Quick Updates for 2011-01-09
Member News for David Levine and Laura Anne Gilman.
The SFWA Blog
Information Center, The SFWA BlogKey Conditions for Reader Suspense:
Key Conditions for Reader Suspense:
Part 4 – Uncertainty
Surprise is one of the vital elements in story making precisely because it makes things unpredictable. It makes hope, fear, worry, and curiosity possible.
The SFWA Blog, Writer Beware
The Importance of Context (Part 1)
I’m not saying you shouldn’t self-publish if you want to (though I would urge you to do so on the basis of knowledge rather than hype), or that self-publishers can’t become successful (clearly, they can–something that has always been true, for every possible value of success). I’m just saying that it’s risky to assume that others’ success stories will apply to you.
Information Center, The SFWA Blog
Guest Post: Advice for Teen Writers
There’s nothing like writing during adolescence. The intensity, focus, and emotional strength that such a writer brings to her/his work is, like a map frozen in time, sharply delineated and can’t be captured except as a memory of once walking in those lands.
News, The SFWA Blog
Quick Updates for 2011-01-06
Industry News and Member News for Lia Keyes, Mari Ness, Jim Hines, David Levine, Jennifer Brozek, Michael Chabon, Yasmine Galenorn, and Stephanie Dray.
News, The SFWA Blog
Tanglewood Press is SFWA’s newest qualifying market
The board of directors of SFWA unanimously voted to add Tanglewood Press to the list of SFWA qualifying markets. This independent publishing
The SFWA Blog
Audio interview of Ursula K. Le Guin
Dmae Roberts, an award-winning radio artist and writer, recently profiled acclaimed author Ursula K. Le Guin for Stage and Studio, a radio show that focus on performing, literary, and media arts with a connection to Oregon.
News, The SFWA Blog
Quick Updates for 2011-01-04
Member News for Kelly Swails, KJ Kabza, and Keffy R. M. Kehrli.
Information Center, The SFWA Blog
Guest Post: 10 Books for Writers Focusing on Craft
When I’m teaching, I do bring some books to class in order to point students toward them. I don’t think books are a substitute for the act of writing, but they can help focus and direct your practice and give you a list of things to work on that might not otherwise occur to you. Here’s a list of my top ten for speculative fiction writers focusing on their craft. I was sad to find some not available on the Kindle, but where possible, I’ve pointed to the e-version.
Information Center, The SFWA BlogKey Conditions for Reader Suspense:
Key Conditions for Reader Suspense:
Part 3 – It’s gotta be difficult
It’s one thing to say that something bad is going to happen. It’s quite another to know that kidnappers are going to cut your finger off with a pair of wire cutters. It’s one thing to have someone say something good will happen (Chinese fortune cookie) and quite another to say your uncle just died and left you a million dollars, but you have to fight your three cousins for it.
News, The SFWA Blog
Hugo Award Nomination Period is Open
Renovation, the 69th World Science Fiction Convention, is delighted to announce that the 2011 Hugo Award nomination period is now open.
The SFWA Blog
Guest Post: Blowing Up Planets
Doomsday scenarios are a dime a dozen. When a villain claims to be on the verge of ‘destroying the Earth’ he/she usually means killing everyone/everything on it. But sometimes simply killing all humans isn’t good enough. Unfortunately even the vast amounts of energy necessary to wipe out all civilization is woefully inantiquate to physically destroy the planet. To do that would take some serious power.