victoria

How to Write a Good Fantasy Ensemble, with Victoria Aveyard

This article is sponsored by Writing compelling characters can be one of the most difficult parts of the craft, especially when it comes to ensemble stories, which focus on groups of characters and their relationships with one another. In an ensemble story, each character needs their own desires and roots, their own challenges and voice. At their best, reading a good ensemble story can feel like hanging out with a clever, loving, bickering group of friends. It’s one of the reasons we love The Lord of the Rings or Six of Crows or The Expanse. It’s also one of the…
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Victoria and Abdul

The extraordinary true story of an unlikely friendship in the later years of Queen Victoria's (Judi Dench) remarkable rule. When Abdul Karim (Ali Fazal), a young clerk, travels from India to participate in the Queen's Golden Jubilee, he is surprised to find favor with the Queen herself. As the Queen questions the constrictions of her long-held position, the two forge an unlikely and devoted alliance with a loyalty to one another that her household and inner circle all attempt to destroy. As the friendship deepens, the Queen begins to see a changing world through new eyes and joyfully reclaims her…
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