by Anthony W. Eichenlaub Genre: A marketing construct. Its only purpose is to get books into the hands of people who will enjoy them. There are other definitions, of course. People debate endlessly about the essential nature of cyberpunk or whether certain stories qualify as science fiction or fantasy. These conversations are fascinating, fun, and […]
By Austin Conrad Writing in the genre of tabletop games has a lot of similarities to fiction writing when it comes to character, plot, and setting. However, the needs of interactive fiction require the adventure game writer to adapt how they approach narrative structure and typographical presentation. To understand how these two creative endeavors differ, […]
By Rachael K. Jones Work-for-hire writing jobs are common in novel-length work, especially in the world of tie-in fiction, but rarer in short fiction. If you’re primarily a short fiction author, you might be caught off-guard if approached with this kind of work. You may not have an agent who can give you advice. You […]
By Holly Henderson As much as science fiction and fantasy writers love wandering the vast worlds that exist in our imaginations, the journey there can be difficult when we have the weight of daily life to carry with us. Forge a shortcut by creating a writing ambience that’s custom-made for your story. Getting all your […]
by Scott King Writing book descriptions sucks, but it doesn’t have to be hard. If you can write a whole dang novel, you have it in you to write a quick, simple description for a back cover, a pitch, or online stores. Book descriptions are a marketing tool to sell your books and establish reader […]
By Ursula Whitcher My first fictional love was tabletop role-playing games, from Dungeons & Dragons and ’90s classics like Vampire: The Masquerade to indie hits such as Visigoths vs. Mall Goths. After all that gaming, I thought I knew how to tell stories. But when I began trying to write and sell short fiction, I […]
By Gareth L. Powell In 2020, I had the privilege of cowriting a science fiction novella called Light Chaser with Peter F. Hamilton, author of more than twenty novels, including The Reality Dysfunction, Pandora’s Star, and Salvation. If I had to break down the lessons I learned during this process into five key points, they […]
By Karawynn Long Note: This post does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and advice is intended for general informational purposes only. You’ve written a piece of short fiction, submitted it, and gotten that thrilling acceptance letter. Congratulations! But wait—you aren’t finished yet. As a rule, the boilerplate […]
by Jelena Dunato When my publisher prepared the marketing strategy for my upcoming novel Dark Woods, Deep Water, one of the obvious labels proposed besides “fantasy” and “dark” was “Slavic.” It’s clear why—I’m Croatian; I’ve written a book featuring Morana, the Slavic Goddess of Death. And yet, this label caused me intense discomfort. It took […]
by William C. Tracy Congrats! You’re an indie author! You’ve written a book, (hopefully) had critiques and edited it, put it all together, and thrown it up on Amazon. Time to watch the money roll in, right? Well, not exactly. Amazon books don’t sell themselves. Especially in these waning years of the golden indie author […]
AFTER THE FALL
I was created by beings who couldn’t touch this world, only watch it crumble.
I was told, “Do not interfere.”
I wasn’t meant to change history, only guide it.
But I broke Directive Three.
Can humans survive a second collapse?
Dilman Dila is a writer and filmmaker. His books, Where Rivers Go To Die, was shortlisted for the PKD Awards (2024). He was shortlisted for the BSFA Awards and the Nommo Awards for Best Novella. Watch his scifi films on patreon.com/dilstories
