by Martin Detwiler | Oct 7, 2019 | Articles |
For many of us who write speculative fiction, worldbuilding is a key part of the process. I enjoy harmonizing the story world, themes, and characters. When I succeed, the results are rewarding, and I’m equally fascinated by complex cultures in the books I read. Since...
by Maddie Morrow | Aug 8, 2019 | Articles |
Research can be a hassle. Still, most of us writers agree that we need to understand the facts to portray different places and times authentically. But sometimes we’re so focused on wars and revolutions, architecture, and major landmarks that we forget the...
by Brandon Miller | May 27, 2019 | Articles |
One of the biggest challenges with writing speculative fiction is clarifying how your story’s magic and/or technology works. Once you’ve accomplished the monumental task of developing those systems, how do you educate readers without making them yawn? They don’t want...
by Daeus Lamb | Mar 11, 2019 | Articles |
When I cracked open Out of the Silent Planet, I gobbled up page after page. Did the plot thrill me? Was I a C. S. Lewis fanatic? It was a marvelous book on many fronts, but the aspect that stuck with me wasn’t the plot, the characters, or the themes. I remember...
by Maddie Morrow | Jan 7, 2019 | Articles |
If you write contemporary fiction, you’ve probably run into the problem of choosing a setting. A story’s setting is as influential to the plot as the characters who populate it. A book set in Paris will be vastly different from one set in a small Midwestern town. But...
by Faith Blum | Dec 10, 2018 | Articles |
The 1860s to 1890s were a shoot ’em up, bang ’em up period full of drinking, swearing, killing, and general lawlessness. So, how are you supposed to write a wholesome story set during the Wild West? If you’re like me, you love Westerns. However, due to the...
by Faith Blum | Oct 8, 2018 | Articles |
When I think about researching the time period my book is set in, I cringe. How do I write it without becoming overwhelmed and giving up? The amount of books to study (or lack thereof), websites to scour, and documentaries to watch can be daunting. How can you...
by Gabrielle Pollack | Aug 27, 2018 | Articles |
A unique setting isn’t about how you describe it, but about how a character perceives it. Everything in a story revolves around characters, including setting. Descriptions are not foreign elements that must be incorporated solely because characters need a place...
