New Worlds: Death Sentences
Our previous tour through physical punishments, back in Year Four, stopped short of a rather crucial one: execution. (Content warnings for basically every form of violence.)
Writing craft
So You Want to Commit Novel: Plot
Originally published 6/10/2010 Last week we talked about the synopsis. Some of you may have noticed a flaw. How can you write a summary of the plot if you don’t know how you get from page one to the end? Good point. My first stab at a synopsis takes the material I do know and …
New Worlds: Torture
I was originally going to title this essay “We Have Ways of Making You Talk,” but I decided that was too flippant for the subject matter. Because although we have sometimes played torture for laughs in our stories, it’s honestly a horrifying and grotesque affair. (The obvious content warnings apply.) We’ve touched on this somewhat …
New Worlds: Call the Police
One of the interesting things about police as an element of society is just how broad the concept is. In various times and places, their duties have included everything from catching stray animals to quelling riots to investigating crimes. Which are three very different tasks . . . and yet all of them have been …
So You Want To Commit Novel: More Plot
Originally published 6/17/2010 Let me introduce you to two have my favorite books on writing. I know there are hundreds out there, but these two work for me. First off “Scene and Structure” by Jack M. Bickham . This is a condensation (less verbose) of the some of the ideas put forth in “Techniques Of …
New Worlds: Policing the Populace
Welcome to Year Seven (!) of the New Worlds Patreon! The collection for Year Six will be out next month, but in the meanwhile, if you’ve been enjoying these essays, please consider becoming a patron. We’re starting off this year with a bang, because my faithful patrons have voted to begin with how societies respond …
Help Me Create an Alien
Originally published 1/2/2010 Brainstorm is an accurate description of what happens to an author when an idea strikes. The mind whirls furiously, new thoughts compound and spiral out of control. Then the itch in the fingers begins as phrases and sentences demand to transfer to computer screen or blank paper, or restarunt napkin, even the …
Notes on the Plagues in SF Arisia Panel
First the news: I’m going to be on some panels at Boskone the weekend of 2/17/2023. I’ll be on the following panels: Noir & Moral Ambiguity in SF, Saturday, 2/18, 1:00 PM Climate Change in Speculative Fiction, Saturday, 2/18, 4:00 PM Seven Easy Steps to Taking Over the Universe, Sunday, 2/19, 10:00 AM Come …
So You Want To Commit Novel
Originally published 6/3/2010 When I run out of steam on my initial idea and need to stop and take a breath and figure out what comes next, it is time to write a synopsis. There are as many right ways to write a synopsis as there are writers. The following format works for me. …
