Empathy, Neurochemistry, and the Dramatic Arc
Neuroscience looks at how our brains respond to dramatic arcs.
Archive for the ‘SFWA Blog’ Category
Odyssey Writing Workshop Announces Its 20th Summer Session
Each summer, writers of the fantastic come from all over the world to attend the Odyssey Writing Workshop. Odyssey is one of the most highly respected programs for writers of fantasy, science fiction, and horror.
Guest Post: Five Things You Should Know About Award Nominations
It’s awards season. It comes around every year, and every year authors wonder whether they should put their work out for consideration.
This can be a scary thing.
2015 World Fantasy Awards Judges Announced
The judges for the 2015 World Fantasy Awards, for work published in 2014, have now been empanelled. The judges read and consider eligible materials until June 1, 2015, so it is desirable for them to receive materials as early as possible. The Judges are: Gemma Files* 313 Richmond St. East #768 Toronto Ontario M5A 4S7 Canada […]
Guest Post: Setting Your Goals for the New Year and Beyond
by Randy Henderson
Happy New Year!
Rather than share events from my past year, I thought I’d offer a bit of encouragement and advice to help with the coming year. While this is aimed primarily at my fellow writers, it also, I think, can be applied to life in general.
Painting Characters into Corners
by Nancy Fulda
If you write stories, this has probably happened to you:
The words are flowing. The plot is exciting. Your characters, faced with overwhelming odds, find themselves in the midst of a difficult and absolutely enthralling situation. It’s the Big, Dramatic Moment of your story – and you have no idea what happens next. The bad guys are too strong, the social pressures are too powerful, the pit is too deep, or your character is too broken. Try as you might, you can’t think of a single way to get your protagonist out of the current crisis.
Guest Post: I’ve made every mistake an author can make in their writing career
by Jason Sanford
This has been a tough writing year for me. I finished my first novel only to learn that at this point in my writing career it’s going to be a hard sell. I’ve struggled with short fiction, publishing only two stories this year. I’ve even wondered why I’m writing stories in the first place (which probably ties back with the issues I’ve had with the novel and short fiction). All of this caused me to step back and reflect on my writing career up to this point. And I’ve realized I’ve made just about every mistake an author can make, career-wise.
Creating Aliens
by Deborah Walker
I’ve written a fair few aliens since reading it, always thinking about that advice, but with an added aspect: stealing blatantly from Mother Nature.
How I Remain Productive While Traveling
by Jennifer Brozek When I first attended conventions or traveled for the holidays, my freelance work suffered. Not just during the event but for the few days before and after the event as well. I knew this and scheduled for it. This worked for me for a while. However, as my writing and editing project deadlines […]
In Memoriam: Rocky Wood
New Zealand author Rocky Wood (b.1959) died on December 1. Wood was one of the world’s foremost experts on the writings of Stephen King,
