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Ambrosia is devoted not only to helping you become a published author but also to becoming the best writer you can be. We believe that writers of any experience level can benefit from access to exercises and articles devoted to increasing your knowledge and skills. We examine the core topics that are most relevant, such as, what IS Horror? Why is it different from other genres? What are the most important elements of a good novel and a good story? Does being a good story automatically translate into being a good novel?
Check out WordWeaver’s Sanctum regularly on Substack and become a part of the discussion that forges Authors on an anvil of excellence.
A new adventure begins. If you are a writer who loves Dungeons & Dragons we have the perfect campaign and workshop to hone your skills in both. Sponsored by The Ambrosia Literary Agency and hosted at Find Familiar Games (Mount Vernon, OH) we are bringing you an interactive opportunity to produce writings based on your character’s gaming experiences.
On another note, Familiar Con 2026 is happening May 29-31!
Ambrosia is here to start and maintain a dialogue with writers and fans of Horror, Supernatural, and Fantasy. We appreciate nonfiction discussions and accounts of a Paranormal or Spiritual nature. Occult topics are always welcome.
WordWeaver is made possible by The Ambrosia Literary Agency, and Weaving Words is definitely the nature of our game. We are interested in your story from it’s inception and throughout it’s evolution. We are excited at the prospect of exceptional plot development and original twists. We LOVE character development and dialogue.
Subscribing to WordWeaver’s Sanctum will provide the means to sharpen your skills as a writer, regardless of genre. You can learn and practice the essential 3 D’s of writing: Depth, Dialogue, and Descriptiveness.
Workshops and instructional videos will be posted regularly on these and other topics of interest to writers and fans. Below are the first few Substack posts from WordWeaver's Sanctum.
Subscribe to get full access to Wordweaver’s Sanctum and publication archives. This is also where we will post the creative writings, poetry, and art from participants in Anathema's Dungeon.
Additionally, our WordWeaver, Lord Anathema has started a personal publication. To connect with him on Substack, subscribe to Anathema's Abyss.
As evolution, automation, and other social changes make life easier and seemingly more straightforward, there remains very little that is considered “unexplainable”. However, there also still remains within us a portion of the subconscious that knows we are wrong and that there is much that cannot be explained. To the rational, dominant portion of the conscious mind, that is simply too much to accept.
That is why true horror must be more than a string of scary words. It must be an elegantly woven tapestry. A masterpiece of fine art that paints a picture vivid enough to elicit a response from the subconscious part of our minds where nightmares are born. Words can paint pictures as eloquently and with the same depth of meaning as can be achieved with brush and canvas. The right words can make the mind see the story unfolding as if the reader is watching a Broadway play and the depth of the horror they feel can be as deep as the readers imagination. It is the author's job to get them there. To create a rhythmic, flowing, river of descriptive and archetypal words that resonate with every fiber of our being, both the primal and the civilized.
We believe that horror takes so many forms that we do not, at this point, bother discussing subgenres, like supernatural or psychological horror, etc. If the book is visceral and elicits a reaction within the reader that leaves them feeling truly disturbed and terrified, yet also invigorated and entertained, you have done your job admirably.
It is important to remember when writing horror that the words must paint pictures because the subconscious doesn't speak English. We connect to our deepest, darkest, most primal and superstitious nature through images and imagery, the language of the subconscious.
The Archetypal Language of Horror.
-Lord Anathema
The story, or plot, is a very important part of any novel, but never forget that it is actually a backdrop, the stage upon which the characters will perform. How the readers initially perceive the characters and their initial reactions to them will play a huge role in your novels success, so being able to create the characters you envision and elicit the reader responses you desire is paramount.
What is a character in a book? Most often it is a person, or some anthropomorphized version of one, but we need to consider what that means as we develop our characters. Whether human or vampire, the character must have the attributes that resonate with the reader: their names, the descriptions of their appearances, the unfolding or unveiling of their personalities, habits, their pasts, their futures, . . . all of these are the things you must know, along with so many more. More than you will ever be able to remember without taking thorough and well organized notes about each character you are thinking about using, especially main characters.
