The Improving World of Self-Publishing

Over the past decade, it has become obvious to everyone that creating and reading fiction will be done through the e-book. Although Amazon (Kindle Digital Publishing) is the gorilla in the e-book world, it is still basically an e-book publisher. Amazon keeps that position because it provides end-to-end services from …

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3rd Person Omniscient POV

The third person omniscient point of view is the most open and flexible POV available to writers. As the name implies, an omniscient narrator is all-seeing and all-knowing. — David Mamet Once a writer decides to use a third person point of view (POV) the next question is: what is …

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A Word with Spec Fic Writer Bonnie McCune

Welcome to A Word with Spec Fic Writers. This week, we interview Bonnie McCune, who has been writing since age ten, when the Saturday Evening Post rejected a submission, and has been publishing whatever she can for decades since. Bonnie lives in Colorado and is the author of novels, novellas …

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A Word with Spec Fic Writer Matthew Cushing

In our ongoing series A Word with Spec Fic Writers, we sat down with newcomer Matthew Cushing. Mr. Cushing’s passion for writing fiction started in junior high school when he started adding elements of mystery and action to classroom assignments. Short stories soon followed, and he’s been writing speculative fiction …

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Expert Advice from a New Writer

Writing advice surrounds me. Everyone, it seems, is an expert. One day, all that information on self-publishing, pitching a story, and writing query letters will come in handy, but for now I feel like I’m drowning in unhelpful advice. Sink with me to the bottom of the writing-advice ocean, where …

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Short Story Elements

Short stories are fun to read because they pack an unexpected emotional punch. However, “short” does not mean easy to write, or a formless type of expression. Quite the contrary, they are written and rewritten numerous times with herculean effort to be efficient, banish loose ends, conclude with a plot …

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First Encounters is Ready for You to Read!

The Speculative Fiction Writers, a Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers online critique group, has published its first anthology, a collection of ten original stories by its members. Authors represent a variety of sub-genres, including science fiction, fantasy, horror, dystopian, and more. First Encounters: A Speculative Fiction Anthology is currently available at …

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