One of the single most important considerations for a new author is word count. Besides actually having a good story, you have to be able to fit that story into industry confines. And those confines are based off of words–not pages. Not too few. Not too many. I know. It sucks. But if you are…
Every Sci-Fi Writer Needs to Read A City On Mars
If you write, or plan on writing space themed Sci-Fi, you must read Kelly Weinersmith and Zach Weinersmith’s pop-science book A City On Mars: Can we settle space, should we settle space, and have we really thought this through? This non-fiction book takes a humorous approach to many non-humorous problems humanity will face if we ever plan…
Writing Fiction: The Value of Constructive Criticism and Peer Feedback
If I could go back in time to my naive teenage self and give him one piece of advice about writing, it would be this: learn to accept constructive criticism. Afraid to Delete I wrote my first joke of a novel in the 7th grade. I was cutting my teeth on word processing. Hunting and…
Writing Tech in Science Fiction
Early on I discovered that writing technology in futuristic sci-fi themes can prove challenging, if not downright overwhelming. Do you create something brand new? Or an evolution of existing tech? Does that evolution occur within a reasonable timeline? Is your tech central to the point of your narrative–almost like its separate character. Or it a…
Writing and the Importance of Paying Attention to Detail
Every Marine Corps recruit will graduate bootcamp with an appreciation for 1. The Fundamentals of Marksmanship and 2. Paying attention to detail. The former is a gift. The latter is a curse. If you’ve decided to write about military themes, be sure to get the details correct. Even if you don’t think your audience will notice,…
Sci-fi v. Fantasy
Years ago I picked up The Complete Idiot’s Guide To Writing a Novel. It encouraged the importance of “owning” your genre. Even if you don’t fully agree with where your book falls, the stores have to stock it somewhere on the shelves. My writing had traversed from historical fiction, to fiction, and I was dabbling…