Archive for the ‘Information Center’ Category

The Ecology of Worldbuilding

by J. Dianne Dotson Worldbuilding takes many forms in genre fiction. Whether a story takes place on another planet, in a mystical land, or in a hellscape of horror, adding touches of realism enhances the world for its inhabitants. Using ecology is one way to achieve that realism.  What Is Ecology? Ecology is the science […]

ROMANCING SFF: “So, How’s Your Love Life?” and Other Questions to Ask Your Characters

by Katherine Garcia Ley We’ve all seen them: the thirty pages of interview questions you should ask your characters. The analytical texts on astrological signs. The “ultimate of ultimate” tools offering twenty-some Enneagrams for character development. All these resources are fantastic. Heck, I use them, and they’re amazing. I’m a list-loving personality theory hoarder. These […]

New Resources on Safety for the SFF Community

We’ve recently published a new set of webpages, the Safety Resources, on the SFWA website here. These resources contain useful information for creators maintaining an online presence and touch on safety considerations for in-person events for both attendees and event planners.   Personal Safety Online includes checklists and safety tips for securing your online accounts, removing […]

Writing Eyebrows: How to Orchestrate Emotion in Your Story

by Hunter Liguore Creating new characters takes a careful eye. When an idea comes, we might rely on familiar images to fashion characters that aren’t truly our own, but rather influenced through media images or by people we’ve encountered or known well. What is often missed in the early drafting of characters is the up-close […]