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Writing Science Fiction & Fantasy

Want to be the next George R.R. Martin or Jim Butcher? Here you’ll find information on writing for this specialized market, including world building, creating aliens and systems of magic, selling your work, and much more.

The Anatomy of a Writer’s Website

October 7, 2008 | Linda Formichelli | Comments: 0

Whether you build it yourself or hire a designer, your website can do more than bring you into the 21st century—it can be an invaluable part of your marketing arsenal.

by Linda Formichelli Read more

Steve Berry’s 8 Rules of Writing

September 5, 2008 | admin | Comments: 0

Bestselling thriller writer Steve Berry says there are eight key rules that all writers must know and follow. Read more

Don’t Use Adverbs and Adjectives to Prettify Your Prose

August 21, 2008 | William Noble | Comments: 0

Learn how adjective and adverbs create redundancy and promote lazy writing and see how you can make your writing direct, vivid, and descriptive without making your readers want to get rid of your book.

by William Noble
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Opening Scenes: An Overview

August 21, 2008 | Les Edgerton | Comments: 0

Read Chapter 2, Opening Scenes: An Overview from Hooked Read more

November is National Novel Writing Month

August 18, 2008 | Chris Baty | Comments: 0

NaNoWriMo’s Chris Baty shares five tips for writing your book in a month.

by Chris Baty Read more

Fiction: Point of View

July 25, 2008 | Steve Almond | Comments: 0

How many times have you heard this around the workshop table: “Why don’t you consider a new point of view?” (Actually, the term used more often is “POV” because it sounds a lot cooler, I suspect.) Everyone then agrees that a new POV might help matters, including the writer, who knew something was wrong and is now relieved to have a likely suspect.
by Steve Almond Read more

Principles of Building a Story

July 3, 2008 | Karen S. Wiesner | Comments: 0

Read "Principles of Building of a Story" from From First Draft to Finished Novel. Read more

From First Draft to Finish Novel

July 3, 2008 | Karen S. Wiesner | Comments: 0

A Writer’s Guide to Cohesive Story Building Read more

Chosen

June 18, 2008 | Beverly Smith-Dawson | Comments: 0

Beverly Smith-Dawson‘s "Chosen" took first place in the Science Fiction/Fantasy category of the 2008 Writer’s Digest Popular Fiction Awards. To read the grand-prize winning entry and other first-place finishers, click here. Read more

The Power of Persistence

May 22, 2008 | Jordan E. Rosenfeld | Comments: 0

The characters in David J. Schwartz’s debut novel, Superpowers, wake up overnight with super speed, super strength, invisibility, the power to read minds and the ability to fly. The author, however, had the power of persistence on his side. From the day he started writing the manuscript to its publication, six long years passed.
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Bulllies, Bastards & Bitches

April 23, 2008 | admin | Comments: 1

With Jessica Page Morrell’s Bullies, Bastards & Bitches, you’ll be able to tap into your story’s dark side by creating realistic and memorable anti-heroes, villains, antagonists, and difficult protagonists. Read more

Defining and Developing Your Anti-Hero

April 23, 2008 | admin | Comments: 0

Anti-heros are the bastards of fiction—those bad guys readers love to hate and hate to love. Find out whats makes a memorable anti-hero tick in this excerpt from Bullies, Bastards & Bitches by Jessica Page Morrell. Read more

The Four Commandments of Writing Good Sentences

April 15, 2008 | Bonnie Trenga | Comments: 0

If you want to write a good sentence, don’t pay any attention to your grammar. I don’t mean “a sentence this like OK is.” I mean don’t automatically think you’ve written a good sentence just because it’s grammatically correct. Lots of bad sentences are grammatically correct. Some of these bad sentences might even be yours.

by Bonnie Trenga Read more

Challenging the Limits of Memory

April 14, 2008 | admin | Comments: 0

In this excerpt from Writing Life Stories, Bill Roorbach teaches you how to pay attention to and translate your memories and how to overcome your resistance to remembered places and events. Read more

Publish Your First Book After 50

March 26, 2008 | Scott Hoffman | Comments: 0

Who says publishing is a young person’s game? Here are an agent’s tips for writing and publishing well into your golden years.

By Scott Hoffman
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The Popular Fiction Report

March 13, 2008 | Michael J. Vaughn | Comments: 1

What’s hot in Mystery/ Crime, Romance, Horror, Thriller/ Suspense and Science Fiction/ Fantasy? Find out in this comprehensive genre-by-genre market report.

PLUS: A breakdown of fiction sub-genres and their definitions. Read more