Archive for the ‘The SFWA Blog’ Category

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.

Two Simple Rules of Editing

by E. D. E. Bell

As a former engineer, data analyst, strategic advisor, and manager who entered the fiction writing and fiction editing world not too far apart and not so long ago, I’ve had to come up to speed quickly on concepts and best practices that a lot of editors my age have been practicing a long time.

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.

Open for Submissions: “A Matter of Time Science Fiction Bundle”

The SFWA Self Publishing Committee is happy to announce that we are open for submissions for the next SFWA Science Fiction StoryBundle, which will run from July 31st through August 20th. The theme for the bundle will be time travel. For those who are unfamiliar with the concept, story bundles are curated collections of books offered at a discounted price, with the proceeds going towards the participating authors and StoryBundle. 

More Writerly Than Thou

by Sandra M. Odell

I have struggled with the titanic highs and crushing lows of severe mental illness and PTSD most of my life, yet nothing quite prepared me for the psyche shitstorm that followed the release of my second collection, “Godfall & Other Stories. ”

SFWA Board Statement Regarding the 2018 Nebula Ballot 

SFWA Board Statement Regarding the 2018 Nebula Ballot In light of recent events regarding the 2018 SFWA Nebula Nominations short list, the SFWA Board is aware of the ongoing issues. We will continue discussion on ways to improve our processes so that something of this nature does not happen again. With that said, we would like to make it […]

Fantasy Worlds of George Pal Film Preservation

News from a Go Fund Me Campaign to preserve the interviews of science fiction film pioneer, George Pal:

Please take a moment and be a part of history by supporting the preservation of a series of historic rare archival videotape interviews – many never released –  from “The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal”  (1986)…..and before they are lost forever!