Planetside Full Archives

By Nicole Valentine Note: This blog post is not an endorsement by SFWA of the products discussed within it. If you’re anything like me, the pandemic has cut into your ability to focus and write. It’s also changed the way…

By Renan Bernardo In the second century A.D., Lucian of Samosata wrote A True Story, a tale of space trips and alien life-forms. His first language was Syriac, but to reach the people of Athens, he wrote the tale in…

By Eugen Bacon I read Maurice Broaddus’s “Black Joy and Afrofuturism for Young Readers,” which heartens us to be present, fully and joyfully, not just for ourselves but for our children, our new adults, and our future generations. He dares…

By Maria Haskins Writing flash fiction—commonly defined as a story of no more than 1,000 or 1,500 words—can seem daunting at first try. Or addictive if you’ve already caught the flash-writing bug. These tips are based on my love for…

by Alexia Chantel Editor’s note: This is the first installment in a new SFWA Blog series, Romancing Sci-Fi & Fantasy, from our Romance Committee! Expect new posts in this series in the coming months. Science fiction and fantasy (SFF) are…

By Jeff Somers It’s often noted that in baseball, making an out 70 percent of the time is considered all-star play(1). Although every writer’s experience will be different, writing often seems to offer a similar success ratio in terms of…

By Kahina Necaise Convincing fiction is about cause and effect.  That’s why, in my work as an editor, the two questions I ask most often while diagnosing an issue with a client’s story are:  Does this come out of nowhere?…

by J. Scott Coatsworth Editor’s note: All recommendations in this article are the opinions of the author and do not reflect an approval or endorsement by SFWA. Two Paths to Indie Greatness As an indie author, you have two basic…

By Rebecca Hardy  I love systems. I think most worldbuilders do, at least to some extent. Systems of magic. Systems of currency. Systems of governance and geopolitical conflict in underwater cities, postapocalyptic wastelands, and galactic civilizations. And . . ….

by Kim Fielding Editor. That’s a term guaranteed to strike fear into the hearts of nearly every writer. It’s terrifying to witness someone approach our beloved work with a critical, even clinical eye. Indie authors might feel especially fearful because…

by Carien Ubink It’s important to get reviews, but if you ask in the wrong way, your request might be deleted right away. So here are some dos and don’ts when asking a blogger or fellow author for a review….

by Corrine Kumar We grow as writers by reading, but we often read passively—leaving the understanding of stories to our subconscious. Passive growth is important, but active reading can raise our storytelling to new heights. Over the last two years,…

By Holly Schofield Dystopian fiction seems to be built into the human psyche. Is it our default setting, or can we transform our collective narrative into a higher philosophy, a better way of thinking? These past couple of years of…

By Sascha Stronach Note: This article first appeared in The Bulletin #216 in October 2021. Publishing (verb): the act of smashing your head against a wall until you see daylight. Publishing From Outside America (verb): as above, at long range….

by Yilin Wang Note: This article first appeared in The Bulletin #216 in October 2021. When I tell other writers who are not familiar with Sinophone literature that I am writing short stories and a novel that play with the…

by Karlyn Meyer Note: This article first appeared in The Bulletin #216 in October 2021. I started making my first video game the week I found out I was pregnant. Games featured heavily in my relationship with my partner; we…

by K. S. Villoso Note: This article first appeared in The Bulletin #216 in October 2021. Reading is a privilege. To have the means to obtain books, to see yourself in the material you consume, to pick truths that most…

by Anthony W. Eichenlaub Editor’s note: This article is the first in our new series from SFWA’s Independent Authors Committee – THE INDIE FILES! Expect a new addition to THE INDIE FILES once a month.  You thought you were done….

by Nilah Magruder Note: This article first appeared in The Bulletin #216 in October 2021. I am a cartoonist. I draw. I write. I draw and write simultaneously. Much of my work these days is in graphic novels. It has…

Congratulations, You’ve Published Your Work and You Have Fans (and Critics): So What Do You Do Now? by Amber Benson Note: This article first appeared in The Bulletin #216 in October 2021. Before you can become a creator, you have…

By Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki It’s been a harrowing year for all, especially for Black people and Africans who have borne the brunt of the pandemic, from being the demographics with the highest casualties in Western countries like the US, to…

by Vida Cruz Note: This article first appeared in The Bulletin #216 in October 2021. Quick: you hear of an injustice over the news. What do you do? Some of us march. Some of us donate to charities and NGOs…

By Maurice Broaddus Note: This article first appeared in The Bulletin #216 in October 2021. The ongoing conversation about writing stories more through the lens of Black joy rather than Black trauma and what it means both historically and culturally…

by Khaalidah Muhammad-Ali Note: This article first appeared in The Bulletin #216 in October 2021. An editor does more than ensure that grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure are correct. Our job is to help writers craft stories that do more…