dawn.vogel | May 5, 2021
Reading: Finishing up the last of the writing craft books, and then I get to launch into a bunch of books, most of which I bought for myself! Reviews for all of them, of course, but I’m a little excited to have been able to pick out a couple of books on my own! Watching: The […]
dawn.vogel | April 28, 2021
Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody insists frequently that this book is not a formula for writing a novel, but it provides a ton of information on novel structure and pacing that could be used as something like a formula, or at least a strong set of guideposts. This approach is marvelous […]
dawn.vogel | April 21, 2021
We’ve just recently finished watching the first season of The Owl House, and it’s a a delight! It’s definitely a cartoon that’s designed for kids and tweens, but it’s so utterly charming and, like many cartoons, has plenty of humor for adults as well. What I really love about this show is that the main character […]
dawn.vogel | April 14, 2021
Wired for Story by Lisa Cron is a fantastic book for writers who want to work more on their writing craft. Using facts about how readers’ brains work, Cron explains how you can use and defy expectations in ways that will satisfy your readers. At the same time, she gives excellent insight into why some […]
dawn.vogel | April 7, 2021
Reading: I’m currently taking a short break from reviewing books to beta read a novel and to read a couple of recommended books about writing craft. I’ve got Wired for Story and Story Genius by Lisa Cron, and Save the Cat by Jessica Brody. I’ll probably be talking more about these in the coming weeks, as I’m able […]
dawn.vogel | March 31, 2021
Corpses and Cognac (2021) is Dorian Graves’ second book in the Deadly Drinks series, an urban fantasy series in a similar vein to Supernatural but so much better! I read and reviewed the first book in the series, Bones and Bourbon, when that book came out, and so I was excited to take a look at the […]
dawn.vogel | March 24, 2021
Though the Kickstarter is already well-funded, I wanted to share Coyote and Crow, a roleplaying game set in a near-future where the Americas were never colonized, written by Native creators. This Kickstarter funded in 45 minutes, which isn’t surprising at all. This game looks gorgeous, and the content sounds amazing. I’m particularly excited because the center […]
dawn.vogel | March 10, 2021
J.T. Greathouse’s debut, The Hand of the Sun King (Gollancz, 2021), is an epic fantasy novel, the first in a planned trilogy. Set in a fantastical world of magic with a rich history, this novel fits beautifully into its genre while also addressing some failings of the genre by turning them on their head. The […]
dawn.vogel | March 3, 2021
Reading: I’m reading for book reviews, but I also recently devoured When Brains Dream by Antonio Zadra and Robert Stickgold, which is both research for a novel I’m planning to write that plays with dreams, but also just a fascinating read if you’ve ever had questions about dreams from a scientific perspective. This book does a […]
dawn.vogel | February 24, 2021
One of my recent Kickstarter rewards was the World Roulette Deck from Light Grey Art Lab. It’s a deck meant to assist in world building for creative projects, with a really interesting setup on the individual cards, which are meant to be stacked and layered in interesting combinations as you’re creating a world. As the […]
