Special Synopsis Sauce
by Curtis C. Chen
Okay. You wrote a novel. That was the easy part.
Now you need to write a synopsis.
Archive for the ‘The Craft of Writing’ Category
Guest Post: The Work of Writing
by Theodora Goss
I keep reading blog posts that basically all make the same point: anyone can find time to write. You’ve probably read them too. The message is, if you want to be a writer, you can find the time. Get up early and write before work. Write on your lunch break. Write on your commute home. Write after everyone else is asleep. If you can write even a hundred words a day, eventually you’ll have a novel.
It’s not a bad message, but it’s aimed toward aspiring writers. And aspiring writers, I would argue, are very different from working writers, who are different, again, from professional writers.
Romance Tropes for SFF Writers
by Jeffe Kennedy
Mystery readers expect to find out who done it. Suspense readers expect the big bad to be stopped. Romance readers want the romance to end with promise.
Schrödinger Sessions Application Period Open
The application period for “The Schrödinger Sessions: Science for Science Fiction” is open now through March 20.
Help a Young Writer
The Alpha SF/F/H Workshop For Young Writers is running a scholarship drive February 16-23. Make a tax-deductible donation to change a teen writer’s life.
Writing and Music Composition
by Yoon Ha Lee
I used to say that I learned most of what I knew about writing from Jon Gindick’s “Country and Blues Harmonica for the Musically Hopeless.” While not quite true, I do find it useful to apply principles from music and musical composition to writing fiction.
Alpha Workshop Application Period Opens
Is there a teen in your life who loves spaceships and shapeshifters? Do they stay up until three in the morning crafting elaborate tales of magic, murder, and missions to Mars? The Alpha Workshop for Young Writers might just be the place for them.
Guest Post: Guilt and Shame for Writers
by Theodora Goss I’ve been thinking about this issue a lot. Several days ago, I posted the following: 1. Guilt and shame are the enemies of the artist. 2. Guilt is when you feel as though your time should be spent doing something else, for someone else. 3. Shame is when you think what you’re producing […]
When to Trunk a Story or Novel?
by Tobias S. Buckell
Today, while waiting for my new office chair to be delivered, I asked followers at Twitter to send me some questions. In response, someone tweeted: “When to trunk and when to keep rewriting?”
Panlexicon vs. Visual Thesaurus – Who Will Win?
by Luna Lindsey
Panlexicon vs. Visual Thesaurus: No, it’s not an epic city-smashing battle of giant robots versus dinosaurs. It’s a contest between online thesauri. When you need that perfect word, where should you turn?
