We live in exciting times for writers. There are more ways then ever to tell stories, and huge audiences hungry to consume them. It may sound strange if you’re not used to the idea, but the story is a kind of technology. Like the sword, or the motorcar, or the computer, the story has evolvedContinue reading “Why writers have more to learn than ever”
Tag Archives: fiction
London Gothic
Mystery is the doorway to fantasy. Dark forests, far away galaxies, roads that wind into the distance: any space that allows our imagination to play without the interference of mundane reality can be a portal. And there are few places more expectant with mystery than cities. Every road, building and doorway is a new unknown.Continue reading “London Gothic”
My Kitschy Predictions 2012
The Kitschies are among my favourite speculative fiction awards for the simple reason that they give awards to very good books. Last year I nailed A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness as the winner. So this year I’m going to take a wild stab at predicting the whole shortlist (!) How will I do? BlackbirdsContinue reading “My Kitschy Predictions 2012”
Why Sense of Wonder sucks
Many writers of fantasy fiction describe their work in terms of its ability to evoke a ‘Sense of Wonder’ in the reader, and go out of their way to find sources of ‘wonder’ to energise their stories. This is self-defeating in the most serious kind of way. Stories that attempt to create a ‘Sense ofContinue reading “Why Sense of Wonder sucks”
All hail the New Pulp
Imagine a scale of literary productivity. At one end, place current darling of the American literary scene Jeffrey Eugenides, bating a steady average of one book per decade. At the other, put Jack Vance – at 95, perhaps the last of the great pulp fictioneers – who has produced 60 novels across the SF, fantasyContinue reading “All hail the New Pulp”
Secondary World Problems
You know, those things which are only an issue if you happen to be the denizen of a world created in the imagination of a jobbing fantasy author. Or an ageing English academic. Or a frustrated fan trying to turn pro author. A secondary world always tells you more about the inside of the authorsContinue reading “Secondary World Problems”
Micro Sci-Fi 2 : My eyes are dim, I can not see
A Google HUD journalist auctions the eternal copyright to her feed for a Quora credit fortune but is replaced by a narrative AI generated from her lifetime experience. Rules of Micro SF: Tell a story in one sentence. It can be any length but must work grammatically and be reasonably well parsed by a reader. Include at least twoContinue reading “Micro Sci-Fi 2 : My eyes are dim, I can not see”
Osama Bin Laden : Vigilante
Lavie Tidhars novel Osama makes me wonder why we can’t all just get along. No, really, why the fuck can’t we? One common problem for all science fiction writers is reconciling the wondrous world we could have with the one we have negligently stumbled into. At this exact moment in time, in an alternate realityContinue reading “Osama Bin Laden : Vigilante”
Good curation is much more valuable than cash
A good friend has just sold a debut story to an excellent but non-paying market. There are a lot of markets for short fiction. Many of them are bad. Some of them pay. Some of the ones that pay the most are the worst. In the world of short fiction money is a very badContinue reading “Good curation is much more valuable than cash”
Reality is for people who can’t handle Science Fiction
It’s all too easy to dismiss science fiction and fantasy stories as escapist nonsense. But there’s ultimately something despairing about the charge of running away most readers of these genres encounter at some point. It tends to come from an authority figure of some kind – a teacher, a boss, a parent. It is oftenContinue reading “Reality is for people who can’t handle Science Fiction”
Damo’s Guide to Getting Published More
It occurred to me that submitting stories to short fiction markets is a bit of a mystery to many people, so I thought I would write a post about it that some might find informative. I hope others don’t find it patronising. Ok, like most people I quite like bragging about my successes so I’llContinue reading “Damo’s Guide to Getting Published More”
Countdown to Doomsday
I haven’t made any meaningful posts for a while. I’ve been working quite hard on ‘Rings’ so there hasn’t been much free time for work. Even though the finished story will only be 3 – 4k it’s in a very dense first person style which I’m enjoying, but it means a high work to wordContinue reading “Countdown to Doomsday”
Damien Walter 