by Megan Leigh
When it comes to equal representation in fiction, women have a long way to go. There simply aren’t enough female characters in books and that’s counting those that appear only as romantic interests, victims to be saved, or someone’s mother. Is it really so much to ask for an equal number and variety of well-written, three-dimensional female characters?
by Kate Heartfield
A few distinct kinds of reading come with the job of being a writer: research, market research, reading for awards ballots and contest juries, reading for sheer pleasure.
And then there’s beta reading or critiquing.
by Leo Babauta
I’m not always a fan of deadlines and goals, but it’s good to be able to use whatever works best for you. If you’re working great without deadlines and goals, then by all means, keep going. But if you’re struggling to push a project forward (or a learning project like language lessons), then you might try a self-imposed deadline.
by Curtis C. Chen
Okay. You wrote a novel. That was the easy part.
Now you need to write a synopsis.
by Theodora Goss
I keep reading blog posts that basically all make the same point: anyone can find time to write. You’ve probably read them too. The message is, if you want to be a writer, you can find the time. Get up early and write before work. Write on your lunch break. Write on your commute home. Write after everyone else is asleep. If you can write even a hundred words a day, eventually you’ll have a novel.
It’s not a bad message, but it’s aimed toward aspiring writers. And aspiring writers, I would argue, are very different from working writers, who are different, again, from professional writers.
by Jeffe Kennedy
Mystery readers expect to find out who done it. Suspense readers expect the big bad to be stopped. Romance readers want the romance to end with promise.
The application period for “The Schrödinger Sessions: Science for Science Fiction” is open now through March 20.
The Alpha SF/F/H Workshop For Young Writers is running a scholarship drive February 16-23. Make a tax-deductible donation to change a teen writer’s life.
by Yoon Ha Lee
I used to say that I learned most of what I knew about writing from Jon Gindick’s “Country and Blues Harmonica for the Musically Hopeless.” While not quite true, I do find it useful to apply principles from music and musical composition to writing fiction.
Is there a teen in your life who loves spaceships and shapeshifters? Do they stay up until three in the morning crafting elaborate tales of magic, murder, and missions to Mars? The Alpha Workshop for Young Writers might just be the place for them.
If you could go anywhere, where would you go? And what happens to the people you leave behind?
Steven D. Brewer teaches scientific writing at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He writes steampunky romantasy and fluffy military space opera, often with an LGBTQIA+ focus. Brewer lives in Amherst, Massachusetts with his extended family.
Come celebrate our diamond year with us! Register now for SFWA's 60th Annual Nebula Conference, hosted at Kansas City, MO, and also online, from June 5-8.
