The Craft of Writing

Advice for New Writers, Information Center, The Craft of Writing, The SFWA Blog, Writing Technique

Speaking With Authority About Things That (Probably) Do Not Exist

by Jeremiah Tolbert

I once sat beside a campfire in Washington and listened to a man with a pistol strapped to his waist lecture for an hour about the ecology and habits of the Sasquatch. Meanwhile, my companions–a college professor and two high school teachers–had taken up buckets in a circle around our camp and were drumming to attract the great skunk ape into our midst.

Advice for New Writers, Information Center, Keeping At It, The Craft of Writing, The SFWA Blog, Tips for Beginners

Guest Post: On Writing: Can You Do It Wrong?

by Cat Rambo

Are you putting words on the page? Then you are doing it right.

You may not be creating publishable words. You may not be creating amazing words. You may not be creating words you like. But by creating words, you are doing something actual, tangible, verifiable. And that puts you ahead of all the people who aren’t writing.

Advice for New Writers, Information Center, The Craft of Writing, The SFWA Blog, Tips for Beginners, Writing Technique

Variations of Villainy

by Nancy Fulda

Villains are challenging to write. Make them too heartless, and no one will find them believable. Make them too empathetic, and the audience will end up rooting for the wrong team. It can be difficult to create an antagonist with enough human virtue to be interesting and enough human foibles to be, well, villainous.

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