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Conditions for Suspense:
Part 6–Character deservingness
All of us have an automatic scale of justice inside of us. We can’t turn it off. Nor can we ignore it. It’s very simple. If someone’s bad outweighs their good, then we think they don’t deserve good things. Conversely,…
Quick Updates for 2011-01-22
Industry News and Member News for Sara Creasy, Dan Gollub, Karen Sandler, Jess Haines, Seanan McGuire, and Laura Anne Gilman.
Five for Friday
Rob Horning in The New Inquiry says publishers will not only use data collected from eReaders to track your buying habits, they’ll use it to track your reading habits. Did you skip to the end of the book? They’ll…
Best Solution Author Agency (or, Beware of Agent Solicitations)
I don’t often write posts like this, because it’s really like shooting fish in a barrel. And there are so many red flags here that savvy writers may wonder why I bother. But there are a lot of new writers…
Guest Post: What is Typography?
For the past year, I’ve been working with dancers from Netherlands Dance Theatre in The Hague on creating a tool that translates text into simple choreographies. A user types a word in a typesetting-like application that plays back this word…
The Banff Centre: Call for Applications
The Banff Centre, located in Banff National Park of Canada, has issued a press release that indicates they are accepting applications for upcoming courses.
Contest Alert: First One Publishing’s Writing Contest
I’m behind the eight ball with this post, because home renovation insanity has kept me more or less offline for the past few days. Many other bloggers have beaten me to the punch with commentary on this contest, so there’s…
Guest Post: Your Business Model Is Not Your Neighbor’s
I have also heard some use “piracy” as a low-price argument. My two cents: Pricing your products at a lower price because you think they’re going to be stolen is not a business model. Why? Because you are defining your…
Key Conditions for Reader Suspense:
Part 5 – Character troubles
Sympathy starts when we see someone in trouble. That’s not the only thing that’s required. Some people who are in terrible trouble only evoke pity or even antipathy. So there’s more to this than trouble, but trouble is where sympathy…
How to be a Writer and Have a Life: or, Livin’ the Dream
Writing is a rewarding and fun gig, but finding the time to write can be a challenge. The only commodity an author has are her words, and the only way to produce that commodity is to get some quality butt-in-chair…
Quick Updates for 2011-01-14
Resources and Member News for Paolo Bacigalupi, Laurie Mann, Patty Jansen, Jenny Moss, Eugie Foster, Lou Antonelli, and Vonda N. McIntyre.
Nebula Awards Interview: Eugie Foster by Charles Tan
I’ve never been inclined to play the “what genre is it?” game or to take part in the oftentimes bloodier “that’s not such-and-such genre!” debates. Genre lines are so arbitrary and, in many regards, subjective. Like, to me,…
The Mail I Get
Received in email this morning via Google Alerts: this press release from an outfit called 3L Publishing, announcing publication of a book called Vanity Circus: A Smart Girl’s Guide to Avoid Publishing Crap.
Angry Robot is SFWA’s newest qualifying market
The board of directors of SFWA unanimously voted to add Angry Robot to the list of SFWA qualifying markets.
Nebula Awards Interview: Christopher Barzak by Charles Tan
A teenager is inherently an outsider, because they’re in transition, unformed, changing quickly from childhood to adulthood. They’ve been given a lot of cultural freedom as a child, because they are children. You often hear people say, “They…
Quick Updates for 2011-01-09
Member News for David Levine and Laura Anne Gilman.
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 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,…
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…
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.
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 house focuses on Young Adult novels and books for children. Speculative fiction sales to Tanglewood Press may be used toward membership…
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.
Quick Updates for 2011-01-04
Member News for Kelly Swails, KJ Kabza, and Keffy R. M. Kehrli.
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…