Archive for the ‘The Craft of Writing’ Category

Suspension of Disbelief

by Stephen Sottong

One of the problems when writing any SF story is keeping the technology reasonable enough that the reader can suspend their disbelief and focus on the story rather than being rudely pulled from the plot by preposterous violations of the laws of nature.

Telling Stories to Fix a Problem Telling Stories

by Clay Johnson

I’ve never been good at outlining before I write. If I know where the story is going, then the fun part is already done, and the writing becomes a chore. But this new thing, where I tell her a chapter, then think on it, smooth out the edges, and write it down, forced me into a mid-range style of outlining that really works for me.

What Makes the Monstrous

by Paul Jessup

Monsters and genre fiction go hand in hand. Or rather, claw in claw, if we’re being cheeky about it. From the mad  science creations and aliens of science fiction, to the supernatural and mythic of fantasy and horror, there are monsters everywhere, even from the very start.

Teaching Stuff: Increasing the Inclusion

by Richard J. Chwedyk

Theodore Sturgeon once wrote this, emphatically, honestly, and truly: “One should write fiction carefully and consciously to someone, as one writes a letter; and the selection of that someone is the single most important skill that a writer can develop.”

Novelist as Poet or Philosopher

by Sally Wiener Grotta

I write to understand. My characters and plots are formed in a subconscious that churns with confusion or concern about how the world functions (or fails to function). As I write the story my characters tell me, I find myself posing questions that “reflect and even explain the differences and forces that relate them all… hold them together… or tear them apart.” The journey is what matters to me.