Two Essential Questions to Ask As You Self-Edit
By Kahina Necaise Convincing fiction is about cause and effect. That’s why, in my work as an editor, the two […]
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Making It Different – Pushing Genre Boundaries in Fantasy
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, Worldbuilding
A Worldbuilding Guide to Crafting Diverse Cultures
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.
The SFWA Blog, Worldbuilding
Military Logistics for Fantasy Writers
We all know ‘an army marches on its stomach,’ but it’s not like Napoleon discovered something new. Vegetius (De re militari) and Sun Tzu (The Art of War) were well aware of this concept, as was Alexander the Great (Engels, Alexander the Great and the Logistics of the Macedonian Army, 1980). And it wasn’t news to them, either. Pre-modern military commanders knew this; they planned for this. They paid attention to logistics.
Fantasy writers should, too.
The SFWA Blog, Worldbuilding
From the Inside Out: Worldbuilding Through Extrapolation
by Suyi Davies Okungbowa
It’s virtually impossible to do ALL of your SFF worldbuilding prior to writing your book/story. How much weight is given to each stage depends on the author (some prefer to do a lot before starting, some build nothing before writing). My own preference is to build the foundation–just enough to get me started, then build more along the way, and go back and change stuff after I’m done.
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Danger, Will Robinson! Are you adrift in the universe without your trusty decoder ring? Distract 9 out of 10 potential alien captors with its fancy chain and hypnotic SFWA logo!
The First Hugo for Poetry: An Interview with Marie Brennan
by Holly Lyn Walrath. Speculative poetry has just made history with its first Hugo Award. In this interview, winner Marie Brennan explains why this recognition could help readers appreciate poetry as a powerful form of speculative storytelling.
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