Author: Akshaya Raman

Akshaya Raman fell in love with writing when she wrote her first story at the age of ten. Though she graduated from UC Davis with a degree in biology, she gave up pursuing a career in science to write books. She is a co-founder and contributor to Writer’s Block Party, a group blog about writing and publishing, and has served on the planning teams of several book festivals. She lives in the Bay Area with an actual scaredy cat, and in her free time, she enjoys baking, traveling, and watching too much reality TV. You can find her on Instagram and Twitter @akshraman.
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In A World…: Writing Cultural Outsiders Part 2

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In A World… is a series of posts about world building, where our contributors share strategies and tips for creating well-rounded worlds. Welcome back, readers. As I said last week, the goal of these posts is to encourage writers to consider the effects of foreigners on their worlds. On Friday, we examined how incorporating visitors… Continue reading In A World…: Writing Cultural Outsiders Part 2

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In A World…: Writing Cultural Outsiders Part 1

Akshaya Raman3 Comments

In A World… is a series of posts about world building, where our contributors share strategies and tips for creating well-rounded worlds. Usually, when we talk about world building in fantasy, we’re thinking about building one specific culture and how your characters move around within and interact with that culture. Today (and on Tuesday), I… Continue reading In A World…: Writing Cultural Outsiders Part 1

Author career · Roundtable

Roundtable #5: Writing With A Day Job

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Hi everyone! Today we’re talking about balancing writing with a full-time job! *Note: This post is done in a roundtable style where members of Writer’s Block Party discuss a topic together. Moderator/Editor: Akshaya Raman Ashley: I work in publishing but it’s not really writing related. I’m a digital production assistant, which is a fancy way… Continue reading Roundtable #5: Writing With A Day Job

Craft · Interview

Author Spotlight: Romance Chat with Susan Dennard (Video)

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In honor of Valentine’s Day, we’re talking about romance! We here at Writer’s Block Party really love our romance, and we can get pretty… ah let’s say passionate… when discussing our favorite ships (as evidenced below). the @WritersParty slack channel is getting very heated over this OTP game…lives ruined, bloodshed, etc. — Katy Rose Pool… Continue reading Author Spotlight: Romance Chat with Susan Dennard (Video)

Craft · Roundtable

Roundtable #2: Drawing Inspiration From Folklore And Fairy Tales

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Hi everyone! Welcome to our second roundtable! Today we’re discussing retellings, with an emphasis on cultural tales and mythology. Specifically, we’re talking about the difference between retellings and inspirations as well as things to keep in mind when retelling stories from other cultures. We linked to the Goodreads pages of the books we discuss if you… Continue reading Roundtable #2: Drawing Inspiration From Folklore And Fairy Tales