Speculative Fiction Writers Association

About Speculative Fiction Writers Association

We are an online group of speculative fiction authors writing science fiction, fantasy, horror, time travel, climate fiction/solar-punk, slipstream, steampunk, weird west, fairy tales, alternate history, dystopian/utopian, cyberpunk, etc. for MG, YA, and adults.

Critique

We meet Tuesdays at 6pm MT/8pm ET on Zoom to discuss current writing topics and critique each other’s work. We are always open to new members of all ability levels.

Community

We have a private Discord server where we discuss current events, publishing opportunities, author conferences, marketing, and publishing issues.

Join Us

Please sit in and audit a session. Meet members and see how our group works. Contact us to schedule a Tuesday that works for you.

Recent Blog Posts

  • Critiquing: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

    SpecFicWriters is primarily a critiquing group. It’s a skill like any other and must be learned. Developed. Practiced. We become better writers when we critique our fellow writers’ work and when they critique ours. It’s a great trade. At least, that’s the theory. Let’s look at The Good, The Bad,

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  • Book Review: Where the Axe is Buried

    The Story In the future, an authoritarian regime named “The Federation” dominates its citizens through repressive technological surveillance and retribution. Their president, a man who maintains his grip on power by downloading his mind into successive bodies, faces a deteriorating body and a threat to his very existence. In Western

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  • Good Books vs Good Stories

    Which would you rather read, a good book or a good story? The difference between the two has arisen a few times over the past couple of years as I’ve learned more about writing and publishing novels—and, of course, reading them. But which is more important? Which is better? A

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  • Book Series Review: Adventures of a Jump Space Accountant

    Wait! Did you say a Jump Space… Accountant? What is this? Something like, “Have actuarial table, will travel?” Well, not exactly. If you are into hard science fiction with a twist, check out this delightful series by Andrew Moriarty. Follow the adventures of Jake Stewart as he deftly slings data,

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  • Pen Names: Veils and Masks

    How many writers use pen names, and why? Our Speculative Fiction Writers Association member directory shows about FORTY members who do, or about thirty-four percent! Member Examples One of our members (“Q2”) doesn’t want the readers of their fiction stories to stumble across the videos that Q2 produces in their

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  • Empathy & Character

    Empathy is not agreement. Empathy is “get”-ment. Empathy is a deep understanding of another person’s perspective and/or experience. But empathy does not start with understanding, it starts with a guess. Here, we’re gonna get into how to apply empathy to a character. On Empathy The essential question of empathy is:

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