Archive for the ‘Information Center’ Category

Using Comic Scripts to Outline Your Fiction

by J.D. Harlock Sometimes, outlining is a never-ending struggle. Too much? Too little? You can never really tell until you finally start writing that first draft. That may seem like a stretch, but keep in mind that for a good many writers, the outlining process stretches way past the planning stages and well into the […]

Using Unreliable Narration to Create Voice

by Priya Chand   All narrators are unreliable. If you’re reading this thinking “hey, you’re misusing the term; ‘unreliable narrator’ refers to a specific convention”–well, I’m narrating this post, so what follows is all my interpretation! I do, though, genuinely mean to say that all narrators sell readers on a specific version of events and […]

Bisexual+ Characters Do Not Equal Threesomes

by C.K. Larsen   Surely, nothing screams sexy like a bisexual+ woman asking, “How does it feel to kill someone?” Cue the eye roll. Sharon Stone’s persona in Basic Instinct depicts an openly bisexual+ character who is revealed as a violent, sex-craving psychopath, and is just one of the many cases of harmful tropes that […]

On Grants

by Gillian Polack   It’s suddenly harder to make a living as a writer. It was never easy. Setsu Uzumé recently wrote on the possibility of obtaining grants from regional or local governments. This article will walk you through some of the steps to get a local or regional government grant. I am Australian, so […]

In Memoriam: Kathleen Ann Goonan

Kathleen Ann Goonan (b.1952) died on January 28 after a lengthy battle with myelofibrosis.  Goonan began publishing science fiction with the stories “The Snail Man” and “Wanting to Talk to You” in 1991. Her first novel, Queen Jazz City, kicked off her four volume Nanotech series, which included the Nebula nominated novels Crescent City Rhapsody and Light Music.  In […]

Publishing Has A New York Problem

by Karintha Parker (This article originally appeared in The SFWA Bulletin #215.)   Like so many others connected to this [small-yet-all-consuming] publishing industry, books were my first love. Legend has it that a tiny version of me set eyes on my first library and yelped “oh, Mommy, all these books are for me?!”, convinced that somehow […]

Writing Through the Terrible Twos

by Noah K. Sturdevant   It seems fair to say that authors are constantly scrambling for time to write. I previously wrote about managing this with a baby, and I thought I had things covered. Now I have a two year old.  Who knew that a person lacking reason and driven by impulse and the […]

Diversity Plus: Diverse Story Forms and Themes, Not Just Diverse Faces

by Henry Lien (This article originally appeared in The SFWA Bulletin #215.)   Something I’ve noticed repeatedly in my author appearances, conference panels, and lectures is that discussions about representation and diversity in the arts today focus on the importance of diverse characters and creators. As crucial as that is, diversity can and should also include […]

Introducing the SFWA Legacy Kit!

We know what you’re thinking. As soon as you saw that scary word—legacy—your brain turned left at Albuquerque and kept going: “I’m too young to die!”[1] “I’ll think about that tomorrow, because tomorrow is another day.”[2] “Not now, Elaine. Not now! Can’t you see I’m talking to the Man?”[3] The Legacy Kit was created in […]