In praise of the SFWA Craft of Writing blog

In an attempt to raise my game from just missing the transom to... well, in all probability, only just missing the transom, I've been poring my way through the SFWA's Craft of Writing blog, all the way from Media Tie-ins: Why They are Nearly Impossible for Beginners To Publish to Butchness and Liminal Mortality in SF, only skipping the calls for writers' workshops which have been and gone.

I'd like to say I've read them all so you don't have to, but, to be honest, there's a nugget or two in everything. That said, in my journey from oldest to newest, there was a hardly surprising shift from solid, foundation, 101, do's and do-not-do's to shorter, more personal thinkpieces.  There's also a third category of posts: technical, but niche, such as this excellent piece - go explore and find what gets you through the night.

But if, like me, you're interested in the where do I need to put my slot A to fit my tab B seamlessly, here are some of the wheatiest, least chaffy postings:

Writerisms and other Sins; A Writers' Shortcut to Stronger WritingIf creative grammar were an Olympic sport, this sets out the criteria for a perfect score.You and Your CharactersA bit verbose, but includes excellent person specs for the team you want, as well as descriptions of suspicious persons you're advised not to approach.Mistakes in WritingIf you can't get it right, at least use this list and make sure you don't get it wrong.Being a Glossary of Useful Terms in Critiquing Science FictionTurkey City Lexicon - A Primer for SF WorkshopsLanguage defines the world; the richness with which we use language determines the richness with which we see the world.  More than lists of terms, more than helping clarify your thinking, these enable you to think and speak sci-fi.A Checklist for Critiquing Science FictionHardcore critique guidelinesCritiquing in a Workshop contextAll covering similar ground; vital for workshopping, extremely useful just for looking at your own work.The Theory and Practice of TitlesI don't think I have that great an issue with titles, but then I don't sell many stories - perhaps I should reread?Murder Your DarlingsStrategies for reducing your stock to a flavourful jus, story-wise.Fantasy Worldbuilding Questions: Magic and MagiciansOne of many posts about worldbuilding, which isn't quite the technical 101 that I'm aiming for with this list, but it deals with internal consistency in story-telling a bit more than most.Aphorisms for Writing Science FictionNot sure I buy all of these, but at least I have to stretch to think why they may not be the case.Key Conditions for SuspenseThe motherlode.  This is actually the table of contents to a 27-part technical tour de force on the mechanics of genre fiction.  For free.10 Books for Writers Focussing on Craft...and I've bought The 10% Solution on the strength of this.5 Things To Do In Your First 3 ParagraphsDoes what it says on the tin.  Now it's your turn.60 Rules for Short SF (and Fantasy)You won't sign up to all of them, but just thinking out why you disagree is a useful exercise in itself.25 Reasons Readers Will Keep Reading Your StoryAnother one of the 'let me go through this list and see if I can't make things stronger' school of blog posts.What's Wrong with Cheesecake?A brief introduction to antagonists via restating some fundament truths of fiction that bear repeatingHow to Write a SentenceThink you learnt that in lower school?  Not like this, you didn't.Variations of VillanyMoustache-twirling or genuinely creepy?  A miscellany.Painting Characters into CornersThat's the easy bit.  This deals with how to get them out without too much mess.How to Know When You're Done RevisingAnd, more importantly, the steps beforehand.Translating the Hero's Journey into a Linear PlanActually, translating every character's journey into a narrative arc; good if you like creating lists as a way of avoiding writing (did I really say that?).  I may end up tattooing Act 2 belongs to the antagonist somewhere. #
Search for these on Amazon. You're here, so surely you know how to do that?


2084 - The Meschera Bandwidth

2084. The world remains at war.

 In the Eurasian desert, twenty-year old Adnan emerges from a coma with memories of a strictly ordered city of steel and glass, and a woman he loved.

The city is the Dome, and the woman... is Adnan's secret to keep.

Adnan learns what the Dome is, and what his role really was within it. He learns why everybody fears the Sickness more than the troopers. And he learns why he is the only one who can stop the war.

Persuaded to re-enter the Dome to implant a virus that will bring the war machine to its knees, the resistance think that Adnan is returning to free the many - but really he wants to free the one.

24 0s & a 2

Twenty-four slipstream stories.  Frequently absurd, often minimifidian, occasionally heroic