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The SFWA Blog
Finding Focus in the Metaverse
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…
The Exophonic Writer’s Journey
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…
Finding Me: Towards Self-Actualization in Writing
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…
10 Hands-On Tips For Writing Flash Fiction
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…
I See Romance…Everywhere!
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…
Story Salvage: Finding the Opportunity in Failure
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…
Two Essential Questions to Ask As You Self-Edit
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?…
Going Wide
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…
Sidequesting: An Antidote to “I Should Be Writing”
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 . . ….
An Indie Author’s Primer on Editors
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…
The Dos and Don’ts of Asking for Reviews
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….
Active Reading to Step Up Your Writing
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,…
Optimism Is the New Bleak: How to Write with Hope
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…
Breaking Into Publishing Isn’t Easy, but if You’re Not in America, It’s Even Harder
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….
What Speculative Fiction Writers Can Learn from the Origins and Evolution of the Wuxia Genre
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…
Developing Games and Developing as a Parent
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…
On Writing Narratives, Questioning Standards, and Oral Traditions in Storytelling
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…
For Your Consideration: How to Seek Out Self-Published Works You’ll Love
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….
Graphic Novel Production Schedules Are Too Short—and the Publishing Industry Should Care About It
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…
Managing A Creator’s Public Profile and Navigating Audience Entitlement
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…
Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki
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…
Activist SFF Isn’t Just About Good Intentions
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…
Black Joy and Afrofuturism for Young Readers
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…
With Great Power
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…
