by Rosalind Moran
A regrettable trend across much fantasy writing is that of a horse not really being a horse, but simply a plot device; a vehicle to help carry a story along. Horses, however, are not vehicles.
by Richard Chwedyk
Here’s an assignment I give my students:
They receive a copy of the first chapter of H. G. Wells’ War of the Worlds.
It is roughly 2,250 words.
I tell the students that Mr. Wells has just received a note from his editor. “Great stuff, Herbie, but you go on too long here. Cut this first chapter in half.”
by Dennis Mathis
It was madness. The classes went on until the janitor came to turn out the lights, and we never seemed to get anywhere. This wasn’t a course about writing, it was about readers and how infinitely bone-headed they could be.
By Ashley Lauren Rogers
There are numerous examples of classic science fiction and fantasy stories that deal with gender and what happens when we deviate from expectations of that gender. Include popular shows like Transparent, movies like The Danish Girl, and celebrities like Laverne Cox, Janet Mock, and the politically polarizing Caitlin Jenner–and it’s no wonder that an increasing amount of fiction, including YA, is featuring trans and nonbinary characters. So how can writers–especially if they aren’t trans or nonbinary–create such characters?
If you’re an author or publisher, price promotions are a powerful way to reach new readers and sell books.
How powerful? In 2015, price promotions on BookBub alone drove sales of over 20 million ebooks — and over 200 of the books with promotions featured on BookBub made it to The New York Times bestseller list.
In this post, we’ll explain how science fiction and fantasy authors and publishers can tap into some of that power and use price promotions to accomplish multiple book marketing goals.
by Sara Ryan
Whatever your situation as a writer, I’d like to encourage you to try writing in the comics format. I keep using the word “format” to emphasize that, as advocates of comics have often been compelled to repeat, “It’s a format, not a genre.” Comics are not just about superheroes, or crime, or memoir, or humor, or romance, or journalism, or realism, or surrealism, or science fiction, or fantasy. Comics can be all those things and more.
by Richard J. Chwedyk
When I started “teaching” the Science Fiction Writing Workshop for undergrad and grad students at Columbia College Chicago, I had no idea what my priorities should be. There’s an obvious plethora of things you want to communicate – a million things you want your students to know. But I wondered: what’s the most important thing for your students to come away with?
If you’re going to be at MidAmeriCon II on Aug 20th, be sure to check out the SFWA’s Meet-and-Greet with Margot Atwell, Kickstarter’s Publishing Lead.
by Susan Forest
I like seeing a passage, whether my own or someone else’s, improve with a changed word choice, a question answered, or an idea clarified or extended. To create an entirety—a book—from the discrete stories that make it up, by juxtaposing ideas, styles and emotional content, was a satisfying and creative process that was new to me.
Steam Press, a New Zealand publisher, is running a world-wide competition for short-short science fiction stories. All stories will be considered for possible publication and the winning entry is awarded a prize of USD$500.00.
Alice Payne Rides is the thrilling sequel to Kate Heartfield’s Alice Payne Arrives.
Can the team prevent an international pandemic across time, and put history back on its tracks? At least until the next battle in the time war…
Larry Hodges is an active member of SFWA with 60+ story sales. His first novel “Sorcerers in Space” came out in 2013 from Class Act Books. He’s an Odyssey Writers Workshop graduate and full-time writer with seven books and 1400+ published articles.
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