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Discussion

Discussion: Why Do We Adore Super Heroes?

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Young Protectors

Today’s topic comes from QSFer Blaine D. Arden: What is the attraction of Super Heroes? (cause, while I enjoy them in films… I’m really boggled about the attraction in fiction). Hmmm… let’s unpack this a bit. For me, I have always loved the inherent *goodness* in super heroes. The idea that there’s a real force for truth and justice out there. Yeah, I know, not all super heroes are purely good – in fact, many have a dark side, which surely adds to their three dimensionality as characters. But sometimes it detracts from their overall superheroiness, at least for me. … Read more

Discussion: How Readers Influence Writers?

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Today’s topic comes from QSFer Anna Butler: Back when I was young (which was a looooong time ago) the thought of writing to and connecting with my favourite author was inconceivable. The mechanisms just weren’t there. I never expected to read a blog by my favourite authors, or have platforms like Amazon and Goodreads where I could comment on their books. They were remote gods to me, no more real than the names on the book spine. But to me the question really is, are we more conscious of the reader than writers ever were before, because there just isn’t … Read more

Discussion: Using Really Foreign Languages

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Language Word Cloud

Today’s topic comes from QSFer Ruff Bear: I just started a story in which a character is called l’bkh!’dar, which is close to “bright light” in Marathi, a language spoken in western India. The exclamation mark is used to mark a clicking sound common in southern African languages. How do people feel about hard to pronounce names for characters? How do people feel about using non-Latin writing systems and non-English languages (with or without translation)? I’ve used Italian in a couple of my stories, but of course it’s still fairly similar to English – same basic character set, many similar … Read more

Angel’s Bits – All the Little Details

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Who out there already knows I’m something of a luddite? Yeah, yeah, put your hands down. It’s no big secret. I come from a time when most of us still wrote term papers on typewriters and only engineers learned about computers because they needed to talk to them in complex languages. I learned the basics (though not Basic) and enjoyed interacting with the new electronic friends to some extent, but I still wrote stories out longhand. Fast forward several years *cough cough decades cough* and I manage, but I’ll never be one of those people who always needs the newest, … Read more

Discussion: Running a Great Author Blog

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blogging

I just started up my own author blog in late June as my first two stand-alone novellas were about to come out. I’m trying to accomplish a few things – create a headquarters where readers can find me on the web, provide information on my available stories, and to provide unique content to entice people to come back and to sign up for my mailing list. I’d guess that most authors here have their own personal websites, so here are my questions for y’all: What are your tips and tricks for creating great blog content? If you have a blog, … Read more

Discussion: The Art of Redrafting

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Second Draft

Today’s topic comes from QSFers Kelly Jensen and EJ Runyon: I learned the art of redrafting. Rewriting. Sometimes it’s easier to let go of a few paragraphs or even a whole scene, than to try editing it to make it work. Better to start fresh–convey the idea you want to express in a completely new way. That scene is almost always being cut/edited because it doesn’t work or it’s unnecessary. Trying to make it work will just make it stick out like a broken thumb. I just finished the second draft of a novella I’ve been working on for about … Read more

Graphic Novel Week Day Six: Adapting a Novel to Graphic Novel Format

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Pact Arcanum

The Interview With Arshad Ahsanuddin at 8 AM Pacific will take place at our Facebook Discussion Group. :) Arshad will talk with moderator WT Prater about his graphic novel Pact Arcanum, and the process of converting an existing novel to graphic format. Arshad has set up a Createspace discount code of 63YMAX3C, which gives you a 15% discount ($12.75 instead of $14.99). It’s a beautiful graphic novel – I got to see an advance copy at RC! https://www.createspace.com/5609895 Join the discussion!

Graphic Novel Week Day Five: Breaking into Graphic Novels

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Graphic Novel Week

Hey all, The long-awaited graphic novel week is here! Today’s topic – Breaking Into Graphic Novels: Two more days left in our graphic novel week. Today we’ll talk about the process of getting started with graphic novels. We invite anyone in the group who has done one (or more) to talk about how you break into this particular part of the LGBT fiction market – tools, tips, and more. Join the discussion. We have a great line up this week, including six topics and four special events: Saturday, August 29th: All Day: Breaking into Graphic Novels Sunday, August 30th: All … Read more

Graphic Novel Week Day Four: Really Graphic Novels

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Stripped

Hey all, The long-awaited graphic novel week is here! Today’s topic – Really Graphic Novels: We’ve talked about Yaoi and Yuri and Superheroes so far in this Graphic Novel Week. But what about the comics we’ve had for decades – the erotic (and sometimes much more than erotic) graphic novels that explored LGBT sexuality decades before marriage equality? Are they still relevant? Do you read them, and if so, do you have a favorite? Bonus points for any of these that alsy cross over into speculative fiction. Join the discussion. We have a great line up this week, including six … Read more

Graphic Novel Week Day Three: Yuri

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Graphic Novel Week

Hey all, The long-awaited graphic novel week is here! Today’s topic – Yuri: Yuri is the yin to Yaoi’s yang… or is it the other way around? From Wikipedia: As of 2009, the term yuri is used in Japan to mean the depiction of attraction between women (whether sexual or romantic; explicit or implied) in manga, anime, and related entertainment media, as well as the genre of stories primarily dealing with this content. The wasei-eigo construction “Girls Love”, occasionally spelled “Girl’s Love” or “Girls’ Love”, or abbreviated as “GL”, is also used with this meaning. Yuri is generally a form … Read more