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The SFWA Blog
Characterization and Worldbuilding Through Fight Scenes
by Corrine A. Kumar Fight scenes aren’t just about fighting. While writing technically accurate and action-packed fight scenes is important, if we don’t keep the focus on our characters and our worlds, readers will just skim past them. Fight scenes…
Enriching Your Worldbuilding with Economics
by Albert Zhang Science fiction is often much more concerned about the physical than the organizational reality of a setting (and that’s understandable). But a good fundamental economic story can facilitate plot development and lend realism to a setting. To…
What Should I Pitch to The SFWA Blog?
by the SFWA Publications Crew In recent years, The SFWA Blog has undergone many changes and refinements to serve its community better. Where we once had a single editor, we’re now a team that reviews pitches collectively and looks for…
The Professional Editor/Writer Relationship
by Ira Nayman Early in my short-story writing career, I received a delightful email from an anthology editor who had accepted one of my works. “The hard part is over,” she wrote. “Your story has been accepted. Compared to this,…
History in Speculative Fiction: Repeat, Rhyme, or Echo?
by Aaron H. Arm Editor’s note: This piece is part of a rolling series, Writing from History, in which creators share professional insights related to the work of using historical elements in fictional prose. There’s an adage that people like…
Translation for Video Games: An Interview with Kristin Osani
Editor’s note: This piece is part of the series Perspectives in Translation, where creators discuss the many facets and challenges of translating fiction. The terms “source language” and “target language” will be used throughout this series. Translation is always a…
Translation vs. Adaptation: The Continuous Struggle for Optimal Ratio
by Elena Kovalenko Editor’s note: This piece is part of the series Perspectives in Translation, where creators discuss the many facets and challenges of translating fiction. The terms “source language” and “target language” will be used throughout this series. If…
Enriching Characters and Sociopolitics with Digital Currencies
by Libby Schultz The future of digital currencies offers science fiction writers a unique opportunity to enhance their worlds. As a fintech founder and entrepreneur in the crypto industry, I navigate these topics daily alongside regulators, innovators, and organizations. Related…
The Many Alt-Histories of World War II
by Jeremy Zentner Editor’s note: This piece is part of a rolling series, Writing from History, in which creators share professional insights related to the work of using historical elements in fictional prose. Fifty million dead, continents in ashes, and…
Only as Good as Our Tools: Drafting by Hand and Fountain Pens
by Carrie Finch Editor’s note: This piece is part of a series titled Writing by Other Means, where authors share personal experiences and industry intel around different production contexts and writing tools. Painters have brush and canvas. Dancers have mirrors…
The Revolution Will Be Fantasized
by Samuel Poots Editor’s note: This piece is part of a rolling series, Writing from History, in which creators share professional insights related to the work of using historical elements in fictional prose. In 2009, I met my hero. I…
The Dangers of Writing on Someone Else’s Heartstrings
by Marie Croke Editor’s note: This piece is part of a rolling series, Writing from History, in which creators share professional insights related to the work of using historical elements in fictional prose. As speculative fiction authors, we twist and…
Using Archives to (Re)Write History
by Anneke Schwob Editor’s note: This piece is part of a rolling series, Writing from History, in which creators share professional insights related to the work of using historical elements in fictional prose. I’ve spent a lot of time in…
Writing Alt-History? Read the Primary Sources
by Austin Conrad Editor’s note: This piece is part of a rolling series, Writing from History, in which creators share professional insights related to the work of using historical elements in fictional prose. Online media is my preferred starting point…
Sudden: Writing on the Go
by Eugen Bacon Editor’s note: This piece is part of a series titled Writing by Other Means, where authors share personal experiences and industry intel around different production contexts and writing tools. You have a novel, a novella, a short…
QA and Storytelling in Video Games
by John Ryan Editor’s note: This piece is part of our Playtesting Game Narratives series, curated by SFWA’s Game Writing Committee. When you hear about narrative in video games, positions such as writers and narrative designers might be the first roles…
Playtesting TTRPG Stories
by Austin Conrad Editor’s note: This piece is part of our Playtesting Game Narratives series, curated by SFWA’s Game Writing Committee. Tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs) are built from basically two elements: game mechanics and narrative. Unlike video games, TTRPGs strongly focus…
Playtesting Card Games
by Marie Vibbert Editor’s note: This piece is part of our Playtesting Game Narratives series, curated by SFWA’s Game Writing Committee. Every three months, the Cleveland Game Developers host a Play Test Night for our members. Last time, I got to…
Playtesting Narrative Content in Board Games
by Will McDermott Editor’s note: This piece is part of our Playtesting Game Narratives series, curated by SFWA’s Game Writing Committee. Writing narrative content for board games is different from any other writing I’ve ever done. It’s even different than writing…
Quark – A SFWA Public Digest
A quark (/kwɔːrk, kwɑːrk/) is a type of elementary particle and a fundamental constituent of matter. In an effort to maintain transparency and foster communications with all members of the SFF community and the public, SFWA would like to introduce…
The Inexorable Growth of BIPOC in Publishing
by Emily Jiang AN INTRODUCTION OF SORTS: To Boldly Go Where I Have Never Gone Before “We often fear what we do not understand. Our best defense is knowledge.” –Tuvok Over 15 years ago, when I enrolled in an MFA…
Introduction to Game Writing and Playtesting
by John Dale Beety Editor’s note: This piece is part of our Playtesting Game Narratives series, curated by SFWA’s Game Writing Committee. In science fiction and fantasy (SFF) terms, game writing is exactly what it sounds like: writing for games. Calling…
The Past Is Not as Rosy as You’ve Been Led to Believe
by Jeff Reynolds A game we authors enjoy is “discuss how the short story market used to pay so well you could make a living from it.” When the topic appeared again recently, I wondered: Is there any truth to…
Game Writing with Text Adventure Games
by Misha Grifka Wander When I teach video game analysis to college students, I sometimes tell them that they’re going to make their own games—and their eyes glaze over in panic, thinking of the intense production requirements of a video…