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Writers

Angel’s Bits: Writer Assist

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As writers and readers, we often talk about diversity, and we are a diverse community here at QSF. One of the things we don’t often talk about is how diverse we are in our physical abilities and how that affects us as authors. Vision challenges, neurological illnesses, arthritis, stroke, neurally atypical issues, paralysis – all of these and so many more challenges authors face within our community. What’s a writer to do when they can’t see or type or even hold a pen? It’s certainly never been the end of a career. Even Milton, who was blind when he wrote … Read more

For Readers: Is FanFic Important for Kids?

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fan fiction

Today’s reader topic comes from QSFer Paula Wyant: Paula flagged this article for us: http://www.theestablishment.co/2016/05/16/the-importance-of-fan-fiction-for-queer-youth/ Which makes this point: Fanfic communities are often a safe place for young, queer writers to begin navigating their identity. “Sometimes, the online space is the only place they can be out,” says Kristina Busse, founding co-editor of Transformative Works and Cultures. “They are still negotiating what they want to be called—like what their pronouns are—and coming out as trans online allows them to explore that identity.” So what do you think? Are/were you a fan fic reader? If so, did it help you? Or … Read more

For Writers: Gender Shift

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Gender

Today’s writer topic comes from QSFer Richard Wood: Speaking of FF and other non MM varieties of LGBT sex, why are almost all shifters male? Can a male shifter be female when shifted or choose which sex to be? Or how about shifters who shift between male and female human forms? Why are all shifters shifting between human and animal forms? How many men and women would like to experience sex from both male and female perspectives? Thinking here of Heinlein’s “I will Fear No Evil”. This topic deals with gender issues, which can be a touchy topic, so I … Read more

For Writers: Landscape as a Character

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Today’s writer topic comes from QSFer Jim Comer: Is landscape a language? How is landscape a character in your stories? And how do we write about kinds of landscape we’ve never seen? It’s an intriguing set of questions. We’ve all read stories where the landscape transcends mere backdrop and becomes much more – but is this something we consciously do as writers, or does it just happen in certain stories? Join the chat

Angel’s Bits – Tense Situations

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Verb tenses can get complicated depending on the language. So in the interest of not going down that road, we’re not even going to invite things like past perfect, subjunctive, pluperfect and such to the party. Generally speaking, fiction writers choose either past or present tense for their narratives. We could try writing in future tense – and I think I recall a couple of experimental short stories someone wrote that way – but this stretches reader expectations to the breaking point and puts more emphasis on the verb tense than a writer usually wants. In other words, it’s distracting … Read more

For Writers: FF Chicken and Egg Problem

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Today’s writer topic comes from QSFer Heather Rose Jones: I’m trying to stick to topics rather than plunge into actual discussions, but one major logistical issue in broadening a primarily M/M venue is that it’s hard to attract more diverse content providers if you can’t offer them consumers, and it’s hard to attract more diverse consumers if you can’t offer them content. Hypothetically: an established M/M publisher wants to add a F/F line. They put out a call to authors. The authors look at the existing product and ask themselves, why would my readership shop here? Who will find me … Read more

For Writers: Going Backward

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Today’s writer topic comes from QSFer Richard Wood: Could western society return to persecution and declaring illegal sexual activities of sexual minorities? If so how and why? It’s an interesting question. We all take it as an article of faith that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” But looking at some of the recent political developments around the world, you sometimes have to wonder. Has anyone written sci fi where things get bad again? How could it happen? And what kinds of stories could we tell around this premise? Join the chat

Angel’s Bits: What the *#@$ is an Epigraph?

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We all actually know what these are. We just forget what they’re called, because really, how often does this come up in conversation? So while an epigraph can be the inscription on a monument, for writing purposes, an epigraph is a quote from another author that one finds at the beginning of a chapter, story section or work. You find them at the beginning of Frank Herbert chapters, at the beginning of T.S. Eliot poems, at the start of Stephen King novels. Depending on the author, they can serve different purposes. They can set tone. They can anticipate or illuminate … Read more

For Writers: Choosing a Good Title

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Titles

Today’s writer topic came out of our flash fiction contest. Angel suggested we talk about this. Writing a book, novella, or short story is one thing. OK, it’s the main thing. But there are a lot of other factors that go into actually selling the damned thing. Like the blurb, the cover, the pricing, the release date, and the title. A good title can convey what the book’s about almost instantly to the reader. it can tease them or enchant them. It can help to sell your book. A bad title can make your book a laughingstock, or worse. So … Read more

Announcement: Windbrothers Desert, by Sean Michael

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Windbrothers Desert

QSFer Sean Michael has a new fantasy/paranormal book out: Banished from his homeland, Surial is sent to Azize to run the family business. When he wins a slave, Kade, in a dog race, Surial is unsure what to do with him, as he doesn’t believe in slavery. Kade’s way with horses leads to him being relegated to the stables, where Surial becomes drawn to the big, quiet man. A proud warrior at heart, Kade has been a slave for too long, and when he is passed to yet another owner, he goes without a fight, no hope left in him. … Read more