog’s. I gnash my teeth and … Continue reading →

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