(Picture from here.) Television was different when I was a kid growing up in California. It was early days. There wasn’t the vast backlog of material available that there is now. But there was the same need to fill dead … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) Of all the types of linguistic variation an author might put on the page — foreign or invented languages, creoles, grammatical features not found in English — there’s one that’s … Continue reading
At a recent science fiction convention, I was on a panel about critique groups. We started by sharing horror stories. I had the singular honor of having the most horrific in the room. I once mentored a group of writers … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) When my Russian translator was working on Turning Darkness Into Light, he kept sending me queries about how I wanted him to handle certain bits. You see, that novel contains … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) Language doesn’t have to be spoken. We’ve discussed written languages before, in the context of books and literacy . . . but it’s also possible to communicate through the body, … Continue reading
In every work of fiction, characters assume different levels of importance. There are vital, primary characters (the protagonist, the antagonist), secondary characters (companions, love interests, foils), and (to use film terminology) bit players, walk-ons, and extras. One way we signal … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) Last week we talked about languages as if they’re distinct, clear-cut things. That is very, very far from the truth. … Continue reading
(Picture from here.) I’ve been reading several alternate world stories lately. Spinrad’s The Iron Dream, Dick’s The Man in the High Castle, Tidhar’s Osama. Not sure why these have shown up but that’s the way it is sometimes. These are … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) There’s a joke which goes: What do you call someone who speaks three languages? Trilingual. What do you call someone who speaks two languages? Bilingual. What do you call someone … Continue reading
One of the hardest things for some writers to learn is what goes into building a world in enough detail to engage the reader’s willing suspension of disbelief. This is especially important when writing about places that no one alive … Continue reading
