Lazy Time Travel: Five Things I Wish I Knew When I Started Out
Graduation season has come and gone, but we’ve seen lots of great commencement speeches around, from Neil Gaiman’s to Aaron Sorkin’s. They made me mildly nostalgic.
Archive for the ‘The Craft of Writing’ Category
Guest Post: Really, Your Outline Does Not Have to Be Perfect
An outline is a roadmap. It helps you decide the overall shape of the novel. It does not lock you into that structure if you stumble upon something interesting.
Ken Burns: On Story
Ken Burns, one of the world’s most recognized filmmakers, shares his personal connection, his “waking of the dead,” as he discusses the craft of storytelling in this short documentary.
Teaching *With* Science Fiction: Balticon 46
If you love SF and want to persuade school administrators that teaching science fiction is important, then: The Teaching With Science Fiction Workshop is just what you’re looking for!
Clarion West Write-a-thon Needs You
The ninth annual Clarion West Write-a-thon is open for participant sign-up now through June 16.
Guest Post: Race in YA Lit: Wake Up & Smell the Coffee-Colored Skin, White Authors!
Which came first—the chicken, the egg, or the egg white omelet—I don’t know. But the discussion glosses over an obvious gap: white authors.
Guest Post: Would You Rather Be Wrong or Right?
My personal preference is for what I’ve called third-order answers. A lot of mysteries have an obvious culprit, and then a character who is, if you know your narrative conventions, the obvious alternative to the obvious culprit. I like mysteries that go one step further.
Guest Post: The Joy of Discovery
…I firmly believe that the joy found at the heart of reading is the same joy found at the heart of writing: it is the joy of discovery.
Guest Post: What’s Wrong with the Cheesecake? — A Brief Introduction to Antagonists
…I’m not going to discuss the importance of goals today. Instead, I’m going to discuss how worthless they are.
Guest Post: Clarion West Writers Worshop
What are the secrets to Clarion West’s success? How did it get to be one of the world’s premiere training grounds for authors of speculative fiction? Most likely that’s happened because of you. Here’s how.
