It’s been half a month already, and I’m only now getting to write the August edition of my A Month of Writing series that chronicles my adventure in the 365k Club. As always, I had plans of catching up with everything, but it seems that summer still held its spell over me, so I didn’t do quite as much as I planned. (more…)
They say that writing is a lonely business, and in a way it’s true: when you sit down to write, the whole world ceases to exist as you traverse to another one, to the one in your head. Someone might be sitting beside you, figuratively holding your hand, but you’re still somewhat on your own with the text you’re writing.
But as a writer, you are not alone unless you want to be. (more…)
Yesterday Szortal had published my new drabbles in Polish, "Tryptyk Cisza-Szept-Krzyk" ("Triptych Silence-A Whisper-A Scream").
Almost every advice out there tell aspiring writers they should read a lot. But the key is not really devouring as many books as possible, but making the reading into a lesson: studying plots, characterization, even the style. There’s much more to reading as a writer than it is to reading as a book lover, and even though writers mostly enjoy reading as much as any other bookworm, aside from entertainment, good story, and food for thought, we have other reasons to read too. (more…)
Another short story is now available in the Read Online section. Set in a postapocalyptic world, “To Conquer the Sea” (available both in English and Polish) tells a story of a young man who sets out on a journey to the mysterious Sea-the worship around had killed his mother, and he’s trying to understand it. He doesn’t suspect that meeting a mysterious man in the wasteland will not only change his life, but also the world.
“To Conquer the Sea” is also available on Wattpad if you prefer to read on this platform. (more…)
There’s a moment in a gaming writer’s life when she doesn’t want complex storyline, character depth or non-linear game play. Instead, she wants the sheer joy of mowing through the endless hordes of monsters to remind her of the misspent youth when she lost days and night playing Diablo and Diablo 2. At such moment she thinks of Diablo 3 buried somewhere at the bottom of the box with her game discs and before she even considers digging it out, she remembers that the third installment of the third series failed at the most important aspect: being addictive. (more…)
Here I was, thinking my transition period after moving continents had finally come to an end and I’d be able to get back to building my routine, especially with the monsoon season starting in Arizona which would bring relief after the June’s heat I wasn’t used to anymore. Oh little I knew! (more…)
I consider myself a writer, but there are days when words in my head resemble a pack of pigeons fighting over a piece of bread, and no matter how hard I try, I can’t focus and the stories are not flowing. I might try to work through the chaos of thoughts, drink tea, and put on my favorite writing music, but if it’s not helping, I turn to other ways to be productive or to channel my creativity.
With this post I’m starting a series on other creative things I do. So, if you’re curious what does a writer do when she’s not writing, today you can get a peek at my polymer clay creations. (more…)
Everybody says that writing fantasy is easy. You don’t have to do research, and you can create just about anything your imagination conjures. It’s all inexistent anyway, right? As a writer of speculative fiction, both fantasy and science-fiction, I can say from my experience: quite to the contrary. I think fantasy is one of the most difficult genres to write. (more…)
I played Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura when it first came out in 2001. I waited for the game only because three of its developers were the people involved in Fallout 2 which I loved, and Arcanum promised a similar game-play, rich story and turn-based combat. I still remember the doubtful thoughts when I’ve learned that Arcanum would not transfer me to a post-apocalyptic world, but instead invite me to the world of fantasy. What interesting and fresh could there be about fantasy in the games mostly dominated back then by Dungeons & Dragons cliches?
Oh, how little I knew. The game had charmed me, and now, after fifteen years, when I came back to the game, it’s still the same. (more…)