by Ken Pelham
World-building is more than misty mountains, crumbling castles, dripping neon cityscapes, and talking rats. It’s also about psychology and language, and the language equation includes the everyday corruptions of jargon and slang.
Just a friendly reminder to all SFWA readers that today (August 22, 2019) is the very last day of the SFWA time travel bundle. That 14 books dripping with the finest paradox flavorings for fifteen bucks. Check it out at: https://storybundle.com/timetravel Full details: A Matter of Time Bundle – Curated by the Science Fiction and Fantasy […]
The Committee has been alerted to potential problems for some writers when they register their copyright(s) with the US Copyright Office. The information authors must include when registering a copyright is considered public, and will become visible to anyone searching the Copyright Office’s records, either in person or online at https://cocatalog.loc.gov/
by Filip Wiltgren
Want to be insanely productive? Check this:
I live in a country where the fruit comes with stickers on it. Meaning that before you eat your apple, you need to remove a piece of plastic, clawing at the little sucker, then going and tossing it in the garbage. This takes about five seconds.
by Alan Bailey
Podcasters generally have a mixed reputation. Why? I’m not totally sure. Perhaps it’s because the entry fee is low, and anyone with an opinion can put it out there. The sheer number of podcasts doesn’t help either. So, how do you know which are worthwhile?
by Alex Woolf
One trend that I think is likely to have more enduring appeal is narrative non-fiction (NNF): the blending of story elements with non-fiction. Typically, this involves the author inventing characters and a simple plot device, such as a journey. Along the way, the characters discover real-world information, be it about science, history or geography. The idea is that by employing narrative techniques such as characterization, dramatic tension, dialogue and atmosphere, the process of information acquisition is made a lot more compelling.
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.
Welcome to the August edition of the SFWA Market Report.
On Friday, August 2nd, “Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin” has its broadcast premiere on PBS’ American Masters!
by Susan Forest There are as many paths into creating fiction as there are writers, and widely differing approaches have led to successful works. Entire books have been written how to plan a story; here, I will focus on one small process: translating the circular Hero’s Journey into a linear plot. This translation involves (1) […]
From the cosmic to the ghostly, A Prisoner of Dreamland and Other Oneiric Terrors presents fourteen tales that take the reader on a tour de force journey through the twilight kingdom of dreams.
Dilman Dila is a writer and filmmaker. His books, Where Rivers Go To Die, was shortlisted for the PKD Awards (2024). He was shortlisted for the BSFA Awards and the Nommo Awards for Best Novella. Watch his scifi films on patreon.com/dilstories
