Foil & Phaser (The S&L Community Blog for SFF Writers)

[Sean Lookielook]

Scott wrote: "I subscribed, liked, and followed. I'm not sure I'd have the time to commit to 2x a month, but I'll help out any other way possible. Again, thanks for setting this all up"

The twice a month thing was just an estimate. If we can get twenty writers posting once a month, that will be just as good as ten posting twice. Remember that you can always do a followup to the previous post and show the changes you've made based on the criticism.
Also, I've added an option for anyone who wants to do a single post, post casually, or just try it out. Check out the website for details.

[Sean Lookielook]

Wilmar wrote: "Quick question - If I sign up to be a guest writer, the terms does not state what types of stories will be accepted.

I know, I know, obviously if it's a sword and laser blog that means it's sci fi..."

Regular serial killer, probably not. Serial killer who reads minds, definitely. At least for now. If the community decides they want to expand into horror or general fiction later, that's something we can explore. I generally lump horror into sci-fi or fantasy depending on circumstances. For instance, virus zombies would be sci-fi, but a wizard casting a zombie spell would be fantasy. As long as there is some element of sci-fi or fantasy to the story, and it's not straight up slasher, I'm fine with it. Otherwise, submission guidelines are pretty much the same as the original anthology. http://swordandlaser.com/anthology/20...

[Wilmar]

Sean wrote: "Wilmar wrote: "Quick question - If I sign up to be a guest writer, the terms does not state what types of stories will be accepted.

I know, I know, obviously if it's a sword and laser blog that me..."

Excellent, thank you for the clarification.

[A.L.]

I am assuming erotica is out? I can do clean stories....

[Sean Lookielook]

Alexandra wrote: "I am assuming erotica is out? I can do clean stories...."

Romance is great...to a point. If it's an important part of the story, I'm fine with it. Assume a mature/PG-13 audience. If this blog works out, I may start one for Vaginal Fantasy as well.

[A.L.]

So fantasy romance is ok, fantasy erotica maybe not:) That is fine. I have an idea to use something I was going to do for a short story in my world but will see.

[Sean Lookielook]

Hey guys, we started the party without you! The website is up and running. Now all we need is you. New posts every day this week so come and check it out and comment. Or even better - join us and send in your own stuff.

[James]

Jo, check out the foilandphaser site. Sean did a good job of mocking up a variety of posting options to ensure that folks could retain the rights to material if they needed to.

[Sean Lookielook]

Jo wrote: "I don't know much about wordpress, but is there a way to put the stories behind a password? That way the posting of fiction there won't give up first rights. As it is, anything that goes up at th..."

There are sample posts:
http://foilandphaser.wordpress.com/20...
http://foilandphaser.wordpress.com/20...

[Seawood]

Sean wrote: "Hey guys, we started the party without you! The website is up and running. Now all we need is you. New posts every day this week so come and check it out and comment. Or even better - join us and ..."

Eeeek. :) Thanks for fixing the tags on my piece, Sean, I'm sure I'll get the hang of it eventually.

[Sean Lookielook]

No problemo.

[Gordon]

Hey guys, my first post (Little Things) is up now and I'd like to apologize for the near-total lack of formatting when it originally went up. It is fixed.

[Sean Lookielook]

Got some suggestions from Sword & Laser and I have reformatted the site. Still needs some tweaking but I'd be interested in hearing what everyone thinks. http://foilandphaser.wordpress.com/

edit: done tweaking for now.

[Sean Lookielook]

Okay, we have two weeks of posts up, so if you're new to the forum or were waiting to see how the community blog would work, now would be a good time for everyone to check it out.

We still need more regular authors and guest writers. The more people join in, the better Foil & Phaser will be. I've added a new, easy submission form for anyone who wants to be published on the site, and I've also added a separate romance category if you have some paranormal romance lying around that you don't know what to do with.

Even if you don't want to contribute your writing to the site, you are welcome to read and comment on the posts there. Also, you can submit resources or ideas on how to make the blog better. I will be starting an online writer's workshop and a new collaborative writing project for anyone who wants to apply. Watch for announcements soon!

[Sean Lookielook]

We are running a poll at Foil & Phaser to see which SFF author you would most like to have a drink/coffee with. Just scroll down to the poll in the sidebar. Come and vote for your favorite or add your own.

[J. Alberto]

I saw the site first, then I found this thread when I was looking to see if it was legit. I didn't actually finished my short story for submission, but I'd love to get feedback when I do.

