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In Memoriam: Allan Cole

Allan Cole, international best-selling author, screenwriter and former prize-winning newsman, died March 29, 2019, of cancer in Boca Raton, FL. He was 75. Cole was probably best known for the Sten science fiction series, which he co-authored with his late partner Chris Bunch, as well as the critically acclaimed Vietnam novel “A Reckoning for Kings” […]

In Memoriam: Gene Wolfe

SFWA Grand Master Gene Wolfe (b.1931) died on April 14. Wolfe is widely considered to be one of science fiction and fantasy’s greatest stylists, writing complex and intelligent novels and short stories, while letting his wry wit show through. After service in the Korean War, Wolfe earned a degree and became the senior editor of […]

How to Avoid Writing That’s as Clear as a Mountain Stream

by Chris Sumberg

The phrase “clear as a mountain stream” gets splashed around pretty loosely, sometimes in reference to clear writing but also in reference to the sometimes not-at-all-clear names of actual bodies of water, clear or otherwise. When you take time to examine the hard, cold facts, it makes you wonder if writing that is as clear as a mountain stream is, in fact, very clear at all.

The Dream Foundry

by Anaea Lay

We’re building a community meant to capture the community.  The whole community.  We want to find beginners and bring them in to nurture them, help them learn, smooth their career path.  We’re going to have resources that are useful to prose authors, and illustrators, and game designers, and people working in film.

In Memoriam: Vonda N. McIntyre

Nebula Award winning author Vonda N. McIntyre (b.1948) died on April 1.  McIntyre began publishing in 1970 with the short story “Breaking Point,” which appeared in the February issue of Venture.  In 1974, McIntyre short story “Wings” appeared on both the Nebula and the Hugo ballot.  That same year, her novelette “Of Mist, and Grass, and Sand” also […]

How to Win a Short Fiction Contest*

by Shawn Proctor*Winning not guaranteed.In project management, the key is to begin with the end in mind. So maybe I should have foreseen that my flash story, “A Good Egg” would be published by Flash Fiction Online as a reprint in September and, previously, would have be a winner of the 2017 Podcastle Flash Fiction Contest. Unfortunately, writing with the end goal in mind has never worked for me.

The Productivity Monkey

by Deborah Walker

I don’t find productivity to be a one size fits all discipline. Sometimes a theory or technique just doesn’t resonate for me. For example, I’ve never got on with the Pomodoro technique, but some authors love it. I listened to a podcast recently where a motivational speaker was very insistent that if you don’t have goals then you can’t achieve anything worthwhile. Goals aren’t for me. I’d rather define processes rather than goals. I’ll write every weekday rather than I’ll finish a novel in a year. Many productivity experts swear by meditation, but I don’t care for it. The best advice for techniques is to try them on for size and see if they fit.