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Books by D.J. Butler
Category Archives: How to Write
Witchy Eye: Clerics and Magic-Users
Here’s another follow-up note from that Salt Lake Comic Con panel on writing and roleplaying authentic magicians. Games tend to put spellcasters whose abilities derive from gods into one bucket, and other spellcasters into a different bucket. Clerics vs. magic-users … Continue reading
Witchy Eye: Himmelsbriefe
At Salt Lake Comic Con this year, one of my favorite panels was on writing and roleplaying authentic magicians; fellow panelists included Paul Draper, Kevin Nielsen, Charlie Pulsipher, and others. The conversation ranged to interesting places, but I want to … Continue reading
The Perfect Word
I love finding and using in a story that perfect word, the one tiny word that communicates more than it seems. Let me give you an example from WITCHY EYE, my forthcoming epic fantasy (Baen, March 2017). From a confrontation between … Continue reading
Witchy Eye: Real-World Christian Grimoires
One of the fun things about writing my epic blackpowder fantasy WITCHY EYE (Baen, forthcoming) and now its first sequel (WITCHY WINTER) has been exploring real-world ideas about magic. It turns out, for instance, that right into the nineteenth century … Continue reading
Posted in Bookshelf, History, How to Write
Tagged Baen, Christian Magic, Francis Barrett, Grimoires, Johann George Hohman, The Long-Lost Friend, The Magus, Witchy Eye, Witchy Winter
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Witchy Eye: Roots of the Setting
My blackpowder fantasy novel Witchy Eye: Flight of the Serpent’s Daughter has been acquired by Toni Weisskopf at Baen. I’m excited about it, and am going to start sharing some of the book’s roots from time to time. I was … Continue reading
Overrated
I want to be overrated. This thought comes out of a weekend post on social media, in which a writer asked what books of the last thirty years other people had found to be the most overrated. It’s a fair … Continue reading
Posted in Business, How to Write
Tagged Bestsellers, George R.R. Martin, J.K. Rowling, Stephen King
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Bookshelf: Million Dollar Outlines
I occasionally remind myself of craft principles by going back to the well and reading a book about writing. This week, I read David Farland’s Million Dollar Outlines. If you’re trying to write your first novel (or your nth novel) … Continue reading
How to Achieve Success
1. Work your butt off. 2. Take your punches. 3. Get lucky. Order may vary, and there may be many cycles of rinse/repeat.
Posted in How to Write
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I Do Not Regret
You know, when I was a kid, I wanted to write fantasy novels. I read Tolkien, and then I cracked open my journal and started a story: “Aroon!” The old door opened. As I recall, that was as far as … Continue reading
Professionalism
I was asked on Facebook a few weeks ago whether I’d learned anything in my time as a corporate lawyer that I found applicable / useful to my career as an author. The answer is, absolutely yes. With that as … Continue reading
