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 […]
by Victoria Janssen Because the romance genre is based on plot structure, it can easily be merged with a speculative fiction setting. Magical secondary worlds, alien planets, and far future empires can all include romantic relationships as the primary or secondary plot. One of my favorite romantic sub-genres is beauty and the beast, a very […]
by Chelsea Mueller There’s significant power in fighting and kissing scenes. When done well, they’re often reader favorites. Look at how readers talk about stories with excellent fights or swoonworthy sex, and you’ll see them call out these scenes specifically. In books that bring violence and romance to the page well, readers may even praise […]
by R. K. Thorne Worldbuilding is a fun aspect of writing fantasy and science fiction. It is so tempting to get lost in drawing maps, hoarding pictures, plotting lineages, or researching how that awesome weapon system could actually work. Our efforts often focus on geography, history, and politics. But part of worldbuilding should be envisioning […]
by Jeffe Kennedy In interviews, I’m often asked how I ended up writing a blend of fantasy and romance. It’s become a more frequent question, in fact, in the year since I’ve been president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA). It’s a subject of well-intended curiosity in most cases, why I’m […]
by Claire Davon I blame my reading habits on Dragonflight. I’ve been a reader all my life, fueled by a wide collection of available books in the family home, coupled with repeated visits to the library. Though I started with the Nancy Drew series and mysteries, once I discovered science fiction and fantasy, I pivoted. […]
The third installment of the World Fantasy Award winning, Locus, British Fantasy award nominated, Year’s Best African Speculative Fiction series. With works from Tananarive Due, Nalo Hopkinson, P Djeli Clark, Tobias Buckell, Wole Talabi, and others
L. Marie Wood creates immersive worlds that defy genre as they intersect horror, romance, mystery, thriller, sci-fi, and fantasy elements to weave harrowing tapestries of speculative fiction. Wood is a Professor of English and Creative Writing.
