This is my third entry in my Cover to Cover series which follows a novel from inception to potential publication. It’s interesting to note since I started doing this, my novel has changed quite significantly. Most notable is that I completed a first draft last month. If you’ve ever completed a long first draft, then … Read more
This article is by Joseph Zieja. Cons are vicious, insane things, where emotions run as hard and fast as the alcohol, where dreams are made and broken at bars, and where George R. R. Martin sends people out for cheese steaks at three o’ clock in the morning. You will meet people dressed in costumes … Read more
This article is by Anne Leonard. A current – and recurring – topic of conversation in the SFF writer/ blogger/ reader community is the lack of people of color (POC) writing and publishing in the field. (This is also an issue in the literary community in general; here’s a recent post on the subject that … Read more
Romantic relationships are a part of being human. Not every novel needs a romantic subplot. But given enough time and depth, most characters will develop that side of their lives. If we’re ignoring love, we aren’t writing fully realized characters. If we as writers can tap into the allure and mystery of romance, we have … Read more
Multiple POV storytelling has a bad rap. Sure, the practice of splitting a single narrative across multiple characters’ perspectives has a long history. And its popularity continues to expand as our society grows ever more distrustful of singular truth, in favor of individual realities. But multiple POV writing is not without its critics—and some of … Read more
This article is by Steven M. Long. Everybody outlines. The second a writer imagines one scene following another, that writer is creating an outline, even if the outline is incomplete and only in their head. Referring to a novel writer as an “outliner” usually indicates someone who feels more comfortable with and sees the benefits … Read more
This article is by K.M. Weiland. “Plot vs. character”—we hear it all the time, as if the two were mutually exclusive. Either your book is plot-driven or character-driven. Can’t possibly be both, right? And anytime we run afoul of an either/or conundrum, you gotta know people are going to start believing one or the other … Read more
Winner of the Sydney J. Bounds Best Newcomer Award and 2007 World Fantasy Award finalist, Scott Lynch is the author of the Gentleman Bastard Sequence, several short stories and an online serial, Queen of the Iron Sands. He has a strong following who call themselves ‘priests of the crooked author’ and many others, too, have … Read more
If there’s one thing no writer wants to be accused of, it’s writing flat characters. As readers, we love watching characters transform over the course of their exploits. As writers, we aspire to create those characters. And the transformation need not always be positive; some of the most compelling characters in literature grow darker and … Read more
Writing a query letter is akin to going to a job interview. It’s your first chance to make an impression, and often times, it’s also your last. It’s this philosophy, coupled with my experience as a recruiter, that leads me to want to put my best foot forward, knowing that I may never get another … Read more