With a historical setting, I worry about accuracy at every turn... With a created world, I have to worry about all of it holding together and seeming coherent... Each presents unique challenges and opportunities.

I listen to instrumental jazz and bluegrass, but aside from my AM workout, I have no rituals.

In teaching writing, I'm learning new things about writing.

As I write, invariably I encounter more questions and answer those as I go.

Writing about craft has forced me to think more about my own writing technique, and to break down my process in ways that have been enormously helpful to me.

Guy Gavriel Kays Tigana is, in my opinion, one of the best, if not the best fantasy novel ever written. Its beautifully written, the characters are unforgettable, the worldbuilding is exquisite.

The closer you can get to your setting and to primary sources, the more authentic your history is going to be.