Featured personal essay
Why I Write Fantasy: Wonder, Escape, and the Power of Story
The books that gave me somewhere to go, and why I keep making worlds of my own.
Read the essayNick’s notebook · Essays
This is where I work things out.
Usually because my brain refuses to leave them alone.
Personal writing about fantasy, characters, magic, and the strange business of turning an idea into a finished story.
The rest of the notebook
Questions I keep coming back to
These aren’t universal rules. They’re the questions I keep asking while I build worlds and make life difficult for the people inside them.
01
What Makes a Fantasy World Feel Real?
What makes a world feel inhabited? Not the size of its map, but the pressure it puts on the people living there.
Read the essay02
Why Readers Love Reluctant Heroes in Fantasy
A reluctant hero works when the refusal protects something real—and the eventual yes costs more than a change of mind.
Read the essay03
Why Fantasy Villains Are Often the Most Interesting Characters
A memorable villain doesn’t need to be right. They need to make the hero prove why they’re wrong.
Read the essay04
The Ultimate Guide to Fantasy Magic Systems
Rules can create suspense. Mystery can create wonder. The system works when the story knows what it needs from both.
Read the essay05
What Is Progression Fantasy? Power, Growth, and the Promise of Becoming
Progression fantasy doesn’t skip from weak to powerful. It makes the climb—and what the climb changes—part of the story.
Read the essay06
Progression Fantasy Glossary: 50 Terms, Systems, and Subgenres Explained
A filterable, sourced guide to 50 progression-fantasy terms, systems, story structures, and subgenres—with a downloadable terminology map.
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Progression Fantasy vs. LitRPG vs. Cultivation Fantasy: A Practical Decision Tree
Three overlapping labels. Three different questions. One book can honestly answer yes to all of them.
Read the essay08
Where Do Authors Get Their Ideas?
Two unrelated words, an old Nintendo RPG, and a question from my granddaughter all became stories. Ideas are everywhere if you notice them.
Read the essay09
The Eight Costs of Magic: A Taxonomy for Fantasy Readers and Writers
A practical way to identify where fantasy magic makes power hurt: in the body, resources, time, relationships, conscience, identity, society, or civilization.
Read the essayLooking for your next book?
I keep the reading guides on their own shelf.
Choose by mood, magic, character, worldbuilding, or the kind of reading experience you want next.
Find a fantasy bookThe other side of the work
I also write about how the books get finished.
Inspiration is wonderful when it shows up. I’m more interested in what gets an author back to the page when it doesn’t.
Read Field Notes for authors