I have a confession to make. It’s probably not a big deal to anyone, except to me – specifically to me as a writer. So, here goes: I’m not a native English speaker.
I was born, and grew up, in Sweden. I learned Swedish first and didn’t start learning English in school until I was ten years old. Still, I choose to write in English, even though it’s not my native language and even though my grasp of it is weaker than my grasp of Swedish.
You might wonder why.
This article is by Thomas Cecil.
I recently attended WisCon, a feminist SFF convention in Madison Wisconsin. I saw and heard a lot of great things, but one of the panels I keep thinking about is the one about policing and how we can use fiction, particularly science fiction and fantasy fiction, to help imagine solutions to a very real world problem.
I realized while writing this article that the entire question about reforming our police forces is only a political question. What I can do, and have done, is keep my personal beliefs out of this and just reported the panelist’s discussion.
The sound of steel clashing against steel rings in the distance. Smoke billows into the air, carrying the horrid stench of the battlefield. Through the fluttering tent entrance a muddied, bloodied, messenger runs in.
“Commander, we have their fortress surrounded…”
The commander rises from his plush, velvet seat, and adjusts his belt.
“Splendid!” he exclaims. “Storm the keep! Take no prisoners!”
“Erm, that’s all right and good, but, milord, if I may – “
“No time, we must swarm them now!” he shouts as he slams his hands down upon the table, chicken legs bouncing up.
This article is by Jane Chirgwin.
You might already use libraries for books, movies and internet, but have you considered how your local librarian can help you as an author?
I’m a Library Director, so let me give you the inside scoop. (Side note: not everyone who works at a library is a librarian, just like not everyone who works at a hospital is a doctor. Also not every librarian is female, I’m just using that pronoun.)
When I started writing – three, maybe four, years ago – I just wrote. I didn’t really think much about it as I sat there with my laptop, tapping down my stories and making things up.
I was happy with how they turned out. I had a good time, and I made up some really cool characters – most of which are still around in one form or another.
Then, eventually, I joined a writing forum and began to share my work there. I discovered there were a whole load of do’s and don’ts when it comes to writing:
You can keep your Excaliburs, your Brisingrs, your Glamdrings, and, yes, your lightsabers. I need a weapon that’s going to put some hair on my chest, allow me to converse with bears, send a wet streak down my foe’s leg, and, well, practically speaking, take out that knight in full plate and chain.
Ladies and gentlemen, I require a mace for his face – a hammer for his yammer – a flail for his mail – mauls for his… You get the point.
Every hero nowadays has a big, glowing sword of some sort, and it is true that the sword has become a popular staple with the image of a knight-in-shining-armor. The same knight that your pro/antagonists might be struggling to defeat.
I heard about nano (National Novel Writing Month) after a decade as an isolated writer. I was already a member of a writers’ forum and had for a year been a dedicated, daily writer.
But 50k words in a month? It still felt like a daunting task.
As November approaches, I’d like to share my experiences and encourage everyone on the fence to give nano a try.
This article is by Melissa Cornwell.
As a beginning writer who hasn’t written fiction in years, I ran into several problems as I began writing fantasy. I began one story (sort a memoir turned fantasy) and wrote 14,000 words….only to eventually get stuck.
Why did I get stuck?
I realized that my writing skills were not at the level I wanted or needed them to be. And I didn’t realize how much I didn’t know about the craft of writing until I actually began writing.