Author: Galadriel Coffeen

“You recall how, when you gave me my robes, you told me you hoped I would find a student who taught me as much as I taught you?” Aphiros asked with a sidelong grin. “Well, I found one.” His grin felt at least halfway like a grimace. “I’m glad to hear it,” the old man … Continue reading The Road Where Fruits Fell

Everyone who writes has experienced the dreaded writer's block, when the words simply won't come and the story won't progress no matter how hard you try. It's a common topic for discussion, and there are hundreds of tips out there for how to overcome writer's block, but I'd like to posit a perspective that I've … Continue reading Translating Writer’s Block

When worldbuilding for a fantasy or sci-fi story, one of the biggest dangers is getting caught up in the details, creating more and more minutiae about your world, and never getting to the actual writing of the story. Or, if you do manage to write, there's a risk of trying to cram in as many … Continue reading Sketching the Unseen

Over the years I've tried a number of different methods for planning and writing my books, but I always had trouble carrying through on my plans and actually finishing drafts. Finally, within the last couple years, I've managed to nail down the method that works best for me, which is a specific combination of discovery … Continue reading The Evolution of a Plantser

I never planned to write any short stories. But when I was preparing to self-publish my first novel, a lot of people advised me to start by releasing a free story to help market the novel and to give people a taste of my writing before they committed to buying a full-length book. So I … Continue reading Oops, Another Short Story (or Three)

I rarely select books to read in advance; I'm an inveterate browser of library shelves and used bookstores, selecting books based solely on what catches my eye in the moment. But I've decided to try planning my reading a bit this year, and I've started by selecting four books to add to my official reading … Continue reading Books on My Reading List

When Anneliese and I first named Wren and Kelta, we hadn't done any worldbuilding or established any rules for the languages of the Shallic Sea. This means that the main characters' names were the first examples we had of words from their languages. Ellondese and Taxian were born from those words: "Wren Elspur" and "Kelta." … Continue reading Names in the Shallic Sea

This month, I'm spending a lot of time recording an audio version of The Case of the Dragon-Bone Engine, so I thought I'd give you a quick walkthrough of the process. This is only the third audiobook I've ever recorded, and I barely comprehend the basics of audio editing, so this is far from expert … Continue reading Self-Publishing an Audiobook

Happy new year, humans! I'm gearing up for a year crammed full of writing projects, and I'm excited to give you all a peek at what I'll be working on. To start with, I'll be spending January catching up on audio recordings that I didn't have time to complete last year. Most importantly, I'm recording … Continue reading Projects for the New Year

An excerpt from The Origin and Subsequent Development of the Civilized Nations of the World, by Professor Diligent Whiting of Accord University in Fossen As you no doubt have heard, two great empires once dominated the Shallic Sea: Alok to the north and Nebor to the south. The eastern lands were mostly uninhabited at the … Continue reading A Brief History of the Shallic Nations