Essays

Two stacks of books. One has fancy, glided hardcovers and the other generic paperbacks.

Good Books vs Good Stories

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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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Pen Names: Veils and Masks

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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 …

A writer with a hat, brain illuminated with sparkling ideas, hand writing in a book.

Creative Writers Are Special

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Creative writers aren’t just storytellers—they’re cognitive architects, emotional cartographers, and ethical explorers. In a world increasingly shaped by mechanization and artificial intelligence, their work remains irreplaceable. This post explores the neuroscience behind creativity, the myths we’ve outgrown, and the unique power of speculative fiction writers to surprise, reveal, and transform. …

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Climate Fiction

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Climate fiction, often referred to as “Cli-Fi,” is a genre of literature that focuses on the impacts of climate change and environmental issues. It explores how these changes affect individuals, societies, and the planet as a whole. The genre can encompass a wide range of narratives, from dystopian futures to …

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Problematic Authors: Can We Separate the Art from the Artist?

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PART ONE: THE PROBLEM What do L. Frank Baum, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Orson Scott Card, Roald Dahl, Neil Gaiman. H. P. Lovecraft, J .K. Rowling, and J. R. R. Tolkien have in common? Each is a beloved author who has written foundational speculative works that continue to inspire today. In …

Chinese Flag with a rocket and the words Hugo Award with big stamp of Censored

Hugo Awards Bow to Chinese Censorship

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What are the Hugo Awards? Hugo Awards are one of the preeminent speculative fiction awards. They call themselves a ‘science fiction award’, but many of the nominees and winners are clearly in other genres like fantasy, time travel, or even the supernatural. The Hugos date back to the 1950s and …

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What I’ve Learned as a Contest Judge

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My critique journey began in college, where I majored in English literature and dissected stories. While school equipped me with tools to better exhume meaning from novels, it could not prepare me for my trek into freelance editing, where I helped emerging writers find their voice, create compelling characters, and …

Fantasy Reconsidered

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I used to believe I didn’t like fantasy fiction. I’d mentally scoff at the concept, believing it was comprised of writing based on fairy tales, or concepts so unrelated to real life no rational adult or serious writer could possibly want to indulge in it. As has so often occurred …

A Biased History of Sci-Fi

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I love science fiction, but I’m a terrible fan of it. I love spaceships and technology and new ideas and robots and aliens, but I could not save a conversation by talking with any kind of fluency about representations in books about any of them. I’ve always been better at …