This post is loosely inspired by Brandon Sanderson's habit of posting complete annotations for many of his novels and stories, detailing how the story changed and evolved throughout his planning and revision processes, as well as what thoughts went into certain key decisions. I've found those annotations incredibly helpful as I've been working to improve my own writing, especially the copy of Sixth of the Dusk in which he includes complete drafts from various stages of the writing process. My goal is to offer something in a similar vein here, aimed both at fellow writers, and those of you interested in learning more about what goes into bringing Blood Magic to life.
Blood Magic S2:E1: Flailing in the Dark Release
I am very excited to present to you the first episode of a brand new season of Blood Magic, the short story series that I've been publishing for over a year now on IGC Publishing to minimal fanfare. If you're not already familiar with it, I encourage you to go over to the main Blood Magic page or any of my myriad posts on the subject to learn more. Better yet, I encourage you to start at the beginning, and read the first episode. We even have a newly revised edition here on the site, newly re-released for 2021.
Dawnshard Review
I've been seeing that Sanderson was working on this novella from his website's status bar for quite some time now, but I hadn't been sure what it was (though I could have figured out without too much more research, I know). However, I was not expecting it to come out so close to when the fourth Stormlight novel finally came out, and was very excited to find that, in November, I had not one, but two new pieces of Stormlight literature to enjoy.
Relatively Right
In philosophy, there is a concept called moral relativism. It was particularly popular in the mid-twentieth century, but has fallen out of favor in many circles today. Aristotle's famous question - "is conduct right because the gods demand it, or do the gods demand it because it is right" - is answered in moral relativism with a resounding no, to both alternatives. Instead, moral relativism asserts that conduct is right so long as it is in keeping with the conventions of the culture within that conduct takes place, and conduct should only be judged within that context.
Sententia Discussion Series 2: Selfishness
Ayn Rand suggests that we are fundamentally selfish creatures, and that such selfishness is not a bad thing (we touched briefly on this in our Pride post). Her philosophy of objectivism argues that even an act of apparent charity is at its core a selfish act, a moral transaction of sorts - the recompense you receive for your "selfless" act on another's behalf is the sense of satisfaction or boost in reputation which you experience as a result.
Caesar’s Commentaries Review
Caesar's Commentaries are not tedious. They are not slow, or particularly difficult to read, and they certainly are not short on action. Written by Caesar himself, they demonstrate a side of the man that is rarely emphasized in the numerous biographies and histories centered around him. He is famous for his skill as a general and for his conquests, but he was also a brilliant politician, an adept author, and a strikingly intelligent figure.
Building the Learning Curve
In any book, the author must introduce the characters, the situation, and the basic elements of the setting, but in fantasy and science fiction you might have a viewpoint character in the first chapter who isn't even human, living on a planet that isn't even in this universe. The very laws of physics might be different, never mind the differences in culture, history, civilization, and everything that goes along with that: systems of measurement, idioms, naming conventions, philosophical principles, mathematics, science...speculative fiction strives to introduce and immerse a reader in a world that might be completely different from that with which we are familiar.
Blood Magic S1:E1: Pilot Re-Release
Last year, we began publishing a series of short stories called Blood Magic here on IGC Publishing. I've written extensively about why and how I chose to do this, and the benefits it has provided me from a writing perspective, but there are things that I would like to do better, and things that I would change about how the publishing was executed if I had to do it over again. Fortunately, as I discussed in our announcement for the second season, I've given myself the opportunity to do just that.
Oathbringer Review
If you’ve been following along over the past few reviews, you probably won’t be surprised by another rave review for a Stormlight book. To be honest, I probably have a somewhat unhealthy obsessions with these books. There are plenty of books that I enjoy, and stories that I will happily reread and have a new experience with each time, but my experience with this series is on a different level. Maybe it’s the philosophical questions it confronts, or maybe it’s the incredibly imaginative and vividly detailed world, or maybe it’s the compellingly flawed, fascinating, and terribly relatable characters. Whatever the case, Oathbringer continues to be, to my mind, the gold standard for what epic fantasy ought to be.
Good Reading
Despite the fact that I run a website, and encourage people to share said website on social media platforms and with their friends, families, and enemies, I personally live under a bit of a digital rock. Though that's really an understatement - it's probably a digital boulder - but I couldn't resist putting in that subtle "bit" pun. Even though I know that engaging on social media is among the best ways for me to continue growing the audience for IGC Publishing, I just haven't been able to bring myself to do it.
IGC Publishing 