The Fantasy Writers' Toolshed

In this episode, Richie is joined by PR guru and award-winning writer, Alex Greenwood, who shares some fantastic marketing tips that writers can utilise as lockdown begins to ease. From book launches to signings, we cover it all. As well as chatting about marketing, Alex also shares lots of great insights on writing mystery and thriller novels, two genres quite similar to the fantasy genre in some respects. Links:Alex Greenwood's website > http://alexgpr.com/PR After Hours podcast > https://prafterhours.com/Mysterious Goings On podcast > https://mgopod.com/Learn more about the John Pilate Mysteries > https://www.amazon.com/gp/kindle/series/B07PQM8HVM/Richie's guide to growing a mailing list > https://richiebilling.com/book-marketing/fast-way-to-grow-your-mailing-listOf Metal and Magic Publishing > https://ofmetalandmagicpublishing.wordpress.com/

Richie welcomes fantasy author and real-life world builder, John Tarrow, to the Writer’s Toolshed.Over the past 25 years, John has converted his 3 bedroom home into a magical fantasy world. We chat about the building of Talliston House and Gardens, how it’s influenced John’s worldbuilding approach when it comes to writing, and John shares his top tips on how to build a fantasy world—in reality and on the page.Find out more about Talliston House > https://www.talliston.com/Learn more about John > https://www.tarrow.co.uk/Check out Richie’s latest worldbuilding guide, Natural Worldbuilding > https://richiebilling.com/welcome/thewriterstoolshed/fantasy-writing/natural-worldbuilding-guide

In this episode, JM reflects on the first few months in his role as editor-in-chief for Of Metal and Magic Publishing. He discusses upcoming releases, including Pariah's Lament and Call of the Guardian, and provides some crucial tips and advice on when it comes to submitting stories to publishers. As always, get in touch if you have a question or query by clicking here.

In this episode, we're picking up on fantasy weapons and armour and exploring how writers can employ them in fight and battle scenes. We cover some good rules to follow when writing fight scenes, tips on making the most of battle scenes, ways to maintain clarity amid the chaos, and the importance of doing your research. For more tips and advice on writing battle scenes, check out the guides we referred to in the episode below:+ How to write fight scenes > https://ofmetalandmagicpublishing.wordpress.com/how-to-write-fight-scenes/+ A guide to sieges for fantasy writers > https://richiebilling.com/fantasy-writing/the-siegeTo join our virtual party on Saturday 20th February to celebrate the launch of Call of the Guardian, head here > https://fb.me/e/52VuZYect*Audio Attribution Notes*All audio effect used with open attribution license.Sound Effects from Freesound.org:“Ambient battle noise: swords and shouting”, by Pfranzen, https://freesound.org/s/192072/“Unsheathing the sword”, by Ihitokage, https://freesound.org/s/395364/“Laugh 1 pun dad joke”, by Jayfrosting, https://freesound.org/s/333403/Music from YouTube Audio Library:“Chariots of War”, by Aakash Gandhi“Yonder Hill and Dale”, by Aaron Kenny“Lord Of The Dawn”, by Jesse Gallagher

In this episode, Richie is talking all things conflict. What is conflict? Why is it important? How do you create it? And he discusses its close relationship with characterisation. To hammer home everything covered, we're finishing up with a writing exercise. And we're turning it into a competition. Submit your conflict-filled short stories to us and the winner will be published on the Of Metal and Magic Publishing website, plus they'll receive a bunch of free books! Closing date is Saturday 26th February, and submissions should be emailed to ofmetalandmagicpublishing@gmail.com. We'll announce the winner next month. Links mentioned in the episode:GiveawaysOMAM's LOTR giveaway - https://ofmetalandmagicpublishing.wordpress.com/2021/01/06/announcing-our-first-giveaway/Richie Billing's sword & sorcery giveaway - https://richiebilling.com/free-book-competitions-contests-and-giveaways/LinksRichie's guide on conflict - https://richiebilling.com/2018/09/03/plotting-the-crucible/Background music and sound effects by BBilling

In our first episode of 2021, we're diving into fantasy armor and fantasy weapons. We examine why the medieval period is so popular in the fantasy genre. And we look at what that means for writers when it comes to including the likes of swords, bows and plated armor in stories. We explore medieval history, looking at the development of weapons and armor, discussing insights into their crafting, use and practical applications throughout time. And we discuss a few weapons that you may not have heard of before. As always, get in touch with your comments, queries and curses by clicking here (https://ofmetalandmagicpublishing.wordpress.com/get-in-touch/).To enter our current competitions, just enter your details here (https://mailchi.mp/555959f846a1/join-the-community)And to check out Richie's guides mentioned in the episode, just click below:A Fantasy Writer's Guide to Armor (https://richiebilling.com/2017/09/19/a-fantasy-writers-guide-to-armor/)Fantasy and Archery - A Guide (https://richiebilling.com/archery-and-fantasy-a-complete-guide/)A Fantasy Writer's Guide to Medieval Weapons (https://richiebilling.com/2020/09/16/a-fantasy-writers-guide-to-weaponry/)

In our first-ever Christmas special, we welcome two guests to the Writers' Toolshed - EA Robins and Douglas WT Smith, two fantastic writers who make up the rest of the Of Metal and Magic Publishing Team.We reflect on what's been a challenging year for a lot of us, as well as our writing journeys up to this point. And we take a look at what 2021 holds, including the release of JM William's novel, Call Of The Guardian, and Richie Billing's debut epic fantasy, Pariah's Lament.We also discuss opportunities that OMAM Publishing will have for writers like you!As always, if you have any questions, queries or curses, please head over to ofmetalandmagicpublishing.wordpress.com/podcast.And to get some free fantasy books to keep you entertained during the cold winter months, just head here > https://ofmetalandmagicpublishing.wordpress.com/free-reads/

In this episode, we're wading into the deep and murky waters of author and book marketing. We tackle every writer's least favourite job—marketing. And in this particular episode, we're dealing with setting yourself up for success—building a website and the debate around doing so, putting content on your website, SEO and blogging, creating and growing a mailing list, and making money from your writing, so you can spend more time doing the thing you love!We'll return to marketing in later episodes, so if you have any questions at all, please get in touch by clicking here.Links mentioned in the episode:Of Metal and Magic Publishing - don't forget to join our reading group to get a free book, Ancient Heritage! > https://ofmetalandmagicpublishing.wordpress.com/Richie's Privacy Policy > https://richiebilling.com/privacy-policy/

In this instalment, we're departing from our fantasy focus and getting down and dirty with dialogue—one of the key components of any great story. We tackle the do's and don't's of dialogue, ways you can write effective dialogue, saidisms, and answer the most common formatting questions, such as should you use speech marks or not. As always, we want to hear from you! Drop us an email by clicking here.