Last winter, we had a huge response to the three online courses we offered. Writers from all over the world applied; only fourteen were admitted to each course. Using the latest technology, we were able to interact with each other in live class meetings and exchange homework and critiques.
The logistics of slush piles demand ruthlessness, and stories that don’t intrigue the reader early on won’t get a second chance later. So, you’ve got your hook. It’s dramatic, it’s ingenious, and it’s free of typos. Your first two pages have been polished to near oblivion. Now what?
If I’m unsure about a story, I put it on probation, and take another look 6 months later before I either lock it up, set it free, or possibly keep it on probation.
Few reference books are as fun to roam around in as thesauri. They demonstrate the marvelous connections possible with language.
A “mainstream” short story can be about anything: a mood, a character, a setting, even a flashy writing style. A genre (SF or fantasy) short story is about an idea. The fictional elements (character, plot, setting, etc) are only there to dramatize the idea. Here are the rules for the SF (or Fantasy) short story.
Well, folks. This is it. The final post in the series. I’m going to finish identifying basic patterns for the resolution phase, summarize what I’ve presented on structure, and wrap the whole series up.
Readers want their tension to build to a pitch. Then they want to feel a release. The resolution phase is where you deliver that delicious release.
Creativity is a nebulous, murky topic that fascinates me endlessly — how does it work? What habits to creative people do that makes them so successful at creativity?
The stories that use insight and decision are usually those where the main obstacle is the character’s internal problem. For example, in stories where love and friendship is on the line and the obstacle is the main character’s values, it may be that the hero has to make a decision to place love above something else.
Just as I need to know my hero’s goal, motives, and plan, I also need to know the same things about my antagonist. In fact, in some stories the antagonist’s plans are what drive the story.
The Guilds War is part of the past. But not for Sela Tyron. When a deadly conspiracy reveals a chance at vengeance, will she betray those closest to her? Legacy is the fourth book in the Allies and Enemies series, a two-time Dragon Award Finalist.
Vylar Kaftan has published about 40 short stories in places such as Asimov’s, Clarkesworld, and Lightspeed. She was nominated for a Nebula in 2011. She’s the founder of FOGcon, a new sf/f literary convention in the San Francisco Bay Area.
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