• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
FanFiAddict

FanFiAddict

A gaggle of nerds talking about Fantasy, Science Fiction, and everything in-between. They also occasionally write reviews about said books. 2x Stabby Award-Nominated and home to the Stabby Award-Winning TBRCon.

  • Home
  • About
    • Reviewers
    • Review Policy
    • Stance on AI
    • Contact
    • Friends of FFA
  • Blog
    • Guest Posts
    • Lists
    • Neurodivergence in Fiction
    • Why You Should Read…
  • Fear For All
    • Demons
    • Ghosts
    • Gothic
    • Lovecraftian
    • Monsters
    • Occult
    • Psychological
    • Slasher
    • Vampires
    • Werewolves
    • Witches
    • Zombies
  • Reviews
    • Children’s / Middle Grade Books
    • Comics/Graphic Novels
    • Fantasy
      • Alt History
      • Coming of Age
      • Epic Fantasy
      • Fairy Tales
      • Grimdark
      • Heroic Fantasy
      • LitRPG
      • Paranormal Fantasy
      • Romantic Fantasy
      • Steampunk
      • Superheroes
      • Sword and Sorcery
      • Urban Fantasy
    • Historical Fiction
    • Science Fiction
      • Aliens
      • Artificial Intelligence
      • Alt History
      • Cyberpunk
      • Dystopian
      • Hard SciFi
      • Mechs/Robots
      • Military SF
      • Space Opera
      • Steampunk
      • Time Travel
    • Thriller
  • Interviews
    • Book Tube
    • Authorly Writing Advice
  • SFF Addicts
    • SFF Addicts Clips
    • SFF Addicts (Episode Archive)
  • TBRCon
    • TBRCon2022
    • TBRCon2023
  • SFINCS 1

Philip Athans

Review: Writing Monsters by Philip Athans

February 26, 2021 by Manny Henri Leave a Comment

Philip starts by leveling the field and properly defining what a good monster is; what makes them scary, where they come from and how to define them as a monster or a villain (or both). Then he continues by encouraging us to describe their attributes, digging deep into creating three-dimensional creatures with skill descriptions that resemble a Dungeon & Dragons scoring system. I really enjoyed printing the monster creation form and going through each question to develop (or re-develop) the main villain of my story. He proceeds with an amazing section on how to write them properly on the page using the appropriate reveal, leveraging your five senses and some tricks to make them scarier and less cliché (ex.: don’t use vampires, werewolves or write them in a whole new perspective). 

Filed Under: Nonfiction, Reviews Tagged With: Philip Athans, Writer's Digest Books

Primary Sidebar

Sponsored By

Use Discount Code FANFI For 5% Off!

Follow FanFi!

Sign up for updates and get FREE stories from Michael R. Fletcher and Richard Ford!

What Would You Like To See?(Required)
Please select the type of content you want to receive from FanFi Addict. You can even mix and match if you want!

FFA Recommends

Get This Book
Get This Book
Get This Book
Get This Book
Get This Book
Get This Book
Get This Book
Get This Book
Get This Book
Get This Book
Get This Book
Get This Book

Recent Reviews

How I, A Normal High School Student, Went to Royal Academy and Avoided Being Trapped in Hiatus

Recent Comments

  1. Audioonlyyyy on Top LitRPG, GameLit, Progression Fantasy, Cultivation, Slice of Life BooksSeptember 20, 2023
  2. David W on AVATARS INC: A Sci-FI Anthology Edited by Ann VanderMeerSeptember 18, 2023
  3. cyberpunk jacket on My Top 6 Favorite CharactersSeptember 18, 2023
  4. Chris on AVATARS INC: A Sci-FI Anthology Edited by Ann VanderMeerSeptember 17, 2023
  5. David S on Review: Light Bringer (Red Rising #6) by Pierce BrownSeptember 14, 2023

Archive

Copyright © 2023 · Powered by ModFarm Sites · Log In