Creative Writing with the Crimson League

The Blog of Fantasy Author Victoria Grefer

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  • June 2, 2023

    Changes to the second edition of “The Crimson League,” Part 1: Goodbye, Hal!

    Someone on Facebook recently told me she had enjoyed the first edition of The Crimson League (squee!) and asked what changes to expect in the upcoming second edition. (I took my entire trilogy out of circulation years ago to fix things up and make a more professional go of it.) The first major thing anyone…

  • June 1, 2023

    What Ryan George/ ScreenRant’s “Pitch Meeting” catchphrases can teach us about plot

    If you’re not familiar with Ryan George’s “Pitch Meeting” YouTube channel, you can thank me later. Basically, George has a series of videos picking apart popular films. The concept is that George plays two characters, “Writer Guy” and “Producer Guy.” In each video, Writer Guy is pitching the film to Producer Guy, who has lots…

  • May 31, 2023

    Sibling relationships in life and fiction

    I am the middle child of three girls (the middle of 5 kids total, counting step-siblings who are real siblings to me). I have great relationships with all of them. They are ALWAYS there for me, and I hope they are able to say I am there for them. They support and help me. They…

  • May 30, 2023

    Character Spotlight: Laskenay, Lady of Sorrows

    Character Spotlight: Laskenay, Lady of Sorrows

    As a woman fighting in a civil war, Laskenay doesn’t try to be a man. She’s wise enough to know she’s not a traditional soldier, and any chance she has to succeed or survive lies in adopting other tactics.

  • May 29, 2023

    Kora’s first raid, part 1: Excerpt from “The Crimson League: The Fight For Hope”

    Kora’s first raid, part 1: Excerpt from “The Crimson League: The Fight For Hope”

    Monday means an excerpt here on the blog! Today I’m excited to share the first excerpt from an action scene, showing magic and civil war at play. This is from Kora’s first raid as a member of the Crimson League, the organized resistance against sorcerer-dictator Zalski Forzythe. Three veteran members of the league, all men,…

  • May 28, 2023

    This morning’s blog-related “God moment”

    This morning’s blog-related “God moment”

    I have a friend who calls explicit acts of providence in her life-the ones she recognizes as God reaching out to her–“God moments.” I had one today at Mass THE SET UP Yesterday, I wrote a blog post to release today, introducing the members of The Crimson League (the rag tap resistance group in my…

  • May 28, 2023

    The Crimson League shows everyone has something to contribute

    The Crimson League shows everyone has something to contribute

    Each leaguesman IS needed. Each one is beautifully necessary as the story of the League unfolds–the quiet ones and the brash ones, the thinkers and those who rush to act, the sensitive ones and the hardened ones. So it is in real life. Each one of us is unique and irreplaceable. We fight different flaws…

  • May 27, 2023

    My favorite street marker in Madrid

    My favorite street marker in Madrid

    I’m a bit of a world traveler in my way, back from my days in graduate school, mostly. I almost got a PhD in Spanish literature, so I’ve spent a lot of time in Madrid. I actually finished my first draft of The Crimson League: The Fight for Hope there the summer after graduating with…

  • May 27, 2023

    My funny prof, first day of class antics, and what he taught me about narration

    My last semester as a grad student at the University of Alabama, I took a narratology class. I was technically studying Spanish lit, but I had ONE elective outside the Spanish dept, I was writing my own fiction–I had always wanted to be a writer–and writing was my passion. I figured narratology would be a…

  • May 26, 2023

    Flaws versus faults, character development, and why it matters

    One of my most popular posts ten years ago on my old blog was about the distinction I’ve always made between flaws and faults in fictional characters (and real people). You see, it’s important as an author to show that you respect your reader (as I recently discussed). One way we do that is by…

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