* PLEASE NOTE: A few of these articles are meant as humor. Each such article is marked with an asterisk, which is a link to an explanation at the bottom of this page. Please read it before you get irked with us for making fun of a serious subject.

It might be best to remember, while reading any of these articles, McIntyre's First Law: "Under the right circumstances, anything I tell you may be wrong." It is also good to remember O'Brien's First Corollary to McIntyre's First Law: "We don't know what the right circumstances are, either."

The Basics

• Frequently Asked Questions for Beginning Writers
• Mistakes In Writing by Roger MacBride Allen
• Writer's Block: A Definition by Example by Michael Bracken
• Excuse Me, How Much Did It Cost You? by A.C. Crispin
• "How Do I Learn to Write?" A Bibliography for Writers by Terry McGarry
• The Basics by Melisa Michaels
• Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them by Melisa Michaels
• Copyrights and Meteorites by Chuck Rothman

The following two documents are in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format. You will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader to read them.

• How I Write by David Alexander Smith
• Writer's Workshops by David Alexander Smith

Manuscript Preparation

• How to Submit A Manuscript by Roger MacBride Allen *
• The Obligatory Manuscript Format Article by John Gregory Betancourt
• Manuscript Preparation by Vonda N. McIntyre (revised 9 Jan 2005)
• Word Count Redux by Melisa Michaels
• Manuscript Format by Chuck Rothman
• Word Counts: What Is a Word? by Chuck Rothman

Critiquing

• A Glossary of Terms Useful in Critiquing Science Fiction by David Alexander Smith
• Some Notes on Critiquing Method by David Alexander Smith
• A Checklist for Critiquing Science Fiction by David Alexander Smith
• Critiquing in a Workshop Context by David Alexander Smith

Workshops

• Turkey City Lexicon edited by Lewis Shiner and Bruce Sterling
• Writers' Workshops by James Patrick Kelly (from the Bulletin)
• Links to workshops and writing groups

Intermediate

• Media Tie-Ins by Roger MacBride Allen
• On Thud and Blunder by Poul Anderson
• Hardcore Critique Advice by Amy Sterling Casil
• Writerisms and other Sins: A Writer's Shortcut to Stronger Writing by C.J. Cherryh
• The Complete Nobody's Guide to Query Letters by Lynn Flewelling
• Making Monsters by James Patrick Kelly
• You and Your Characters by James Patrick Kelly
• Myrtle the Manuscript by Tappan King
• Breaking Into Print by Melisa Michaels
• TANSTAAFL and the Novice Writer by Elizabeth Moon
• 50 Strategies for Making Yourself Work by Jerry Oltion
• Hunting for a Literary Agent by Chuck Rothman
• Science in Science Fiction: Making it Work by Joan Slonczewski
• Aphorisms for Writing Science Fiction by David Alexander Smith
• Selling to Foreign Markets by Douglas Smith
• Hunting for an Agent (with Sample Synopsis) by John E. Stith
• Perseverance, Publishing and the Urge to Write by James Van Pelt
• Worldbuilding Questions by Patricia C. Wrede

Advanced

• Building New Worlds by Stephen Baxter (from the Bulletin)
• The Theory and Practice of Titles by B. W. Clough (from the Bulletin)
• Doyle's SF Genre Rant by Dr. Debra Doyle
• Doyle's YA SF Rant by Dr. Debra Doyle
• A Tale of Two Art Forms by Alexandra Elizabeth Honigsberg
• Another Modest Proposal by Michael Chesley Johnson
• Murder Your Darlings by James Patrick Kelly
• A Writer's Guide to Understanding the Copyeditor by Terry McGarry
• You Can Take it With You by Robert Metzger (from the Bulletin)
• 7 Reasons Fiction Writers Should Sell Nonfiction by Carol Ottolenghi
• Writing SF For Kids by Justin Stanchfield

Career Recovery

• Jump-Starting a Stalled (Or Dead) Career by John Gregory Betancourt
• A Twelve-Step Program for Writers by Bruce Bethke *
• Writing and Selling Confessions by Michael Bracken
• Stalled Careers, Writer's Block, and Monsters Under the Bed by Melisa Michaels (from the Bulletin)

Nuts and Bolts

• 1997: The State of Publishing by Eleanor Wood
• 1998: The State of Publishing by Eleanor Wood
• How Thor Power Hammered Publishing by Kevin O'Donnell, Jr. (from the Bulletin)
• Paul Riddell Revisited: Placing 'SFWA Member' on Your Cover Letter--Will It Help Sell Your Story? by James Van Pelt
• Contracts and Rights, a menu of SFWA model contracts and information on electronic rights
• A list of Writers' Workshops conducted via email, street mail, or in person.

Tips and Tricks

• A Tip for Media Fiction Writers by John Gregory Betancourt

Links to Off-Site Articles

• Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy by Jeffrey A. Carver. Geared mainly for younger aspiring writers (high school and middle school aged), but not exclusively so.
• Other links to off-site articles.

The opinions expressed in these articles are those of the authors and not of SFWA. Please remember that electronic publishing is "real" publishing, and Copyright laws do apply. Except where otherwise noted, these articles may not be reproduced in whole or in part, on or off the Web, without the author's written permission. (A single printout for your personal reference is permitted.)

Submissions invited: if you are a SFWA member or other professional fiction writer with a published article about writing, please sending a copy for possible inclusion to writing (at) sfwa.org. (I say "published" mostly because we can't pay for articles we publish, so it's best if the author has already been paid elsewhere.) If you want to give us something for which you haven't been paid, by all means submit it.

*A user has very kindly helped me to understand why the humor in some of these articles so irks a few of our users. Please understand that these articles are meant to help writers at all levels of experience, published and unpublished. In no case has an author intended to make fun, from his supposedly superior, published position, of those who have not yet achieved paid publication. This is a very difficult career choice for all of us. Developing a sense of humor about it helps some of us get through the hard parts.

The articles marked with asterisks are not meant to be taken seriously. It's possible I've missed one. If an article recommends that you submit chocolates with your manuscript, or that you write it in crayon on the backs of hamsters, you may safely assume it is meant as a joke. You may also safely assume it is not meant to make fun of you. More likely, it is making fun of the author, the industry, or the vicious fate that set us all on this rocky path.