In recent weeks, there has been much speculation on the internet over the announced sale of Weird Tales and what that means for the future of weird fiction. Surely, the loss of Ann Vandermeer at the helm of a very successful magazine stings more than just a bit, and has caused many to worry […]
Archive > August 2011
I Love You, Hon, Will You Critique This For Me?
Writing partners and romantic partners? Best of both worlds or trap? That’s pretty much going to vary on a case-by-case scenario. However, there are many well-known couples who collaborate on projects. The Girl Genius creators, who finally withdrew themselves from Hugo eligibility so that someone else could win, are an excellent example. However, since every […]
Rewrite Requests
I have a confession to make. Out of my three (okay, 2.5)Â pro sales, every one of them has come from a rewrite request. Two of those stories took *two* rewrites to make them fit the editor’s vision. And right this very moment, I’m awaiting response for another rewrite request. Frankly, I’m terrified. Getting a request […]
Critical reading means criticizing your reading
Today we are lucky enough to have a guest post by Robert Jackson Bennett, the Shirley Jackson award-winning author of MR. SHIVERS. His second novel, THE COMPANY MAN, is out now, as is his first published short story, “A Drink for Teddy Ford” in the BROKEN TIME BLUES anthology. He currently lives in Austin, Texas, […]
Folding Socks w/Nick Mamatas
The Inkpunks have asked me to discuss my fiction-writing process, which struck me as an odd request. The process one uses to write fiction hardly matters as far as the end result goes. One may as well ask how writers fold their socks. Do they roll them up in balls, just lay them flat, fold […]
The Dark Night of the Creative Soul
Several months ago I got a huge pile of notes on my novel, and was asked if hey, could I turn that around by a certain date? I said well, I will put my best effort into doing that. And now, staring at my big huge wall of notecards, assessing the structure of this thing, […]
A thousand words
I had a conversation recently about world building, and if it was more effective to make up places stitched together from real ones, like Capital City or Metropolis, or to take an existing one and make subtle changes to fit the story. I argued that, when writing a story set in the modern world, that […]
Guest Post: On Seeing It Through
by Gabrielle Harbowy Sometimes, writers submit their works to a publisher for consideration, and then withdraw them. Usually, they’re withdrawing them because they’ve been picked up elsewhere. When that happens, I’m very happy for them. Sometimes, though, writers withdraw a manuscript because at some point since hitting “send” on their submission, they’ve reconsidered and made […]
Bring the Bibliophile Stalker to WFC with the World SF Travel Fund
Today we saw the launch of a cause that’s near and dear to the heart of all Inkpunks: the World SF Travel Fund, a peer-backed fund that will allow international members of the SF community to come to where the cons are. From the website: A combination of genre professionals and fans from the international […]