[Sean Lookielook]

Jesús wrote: "I saw the site first, then I found this thread when I was looking to see if it was legit. I didn't actually finished my short story for submission, but I'd love to get feedback when I do."

Foil & Phaser was created and is run by writers who are fans of the S&L podcast. Giving feedback to new writers is one of the primary goals. We'd be glad to have you submit. We also run workshops for writers looking to develop their skills through peer review.

[J. Alberto]

Sean wrote: "Jesús wrote: "I saw the site first, then I found this thread when I was looking to see if it was legit. I didn't actually finished my short story for submission, but I'd love to get feedback when I..."

Thanks Sean, and good job to the community for supporting this effort. I'll be sure to submit when I have something "wordy" (okay, I won't submit comedy)

[Foil & Phaser]

Just a few updates:

1. We are posting and reblogging any anthology submissions that people want to share. You can read them at Foil & Phaser under the "Renegade Anthology" tag in the menu bar. We already have half-a-dozen up on the site. If you want to share yours, you can send still send them in.

2. We've had a successful first run of our peer-review writers workshop and are looking to expand. If you are a writer looking for feedback, consider signing up. Also, our collaborative story is coming to a close and should be ready in a few weeks, so it's time to think about starting a new one.

3. We would like to start a beginners workshop for anyone who has never written anything before but would like to start, or not written for a long time but wants to get back into it. No experience needed, just a lot of enthusiasm. We'd need at least six people to sign up to make it worthwhile though. If you're interested, please leave a comment in this thread.

4. We're still looking for regular bloggers who would be able to post at least once per month. Topics can be anything relating to writing from book reviews to essays or even short pieces of fiction. If you've never blogged before but would like to try it, or if you already have a blog and want to increase your audience, why not become a member of the Foil & Phaser team.

5. If you have an idea about something you'd like to see on the blog, leave a comment below. It's your blog too.

Thanks to everyone who helped out over the past three months. I hope the next three are just as much fun!

[Foil & Phaser]

We are looking for a few people to help finish our collaborative workshop piece. It has already past into novelette length and doesn't look like it will run out of steam anytime soon. If you're interested in participating, you can sign up here.

Here is a sample:

Faylor silently waited by the fireplace like a statue. In fact, he was less than a statue. Calling him a statue implied he at least was there for decorative purposes. Faylor knew that wasn't the case. Faylor knew that he didn't exist in the eyes of his owner until it was signaled that he was needed. Until then, he was waiting for that one tiny flick of the left hand that meant he was wanted, and was allowed to exist for those few moments only. Until then, he had to be still, and above all, noiseless.

“Non-magicians should be grateful to their masters”, he had been taught. “If it were not for the magicians, we would still be savages.” Faylor watched as his master, eyes still on the book he was reading, ran a finger up the side of an almost empty wineglass. The wine level rose with his fingertip. “If it were not for magical methods, we would starve after our crops failed or die of diseases from polluted water.” His master raised the glass of wine to his nose and inhaled deeply before beginning to drink. Faylor hoped that he would choke on it.

Faylor knew the room around him was beautiful. The walls were painted so that they were an artwork of themselves. Ornaments made of ceramic and glass sat on every surface, souvenirs from the East, North, South and West as proof of his master’s many travels. Volumes with exotic covers adorned the bookcases on the far wall. Faylor had glanced occasionally and wistfully at them, knowing he would never see past those colourful bindings. He knew better than to let his eye wander for too long. Servants caught not paying attention had a black mark put against their name, and this was considered in the yearly review.

The yearly review was only one moon away, and Faylor had no black marks. He intended to keep it that way. He had known servants to make mistakes, and to have black marks placed against their names. When the yearly review came, their monthly food rations were cut and their access to medicine was restricted. Magicians could and would let their servants die. It taught the others a lesson, and the government would allocate them a new one, usually within a month’s time.

His master, Kyrum Baydown, was not particularly cruel, but neither was he kind. Faylor had heard horror stories of masters who tortured their servants, gave them black marks on a whim and made them do more work than they were capable of. He also heard of masters who never gave out black marks, allowed their servants to take leftover food and talked to them as if they were people. Faylor thought the latter might be wishful rumours.

[Seawood]

:) I have the next section to write and it really is looking good. Everyone's done a great job so far! Come and get stuck in!