By Shawn Proctor Whether you enroll in a writing workshop or writer’s group, there is a premium placed on critique as the main path to improving your craft. Peer writers working on the same elements of character, plot, voice, and pacing are excellent partners for highlighting a story’s foibles and fumbles and offering suggestions to […]
by Jeremy Zentner Spaceships have been iconic in science fiction ever since Jules Verne wrote From the Earth to the Moon. There are many features for writers to consider when designing their craft, including microgravity, faster-than-light (FTL) capabilities, journey time, habitation and resources, whether there’s a menacing AI on board, and so much more. In […]
By Austin Conrad Writing in the genre of tabletop games has a lot of similarities to fiction writing when it comes to character, plot, and setting. However, the needs of interactive fiction require the adventure game writer to adapt how they approach narrative structure and typographical presentation. To understand how these two creative endeavors differ, […]
By Holly Henderson As much as science fiction and fantasy writers love wandering the vast worlds that exist in our imaginations, the journey there can be difficult when we have the weight of daily life to carry with us. Forge a shortcut by creating a writing ambience that’s custom-made for your story. Getting all your […]
By Ursula Whitcher My first fictional love was tabletop role-playing games, from Dungeons & Dragons and ’90s classics like Vampire: The Masquerade to indie hits such as Visigoths vs. Mall Goths. After all that gaming, I thought I knew how to tell stories. But when I began trying to write and sell short fiction, I […]
By Gareth L. Powell In 2020, I had the privilege of cowriting a science fiction novella called Light Chaser with Peter F. Hamilton, author of more than twenty novels, including The Reality Dysfunction, Pandora’s Star, and Salvation. If I had to break down the lessons I learned during this process into five key points, they […]
By J. D. Harlock For a world to feel lived in, characters should receive the same attention as the lore, with characterization and worldbuilding intertwining, each influencing the other. This is as true for main characters as it is for supporting casts. When we think of classics like Discworld or One Piece, often our memories […]
By Gideon P. Smith Getting the science right in SF can make the difference between writing cute stories and great science fiction. If you are a non-scientist writing SF and want to know how to do that, then this blog post is for you. Doing Background Research If science is critical to the overall plot, […]
By Andrew K Hoe In our previous post, we examined how battling robots and aliens utilize armaments. Today, we’ll detail human arsenals further to illustrate the options for how imaginary warriors could fight. And since sci-fi armaments like lightsabers are heavily influenced by our earthly swords, we’ll expand our discussion to include fantasy fiction. SINGLE: (baton, […]
By J. Dianne Dotson World-building takes many forms in genre fiction. Whether a story takes place on another planet, in a mystical land, or in a hellscape of horror, adding touches of realism enhances the world for its inhabitants. Using ecology is one way to achieve that realism. What Is Ecology? Ecology is the science […]
Orphans always have it tough. But for an orphaned rat in a community of mice, it’s twice as hard. Rat will have to separate truth from fiction to find out where he’s from, where he’s going, and where he belongs. First ever ebook edition!
David D. Levine is author of over 50 short stories, including Hugo winner “Tk’Tk’Tk” and Nebula nominees “Damage” and “Titanium Mike Saves the Day,” and four novels, including Nebula-winning “Arabella of Mars” and his latest “The Kuiper Belt Job.”
