Speculative Fiction Writers Association
An Online Critique Group with Members from Coast to Coast
Trends In a list of the twenty most popular science fictions books of 2019, 60% were written in third-person point-of-view (POV), 40% in 1st person and none in second person. Although the story in each novel is very inventive, the authors adhere to the rules of point-of-view, much like punctuation …
What if you want to write a story with a personal, emotional and introspective point of view? You would have two basic choices: First person: The heat of the dragon’s breath warmed my face, increasing the pounding in my chest. Deep 3rd person: The heat of the dragon’s breath warmed …
NaNoWriMo seemed intimidating. Until last month, I’d only written short stories. How could a hack like me possibly write a 50,000-word novel in 30 days? What if my story is pathetic? Can’t they schedule this for a month without a major US holiday? Many of my writer friends were participating, …
The best word processor is the one that connects your brain directly to the page. Alas, that’s not something speculative fiction writers can purchase, yet. If you are writing a novel, use a tool appropriate to the job. Any word processor works well for the first scene, but what about: …
Why plan a story before writing? Because planning tremendously decreases the time needed to edit the story later. The planning process and depth are different for every author. However, there are some good starting points: Don’t make the planning process painful Do give yourself down-time to let the subconscious mind …
Ever wonder how some authors create flowing prose? They do it with a variety of sentences having different beginnings, different constructions and different lengths. This does not come naturally to all authors, but the techniques can be learned. Begin by collecting data from your own writing — take a page …