Writing

Sci-fi/fantasy worldbuilding process

How I start my worldbuilding process as an SF/F author

| The Quiet is Loud, Writing

At my recent “World-building and Cultural Research for Storytelling” panel at the Filipino-Canadian Book Festival, one question asked where we start our respective worldbuilding processes. Here I’ll go into more detail about how I start worldbuilding as a sci-fi/fantasy author. /// Note: A slightly more detailed version of this post first appeared in my monthly newsletter, Deadmedia. Join us here if you want earlier access to posts like this one! /// How I start my […]

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SFWA Blog: Character Development Lessons From Video Games

| Misc., News, Writing

I’m excited to have the chance to geek out about both character development and video games at the SFWA Blog! In my article “Character Development Lessons From Video Games,” I talk about some of my favourite character-driven fantasy and role-playing video games, and the lessons they taught me in developing characters in my sci-fi/fantasy books. Video games discussed: the Dragon Age series, Skyrim, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (I miss Odyssey SO MUCH).

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Event alert! Draft Reading Series on May 6

| News, Writing

I’m looking forward to sharing a short reading from my work-in-progress at the Draft Reading Series once again! I had a great time reading at Draft in February 2021, and once again it’ll be a great event with many talented writers. This will be a virtual event happening on Monday, May 6, 2024 from 6:15 – 9pm Eastern Time. It’ll be broken up into three sections of one hour each, and I’ll be reading in

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Filipino & Finnish mythology & folklore in my recent work

| The Quiet is Loud, Writing

To celebrate crossing the midpoint in my science-fantasy novella, I’m sharing the Filipino & Finnish mythology & folklore I’ve incorporated in my work so far, including The Quiet is Loud. Folklore/mythology from the Philippines:⁠ ✦ Nuno sa punso, a nature spirit who takes the form of an old man living in a mound of earth⁠ ✦ Tikbalang, a half-horse, half-human trickster who lives in the forests and mountains ⁠ ✦ Siyokoy, a humanoid sea creature

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science fiction and fantasy writing resources

The top 5 resources I use in writing SF/F novels

| Misc., Writing

In writing my historically-inspired sci-fi/fantasy novels, I’ve noticed a few resources I return to often. These resources might be useful for other SF/F authors, so I thought I’d share them. Let me know if there are any that you use that aren’t on this list! 1) Wiktionary Because so many of the names (both for people and places) I use in my work are based on real languages, Wiktionary is probably my favourite resource. It

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The inevitability of Peter Gabriel: creative inspiration

| Misc., Writing

Today is Peter Gabriel’s 74th birthday, and it’s good timing. Lately I’ve been thinking about the way his Genesis years influenced my writing. Ed. note: This post was updated with more content in September 2025. It might not be obvious mainly because he’s a singer and I’m a writer. Of course, though, in Genesis he did write many of the lyrics he sang. And, oh, those lyrics. So absurd, so vividly narrative: 666 is no

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Historical inspiration for my fantasy novel: Pre-colonial Philippines

| Myth | Lore | History, Writing | 2 Comments

Twist the Branch (formerly Seeker of the Lost Song) is a historically-inspired fantasy novel merging medieval Finnish & pre-colonial Filipino elements, and I wanted to share two elements of Filipino history I included. Dulang, a low table One of my favourite tidbits from my research is that pre-colonial Filipinos ate at a low table, sitting on the floor. Part of me worries that readers will think “Hey you stole that from Japan!” – but Filipinos

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my most influential authors

My 5 most influential authors

| Misc., Reading, Writing

⫸ (AKA If you like one or more of them you’ll probably find something you like in my work):⁠⫷ ⌯ Robin Hobb: Thoughtful examinations of character and a wide range of relationships. Major events happen in the world but her books feel somehow intimate. Her “Fitz” books were a major inspiration for the tone and characters of Seeker of the Lost Song and its sequel.⁠ ⌯ Kazuo Ishiguro: My biggest influence in “write whatever the

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why-i-left-substack

Why I left Substack

| Misc., Writing

You may have heard that Substack recently came under scrutiny (to say the least) for its position on platforming/making money off Nazis – namely, they don’t see a problem with it. So I want to get out of the Nazi bar. I’ve spent the past few days trying out alternatives to Substack, and I’ve settled on Beehiiv. I’m sure it’s not perfect* but I’ve seen encouraging statements about their position on this sort of thing.

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Essay in All Lit Up about older protagonists in speculative fiction

| News, Writing

Why do we need older protagonists in fantasy, sci-fi, and other forms of speculative fiction? I recently wrote an essay for All Lit Up about the value of north-of-25 protagonists in speculative fiction (and beyond). An excerpt: I do enjoy books where the protagonist saves the day at the age of 19, but it doesn’t take long before I start to wonder about the people propping up the rest of the world—the grumpy potion shop

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