Opening lines that grabbed us and wouldn't let go
A great opening line is a promise. It sets the tone, raises a question, creates a voice. It makes you need to read the next sentence. Here are some SFF openers…
Your villain is boring
Keeping the villain theme going, I find that the antagonist is often the weakest link in SFF stories. Writers lavish attention on their protagonist, craft…
Villains we love to hate (and what makes them unforgettable)
The great villains stay with us. Sometimes more than the heroes. What is it about certain antagonists that makes them unforgettable? The charming ones Loki.…
Trust your reader
One of the hardest lessons for science fiction and fantasy writers is learning to trust the reader. You've invented this incredible world. You understand its…
A guide to science fiction subgenres
Like fantasy, science fiction has fractured into countless subgenres. The spaceship adventures of the Golden Age are still here, but they've been joined by…
Films vs. Novels
I spent most of my writing life in screenwriting before transitioning to novels. I assumed the skills would transfer smoothly. They did not. The most important…
Do you actually want to write?
An uncomfortable question worth contemplating is, do you actually want to write, or have you absorbed that desire from somewhere else? The French thinker René…
Why your dialogue sounds fake (and how to fix it)
Dialogue is one of those things that feels like it should be easy. We all talk. We've been listening to conversations our entire life. How hard can it be to…
One word at a time
I've always believed that the best way to understand something is to build it. When I wanted to understand political ideology, I built Political Circle. When I…
Pantsing is just writing a very long, expensive outline
There's a long-running debate in writing circles between “plotters” and “pantsers.” Plotters outline their stories in advance. Pantsers fly by the seat…