by Katherine Quevedo
A lot of discourse these days builds up the case for why the world needs more empathy. It’s not a hard case to make. When placed against the backdrop of artificial intelligence (AI) and the possible technological singularity, I believe empathy could become a source of competitive advantage for our species as a whole.
by Kevin L. O’Brien
Welcome to Part One of a series that discusses technology and medieval machines that can be used for worldbuilding.
Many fantasy stories gloss over technological details that would be vital in a real-world setting. For example: how would a medieval-level society acquire the iron it needs for tools and implements?
by Richard J. Chwedyk
Theodore Sturgeon once wrote this, emphatically, honestly, and truly: “One should write fiction carefully and consciously to someone, as one writes a letter; and the selection of that someone is the single most important skill that a writer can develop.”
by K. C. Norton
For the past three years, I have been working as a ghostwriter, writing coach, and English tutor. In my line of work, I almost invariably partner with people who are writing or editing their memoirs. For the most part, they’re content to know that I have a Master’s degree, but occasionally they want to know if I’ve published anything, and if so, what kind of stories I write for myself. I both dread and relish this moment, because it’s a chance to reveal my dirty secret: my preferred genre is Science Fiction.
by Sandra M. Odell
I love intricate, detailed worldbuilding; it’s the backbone of science fiction and fantasy stories, even those set in the modern era. Sadly, few things make me stop reading faster than the realization that a writer gave more thought to the description of a meal than they did to the how or why an accommodation for a character with disabilities came to be in a story. Inclusion and representation matter, and so do the supports that allow an individual with disabilities to interact with a writer’s world.
by Barbara E. Hill
Because of this diminutive rose-colored darling I learned a lot about life, relationships, and especially about writing.
“But… wait, what? Writing?” you ask. “A donkey taught you about writing?”
by R.F. Kuang
What I’ve seen is that the lone POCs in largely white writing groups often become tokenized faux authorities. We’re consulted just enough to give other work a stamp of diversity approval, but brutally marginalized when their opinions become inconvenient.
by Jeffe Kennedy
It’s apropos that “Lonen’s War,” book one in my Fantasy Romance series, “Sorcerous Moons,” is featured in the first SFWA Fantasy StoryBundle. That’s because the fantastically smart and helpful folks in SFWA helped me out with a worldbuilding challenge.
by Tim Susman
Since it’s fall and ghosts are in the air, I thought it might be a good time to talk about my research into vodou/voodoo, the religion and spiritual practices that coalesced on Haiti among the African slaves there and spread to America, most commonly and famously in New Orleans (for the purposes of this article, I use “vodou” to refer to the Haitian religion and “voodoo” to refer to the New Orleans practices).
by Douglas Smith
Eventually, I came to understand these stories were transcribed from versions people remembered being told when they were young or used to tell their children. Story telling was an oral tradition.
From the award-winning author of DEAD SOULS and POE comes an all-new bone-chilling novel where a mysterious island holds the terrifying answers to a woman’s past and future.
Kristine Smith is the award-winning author of the Jani Kilian science fiction series and a number of short stories. She has also written the supernatural thrillers Gideon and Jericho under the name Alex Gordon.
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