Posted on July 20, 2019 at 12:00 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek
We stumbled upon a wonderful piece of writing advice from Anton Chekhov that seemed appropriate to share today:
“Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.”
As great as it is, though, it didn’t quite warrant a post all to itself.
So we’ve rounded up some resources for any aspiring or self-assessing science-fiction writers in the crowd.
First up: world-building tips. Tor asked five authors to share their world-building strategies, and Joanna Penn also hosted a guest blogger on this topic.
Want to dive in deeper? Cat Rambo, past president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, appeared on GeekWire’s podcast to expound on her experiences.
Diving in deeper might mean understanding physics — Dan Koboldt explains how to ask an expert in any academic or professional field for help.
Writer’s Digest has tips on writing a sci-fi series, on handling the exposition of your sci-fi novel (from Orson Scott Card, no less!), and on weaving modern-day politics into a futuristic story.
On the business side, Hugh Howey has plenty of advice on backlists, contracts, Kindle Unlimited and other marketing topics.
Looking for more resources? The Writing Cooperative shared its picks for the top five sites for science-fiction writers.
And if this list has left you exhausted and overwhelmed, Max Barry mixed a heavy dose of humor into his sci-fi how-to guide, or you can just return to sound bytes with quotes from authors for aspiring sci-fi writers.
Fussy Q&As with science-fiction writers
Categories: Behind the scenes