Writers
For Writers: Who Influenced You?
Many of us started reading speculative fiction as children. The books we picked up, whether they were recommended by our parents, friends, or were found at the library, often have had a profound affect on our later reading and writing tastes. For me, there are three writers in particular who influenced me – the first was Anne McCaffrey – her seamless integration of sci fi and fantasy ideas in her Pern series captivated me, and it reached a pinnacle in the hauntingly sad Moreta’s Ride. On the fantasy side, JRR Tolkien’s middle earth sucked me in and remains my go=to … Read more
For Writers: Fantasy Reflects Society. Or Does It?
Today’s writer topic comes from QSFer MK Mancos: Does fantasy reflect social concepts/prejudices/etc. of the day, or hide away from/ignore it? It’s an interesting question. Tolkien’s famous battle in Middle Earth is widely acknowledged to be a reflection of World War II, which was raging at the time. And we often turn to fantasy worlds in times of trouble. Look at the explosion of Super Hero movies these last ten years? And how so many have turned dark these last few? So what do you think? Does fantasy reflect social concepts/prejudices/etc. of the day, or hide away from/ignore it? Or…? … Read more
For Writers: Future of Intersex Rights
Today’s writer topic comes from QSFer Matthew J. Metzger: What’s the future of intersex rights? Will discrimination fade away as the west progresses, and the view that there’s nothing to fix wins, or could technological and medical advances actually make social discrimination worse and fuel a “why didn’t you fix it?” view instead? Join the chat
For Writers: Overused Fantasy Tropes
Today’s writer topic comes from QSFer Freddy MacKay: As for fantasy, what tropes have been used to death? We’ve discussed variations on this one before, and it’s always one of my favorites. So I’d like to also put a bit different spin on it – in addition to the tropes you are sick to death of, how do you as a writer keep your fantasy stories fresh and trope free? Or alternatively, how do you turn a trope on its head? Join the chat
For Writers: Speculative Cuisine
Today’s writer topic comes from QSFer MK Mancos: The importance of Food in setting your world It’s one of those little things that can make a big difference in setting the tone of your world. Are your aliens vegetarians? Do your super evolved humans on Beta Meta sample the local animal cuisine? So your shifters dine on rabbit without bothering to cook it first? How do you use food to help set the scene in your speculative fiction stories? Join the chat
For Readers and Writers: A Romance for the Ages
Hey all, In honor of Valentine’s Day, we thought we’d talk about our favorite LGBTIQA speculative fiction love stories of all time. Nominate yours, and tell us why. Oh, and bonus points for a picture to tell the story. It can be from manga, written fiction, film or TV. Hint for writers: it should be someone else’s story. LOL…
For Writers: Alien Ace
Today’s writer topic comes from QSFer Matthew J. Metzger: For ace: is the tendency of asexual characters to be non-human actually damaging perceptions of asexuality rather than providing positive representation? That’s an interesting question. Yes, I know it may be a shock to some of you, but there are asexual people among us. Ace ranks way down the totem pole on LGBTIQA rights and awareness. I didn’t even know that I knew any ace folks until fairly recently. So my questions today: Why is there such a scarcity of ace characters in queer fiction? And why are so many aliens? … Read more
Diversity Call
Hey all, From the beginning, we’ve sought to make Queer Sci Fi a welcoming and diverse place. We wanted a forum where both writers and readers could mingle, and where FF fiction was just as welcomed as MM, where transgender, ace and bisexual writers and readers would feel comfortable sharing their work and talking about their favorite books and authors. I am proud of what we have accomplished so far. I do think that most of our members feel comfortable here, and although there have been occasional flair ups, you guys have helped us to navigate them with grace and … Read more
For Writers: You Smell… Sexy?
Today’s writer topic comes from QSFer Richard Wood: For LGBT or even “normal” sex with aliens, the pheromones are going to be WRONG almost certainly. Should a story include use of specially made perfumes or scents designed to overcome this turn-off to relationships? It’s an interesting idea. Why would an alien race smell sexy to us? Many people in the human race don’t titillate my nose buds. (Nose buds – is that a thing?). So my questions today – How would we get around this problem? Would those pheremones actually be a turn-on for some (hey I kinda like skunk … Read more