You want your readers to feel a connection with the characters you create, so you must also establish a connection with them. The more real and fleshed out they are to you, the more real they will seem to the reader. That’s not something you can fake. In order to be believable, you have to know your characters as intimately as you know yourself. Practice creating characters from birth, imagining where and how they grew up, who took care of them, what trials, tribulation, victories, and successes they had, how they were shaped by events and how they view and interact with others . . . a complete person. The exercise will help you achieve new depths with character development and keep your skills sharp and your mind creative.
-Lord Anathema
The story you are telling is YOUR story because you created it from everything contained within you. Your views, your experiences, your education, everything that makes you YOU is what will be found in a story you write. When developing plots for stories, the closer you stay to the things you’ve seen, experienced or researched, the better off you will be. Don’t try and write a story about a small town if you live in a big city and don’t know how small towns work, for example. If your story includes a small town, make sure you spend some time visiting them. Similarly, don’t decide to write a military or espionage novel if you haven’t read a ton of them and studied real tradecraft, it will show and you’ll lose your audience.
As we previously mentioned, your story is the backdrop for your characters, and the characters can only be as interesting and visceral as the stage upon which they give their performance. Most important is that the background flows as smoothly as the scenery outside the window of your car as you cruise past, full of life and activity or desolation and emptiness, vibrant colors or deep, ominous shadows, smells of sweetness or of rot and decay. It is your setting. Your reality that you have invited readers to enter and share with you. A plot can be successful regardless of its simplicity or complexity, so long as your world is inviting and entertaining and you stay on course.
A plot is making sure that your story has a beginning, middle, and end, and that each blends seamlessly into the next without unnecessary or confusing detours. If there are hidden elements to the plot, make sure you leave clues for the more astute reader and to avoid being called a “cheat” later! Readers want the story to evolve before their eyes and it is essential that you give them that descriptive narrative that allows them to experience what your characters experience. That’s what keeps them coming back for more.
-Lord Anathema
I always like to make sure the authors I will be working with in the future are aware of opportunities available throughout the year.
https://goblinsandgalaxies.com/submissions
https://www.bagofbonespress.com/submission-calls
https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/blog
https://baynambookspress.com/pages/open-calls-1
https://www.bourbonpenn.com/submissions
https://cosmichorrormonthly.com/submissions/
https://www.dbspress.com/submissions
https://www.apexbookcompany.com/pages/submissions
Most submissions request a specific Horror theme. Each offers you another opportunity to have your voice heard and gives you another shot at being published, whether for the first time or the fiftieth! I want to encourage you to click the links and have a look at the Submission Guidelines. See if you resonate with the kind of stories they're looking for.
I will definitely be entering my submissions! I really hope that all of you reading this plan on doing the same. Additionally, there are writing contests that are worth considering:
The Novelry: The Next Big Story
Publishers Weekly: The BookLife Prize
We all have stories inside of us that need to come out and being able to locate the opportunities to write, submit, and sell our work is vital to our success. We will do what we can to give the occasional tip. Good luck to everyone who tries.
May you weave your words into magic.✨
-Lord Anathema
by Lord Anathema, the WordWeaver
Ask ye, o' fool, to say who I am, But my Names are many, across many lands. It's Worshipped in Darkness and whispered in Light, Those in my service perform their deeds out of sight. A Master of Magick, every word on each page, Holds Power and Secrets, bears the Mark of the Mage. With Devils and Demons, I sport and cavort, My name is well known within Lucifer's Court. I murder the innocent, care for the damned, I know where the bodies are buried, or crammed. And evil I stay, during all of the seasons, A Mage needs fresh blood, for Ritual reasons. If writer's block haunts me, I gaze into Hell, Deep in the depths, where the darkest things dwell. The sound of their blasphemies drive me insane, My block disappears, I fill pages with pain. Within every story, I hide Terrible Spells, Beware winds that blow through you and tinkling bells. Or shadowy shapes you barely see, But know quite well were sent by me. Malicious and malign they are, Intent on pushing you too far. They'll do their best to do you harm, There is no protective charm. Such is the Power in the words I speak, That what I write destroys the weak. They'll soon become some demons feast, With each sacrifice, I please the beast. My success is guaranteed, for I am Gluttony and Greed. While demons bless my every deed, within you let me plant this seed; Seek my Magick, but treat me well, Fear the fires of vengeful Hell. Leave behind this Earthly starkness, Together, let us walk in darkness! Sincerely yours, The Hellbound Magus
-The Necronomicon (Kitab al-Azif), Abdul Alhazred