Classification, like periodization, is arbitrary, and much of it derives from marketing. Where do we put in the bookstores, so interested people can find it? A quick tour of the internet, however, may lead us to paraphrase Ozzy Osbourne: How many bloody categories are there? Five, eight, ten? Keeping in mind that historical novels need… Read more »
Hey guys! It’s Alysen back with you, and boy, did you have a lot to say about my last article on Defining SFF. Overwhelmingly, the feedback was a massive group sigh of relief that you are not alone in that vague fog of what the heck. Well, unless you’re my mom. She prefers to be… Read more »
You’ve written your heart out because you know you have a story to tell and you’re the only one to tell it—a story, a novel, a narrative, a memoir, an article, an essay, a letter. And then suddenly you stop. At first, it’s not quite clear that you’re in deep trouble. This happens all the… Read more »
Why both matter and how to get them on the page, from manuscript to query letter On weekend evenings, when the kids are finally asleep, my husband and I turn on the TV and scroll through the streaming platforms, searching for something to watch. We have a hard time agreeing on how to spend our… Read more »
Let us begin with the very basic question: “What is world building?” If you are going to write fiction, every story needs a place to call home, where the action happens, where your characters live. This can be extraordinarily complex (as in the case of fantasy world building), or as simple as “the story takes… Read more »
Stepping into someone else’s shoes is a defined part of both creating and reading fiction. One thing no one told me was that I would change so much as a writer once I had a kid. It makes sense: becoming a parent forces someone to become an entirely different role; it broadens life experience in… Read more »
Hi there, beautiful people on the Internet! It’s been a while since we’ve met on Wordly Wise. I have been curious how things are going for you with your WIP? For me, I have been tinkering away at my work-in-progress, and I have discovered a powerful secret to unlock my story’s full potential: character development. … Read more »
Welcome back to The Messy Middle, where we focus on crafting complex characters and building dynamic worlds that connect with readers from marginalized communities. Out of the numerous current events that have demanded our attention (and response) lately, I could not have predicted the surge of 490 proposals for anti-trans legislation that was introduced in… Read more »
In the thirteen or so years that I’ve been in publishing, I’ve heard and seen it all. Working alongside #1 bestsellers and aspiring hopefuls, the similarities are a lot greater than one might expect—and the writing process isn’t too different, either. Whether you have a storied career, a collection of Creative Writing degrees, or you’re… Read more »
I am covered in sweat as I write this, with a heart rate around 150 beats per minute. I’m used to writing this way. In fact, I’ve come to prefer it to the keyboard, the notepad, or any other stock imagery you might find when you Google the word “writing.” This technique helps me write… Read more »
