The SFWA Blog

Information Center, The SFWA Blog

Making It Different – Pushing Genre Boundaries in Fantasy

By /

by Martin Jenkins

One of the pleasures of genre is that it lets us identify a type of writing that we know we like. We’d feel short-changed if a crime novel didn’t feature a crime, after all, or if a romance didn’t put the travails of a relationship front and center. What we don’t want to see, however, is a mere repetition of genre tropes and clichés – it’s what is fresh and different in a work of fiction that keeps us turning the page while still being identifiably a genre work.

The SFWA Blog

Epistolary Tales: The Narration of Documentation

By /

by Ken Pelham

Occasionally, you come across a work of fiction told in the form of documents. Letters, court reports, diaries, news articles, and such. We call this epistolary narration (from the root word, epistle, meaning “letter”). Some call epistolary a gimmick. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I’m a sucker for it.

Contracts and Copyrights, The SFWA Blog

Negotiation Tips for Writers

By /

by Dan Brotzel

Many writers find it difficult to talk about money, especially if it means asking for more and potentially risking turning down an offer of publication. But writing is a business as well as a passion, and the more cash you can secure for it, the more time you’ll be able to devote to your craft. Here are a few pointers on how to approach the dark art of negotiation…

The SFWA Blog, Worldbuilding

A Worldbuilding Guide to Crafting Diverse Cultures

By /

by Amelia Wiens

One of the best parts of science fiction and fantasy is the worldbuilding. A key part of creating interesting worlds is creating diverse cultures that vary in some way from our own norms. That being said, it can be so hard to get out of our own culture’s point of view and redefine elements that we unconsciously take for granted.

Information Center, The SFWA Blog

Writing Down Fear

By /

by Hunter Liguore

What do you fear when you sit down to write? Fear can be the debilitating emotion that prevents us from getting into the chair in the first place. It’s the force that makes lengthy excuses for why we can’t write. Next to procrastination, fear can cause us to abandon projects, call it quits, or worse, abandon the writing completely.

Information Center, The SFWA Blog

Producing an Audiobook with Audible’s ACX

By /

by Wendy Nikel

According to Forbes and other market researchers, audiobook sales are currently experiencing a major boom. With Science Fiction & Fantasy being the third-most-popular genre for this format, I decided a few months ago that I was going to try my hand at getting my books – a time travel novella series originally published in 2018-2019 by World Weaver Press – into this market. Here’s how it went.

Information Center, The SFWA Blog

Grant Applications 101: Finding, Troubleshooting, and Completing the Quest for Funding

By /

by Setsu Uzumé

From Kickstarter to ko-fi to patreon, the search for funding can be a huge challenge. I recently attended a lecture provided by the St. Louis chapter of the Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts on the subject of applying for grants. Some of the most basic hurdles include finding grants that might be a good fit for your work, and how to prepare your materials in a way to make it easy for the folks reading your submission.

In Memoriam, The SFWA Blog

In Memoriam: Mike Resnick

By /

Author and editor Mike Resnick (b.1942) died on January 9 after a lengthy battle with cancer. Resnick began publishing science fiction in 1965 and over his career won five Hugo Awards, one Nebula Award, and more than 30 other awards. He was the Guest of Honor at Chicon 7, the 70th Worldcon.

Scroll to Top