Archive for the ‘The SFWA Blog’ Category

Analog Writing in the Digital World

by Paul Jessup Believe it or not, I hammered out the first draft of this post on a typewriter. Gasp! Shock! Cue the fainting couch! How could I do such a thing? This day in age? Why that’s madness! And yet, I did it and I will probably continue to write just like this with […]

Technology and Worldbuilding, Part Two

by Kevin L. O’Brien In this second part of my series on technology and worldbuilding (see Part One), I would like to examine mass production. This is the concept of manufacturing many copies of a product quickly and efficiently, rather than creating each copy by individual effort, as in craftwork. Mass production is in turn […]

Plotting Asleep

by Luna Corbden

I’ve heard that insomnia is a common problem among writers. At least, it is for me.

I also frequently get stuck on “what happens next?” in my stories, which leads to me staring at the blank page, which leads to me opening Twitter, after which my writing session is shot. I might get stuck on that problem for weeks and weeks, my mind completely unwilling to focus on solving it when there’s nothing but a boring white page in my visual range.

What if there was a way to (partially) solve both problems at once?

The Space Law of Sabotage on the ISS

by Matthew Reardon

The first thing we can hope is that there haven’t been criminal acts, sabotage or other, committed on the ISS. Because the relevant space law is a bit of a mess currently, and without any precedent, it could turn into a muddle that would hinder our expansion into space for a long time.

Odyssey Writing Workshop 2019 Announced

News from Odyssey Writing Workshop: Now in its 24th year, the Odyssey Writing Workshop is widely considered one of the top programs in the world for writers of fantasy, science fiction, and horror. Acclaimed authors, editors and agents serve as guest lecturers, and 59% of graduates have gone on to be professionally published.  Among Odyssey’s graduates are New […]

Automation and Worldbuilding, Part One

by Kevin L. O’Brien

Automation is defined as technology that performs work with little or no human assistance; automatic machines are known as automatons. It actually predates the Middle Ages, in that the Greeks knew about and used automated systems as early as 300 BC: examples include Hero of Alexandria’s automatic doors and fountain, and Ctesibius’s robot owl.

Writing Amputees

by  Diane Morrison

“Hey, I’m looking for advice. My character lost a limb in the last fight.  Does anyone know about writing amputees?”