Bisexual+ Characters Do Not Equal Threesomes
by C.K. Larsen Surely, nothing screams sexy like a bisexual+ woman asking, “How does it feel to kill someone?” […]
The Craft of Writing, The SFWA Blog, Writing Technique
Writing Technique
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Diversity Plus: Diverse Story Forms and Themes, Not Just Diverse Faces
by Henry Lien (This article originally appeared in The SFWA Bulletin #215.) Something I’ve noticed repeatedly in my author appearances,
News, The Craft of Writing, The SFWA Blog, Writing Technique
Butchness and Liminal Mortality in SF
by Hannah Abigail Clarke In the opening credits of Zach Snyder’s Watchmen, the phrase LESBIAN WHORES is briefly scrawled in
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Don’t Forget the H
by Tim Waggoner The horror genre is undergoing a renaissance these days, with audiences devouring popular and critically acclaimed
The Craft of Writing, The SFWA Blog, Writing Technique
Radical Fiction or “Are We There Yet?”
By L. D. Lewis (This article originally appeared in The SFWA Bulletin #214.) In much the way too many crows
Advice for New Writers, Information Center, The Craft of Writing, The SFWA Blog, Writing Technique
Writing ‘POC’ is Not Enough
Writing ‘POC’ is not enough. It doesn’t merit applause, or points for diversity. What does merit applause and accolades is acknowledging and depicting unreduced minorities—especially marginalized voices—in writing. We are not a monolith. Our stories are as complicated and intersectional as anyone else’s.
The Craft of Writing, The SFWA Blog, Writing Technique
Theatrical Shortcuts for Dynamic Fiction
by Leanna Renee Hieber
I’m often asked if my professional theatre and playwrighting background helps me as a fiction writer. It does in countless ways. Theatrical form, training and structure are holistically integrated into how I see the world and operate as a storyteller.
Advice for New Writers, Information Center, The Craft of Writing, The SFWA Blog, Tips for Beginners, Writing Technique
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 Craft of Writing, The SFWA Blog, Writing Technique
Epistolary Tales: The Narration of Documentation
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.
Advice for New Writers, Information Center, The Craft of Writing, The SFWA Blog, Tips for Beginners, Writing Technique
Sketching a Story
by Paul Jessup
Novels are hard, yo. I mean, books in general, maybe writing overall? But for me making that leap from short stories to novels was a difficult transition. I had to completely change my writerly habits, completely reinvent the ways I was doing things altogether.