Author Archives: John Robin

About John Robin

John Robin is an epic fantasy writer, professional editor, and lover of imaginary worlds. He write stories about magic and myth, human suffering and the power to rise above it. He loves world building, coffee shops, mathematics, chess, and is an avid author community builder.

Guest post: world-building tips from author K.M. Cooper

Posted on July 21, 2017

Today I welcome another guest to share more tips on world-building, following Craig Munro’s great post from last week. K. M. Cooper is a creative director and self-professed Jacqueline-of-all-trades who specializes in fiction writing and world building. Her first book, Hub City … Continue reading →

Posted in Guest post, World Builders, Writing Tips | Tagged articles on world-building, fantasy writer world-building tips, k.m. cooper mushroom and anchove, world-building lessons from authors, world-building tips | Leave a comment

A Special Lesson on World-building: with guest author of Bones of the Past, Craig Munro

Posted on July 14, 2017

Today I’m thrilled to welcome a special guest to the blog — Craig Munro, author of the newly released The Bones of the Past, a dark fantasy epic in the flavor of Steven Erikson. Craig has been my guest before … Continue reading →

Posted in Fantasy, Guest post, World Builders | Tagged Craig Munro the bones of the past, fantasy author world-building tips, the books of dust and bone craig munro, world building fantasy authors, world building tips | 1 Comment

The last push: finding the creative gold in those moment when you would have quit

Posted on July 7, 2017

I am an avid runner. I used to run 5 times a week and have done a full marathon, and a half. I sprained my ankle 3 years ago, and during the year it took for that to heal, I … Continue reading →

Posted in John's blog, Writing Tips | Tagged fitness running training, fitness tips for runners, gain and maintain approach to improvement, how to be more effective in my work, improve your writing habits, increase your focus, pushing to your edge, pushing your boundaries to be more successful, ways to push your productivity | 2 Comments

Maintaining your writing discipline: staying focused in an age of distraction

Posted on June 30, 2017

Sometimes I feel like an odd duck. Ever since January 1st, I have not missed a day of writing. Every day, no matter what, I’ve set a 2-hour timer on my phone, using the Forest app, and I used that … Continue reading →

Posted in John's blog, Story Perfect Newsletter Posts, Writing Tips | Tagged dealing with distraction, how to get my book done, motivation for writers, overcoming distraction writers, staying motivated writing, tips to get writing done | 5 Comments

Finding you audience as a fiction author: taking steps to success as a self-publishing author

Posted on June 23, 2017

As I shared last week, and in my newsletter the previous week, I’ve put plans in motion to publish A Thousand Roads through my Dreamsphere Books imprint next fall, part of embracing the self-publishing process fully. While I’ll certainly be doing … Continue reading →

Posted in John's blog, Story Perfect Newsletter Posts, Writing Tips | Tagged finding audience self-publishing, self-publishing author steps to success, self-publishing authors advice, self-publishing pros and cons, self-publishing success, should I self-publish | 3 Comments

Branding your self-published production as an Indie author

Posted on June 16, 2017

Last week, I announced in my fan newsletter that I will be publishing A Thousand Roads as my debut epic fantasy novel on October 31st, 2018 in ebook (January 9th, 2019 for print). This was a pretty big moment for me, … Continue reading →

Posted in John's blog, Story Perfect Newsletter Posts, Writing Tips | Tagged how to make successful self-publishing, professional self-publishing, self-publishers, self-publishing advice, self-publishing imprint, self-publishing marketing tips | Leave a comment

Time off and gaining perspective: reactive vs. action-driven work

Posted on June 2, 2017

Last fall I got in the habit of taking every seventh week off. Something about working hard for six weeks then resting on the seventh seems fitting for one who spends their time creating. On my week off, I turn … Continue reading →