Over on Twitter and Facebook I asked folk to tell me which SF author they would turn to for life advice, for words of wisdom and guidance through the labyrinth of life. And I got quite a response! [View the story “Wisest of the wise in SF & Fantasy” on Storify] Popular choices include NeilContinue reading “Who is the wisest Sci-Fi & Fantasy author?”
Category Archives: Writing & Publishing
Understanding Christopher Priest
Writing can be a cruel game. Not least for those who, to innocent bystanders, might seem like winners in the game of literary life. Take Christopher Priest for instance. With a long and esteemed career in writing, numerous accolades under his belt and a Hollywood adaptation of his novel The Prestige still within living memory,Continue reading “Understanding Christopher Priest”
Writing Mind, Big Mind, Judging Mind
My friend Amy Sundberg talks about the Writing Mind, in response to Jeff VanderMeer’s missive that forcing your concentration to meet a fixed daily word count isn’t a universally good idea. Even when you aren’t writing, you can still be writing. The imagination is always busy, and sometimes it does its best work when weContinue reading “Writing Mind, Big Mind, Judging Mind”
Selling Out
People used to accuse artists who took the corporate dollar of ‘selling out’. It’s a phrase that seems to have fallen from fashion, perhaps because art has become so aligned with entertainment in the popular imagination that it’s hard for people to see what ‘selling out’ out even means any more. Why would you criticiseContinue reading “Selling Out”
Two. Four. Seven. More. How many stories are there?
Paulo Coelho, in a blog post inviting others to steal his books, recently shared the idea that all writers are only recycling four stories. First, because all anyone ever does is recycle the same four themes: a love story between two people, a love triangle, the struggle for power, and the story of a journey.Continue reading “Two. Four. Seven. More. How many stories are there?”
Why we must reward intelligent fantastic literature
Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to direct your attention to the shortlist for the Kitschies, the annual awards organised by the folks at the Pornokitsch blog, which is quickly establishing itself as one of the two or three most relevant awards in fantastic literature. And the nominated novels are: The Enterprise of Death by JesseContinue reading “Why we must reward intelligent fantastic literature”
Why Science Fiction is the literature of change
Science Fiction is often called a “literature of ideas”. Maybe it is better understood as a literature of change. Listen to the Guardian books podcast: Science Fiction now and tomorrow. Today’s Guardian books podcast, which I was lucky enough to be invited to take part in alongside Lauren Beukes, Alaistar Reynolds, Jeff Noon and MichaelContinue reading “Why Science Fiction is the literature of change”
Meta-content is the future of the book
This evening I bought Jeffrey Eugenides ‘The Marriage Plot’ from the Amazon Kindle store. I would love to say that I always buy books when it would be just as easy to download a pirate version for free, but I would be being dishonest. But buying the book has recently become a far more likelyContinue reading “Meta-content is the future of the book”
I don’t believe I’m about to have this argument, but…
After enough years in fandom there are certain arguments you learn to steer clear of because they are futile and never end. Genre definitions are one of them and I really should know better by now, however… The pugnacious @gavreads earlier tweeted the following definitions, distilled from this IO9 report on a talk between Margaret AtwoodContinue reading “I don’t believe I’m about to have this argument, but…”
Why crap books sell millions
Look, I don’t mean to give you a big head here, but if you’re reading this then you’re probably a pretty smart cookie. Statistical research suggests that people who stop by this way tend to be avid readers, and probably writers as well. Clever clogs like us get used to each others company, and itsContinue reading “Why crap books sell millions”
Tarot and so
Things have been happening and I have been remiss in linking to them here. My Weird Things column in The Guardian continues with thoughts on Todd Grimson, author of Stainless and possibly one of our greatest and most neglected horror writers. At the SF Signal blog we discuss mainstream authors stepping across to genre fiction.Continue reading “Tarot and so”
Genre boundaries are real power boundaries.
I think of science fiction, including my own, as very much a paraliterary genre. The fact that it lives – and has lived – on the margin is important to its history. If you remove it from that margin, you remove it from its historical context; I don’t think that’s such a good thing. Genre boundariesContinue reading “Genre boundaries are real power boundaries.”
Damien Walter 