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Discussion

QSF’s First Annual Flash Fiction Contest

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Hi all, Today we’re announcing our first annual Flash Fiction Contest. For our purposes, we’re defining Flash Fiction as 300 words or less. Stories can be Sci Fi, Fantasy, or Paranormal, or any combination of the three. The theme? Endings – something that’s ending, whether it’s a life, an era, a relationship, a planet, a world, a society, an idea. So be creative – come up with something that wows us in a short space – stories must be no longer than 300 words (not including title) and must fit the theme. Fiction with or without an LGBT romance. HEA … Read more

Paying Markets for LGBT Fiction

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Today’s topic is from QSFer Bob Hole: “Paying markets we may not have heard of, especially short stories.” There are so many great publishers out there doing journals and anthologies and novellas and full-length novels in LGBT genres. I’d nominate the new MCB Quarterly from our own Angel Martinez and friends. So what other great paying venues do y’all know about for LGBT work?

Dismantling the Closet Door

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Today’s topic comes from one of our QSFers, but I have to apologize – I misplaced the name of the person who submitted this one – if you wanna come forward, I’ll happily give you credit. Nevertheless, it’s a great topic: “Are we past telling ‘coming-out’ stories? Are we past ‘being LGBT makes you a pariah’ stories? Do we need new sources of dramatic tension?” LGBT stories in general have gone through some historic periods. In the fifties and early sixties, they were all about how terrible it was to be gay – the repercussions in society once you were … Read more

World Building Tricks and Tools

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Today’s topic comes from QSFer Jim Comer Conlangs: “World building.” We’ve talked about this before, but it’s one of my favorites – especially for sci fi or fantasy. Today I wanna break it down a little. As a whole, this generally means creating a convincing, immersive experience – when it’s done well, you feel like you are inside the author’s world, and no matter how strange or futuristic (or fantastic), it works. Some of my favorite sci fi and fantasy worlds for their immersive qualities are (in no particular order) Majipoor, Pern, Middle Earth, Dune, The Land, and Shannara (ok, … Read more

Writing the Future

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Andrew Sullivan at the Dish flagged this great piece by David Mitchell: When you’re writing about the future, you simply try to work out what people in that future point will be taking for granted. In The Bone Clocks, there are two future sections. 2025 one is only about 11 years away–there’s just a few gizmos about the place and we’re basically there already. In the 2040s, however, more dramatic changes have taken place. There’s no more oil–or very little oil left. So you think about what people at that point will be taking for granted about travel, about the … Read more

Your Own Personal Sea Monkey Kit

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Today’s topic comes to us from QSF member Jim Comer: “Constructed cultures”. So I’m going to take this one and run with it. Anyone who grew up when I did, in the 70s and 80s, probably remembers sea monkeys. They were these amazing little critters featured in the back of comic books that you could order for a nominal fee. You would receive a kit that you could put into an aquarium, and instantly have your own little kingdom of “sea monkeys.” The ads showed these cute little creatures breathing air underwater with a castle in the background, often with … Read more

Buwahaaaahaaaahaaaa…

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Today’s topic was submitted by QSF Member RW Urbina: “Do villains deserve redemption? Or how evil is too evil when writing the big bad? It’s something I’ve been struggling with during the last month.” I have to admit, I’ve struggled with this little bit too. I have a hard time writing villains. I want all of my characters to be happy and friendly and nice. And I realize that this can make for very dull characters. But I think it comes from my near-pathological desire to have everyone like me. The other problem I often see is that many villains … Read more

Finding the Perfect Ending

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I’m on the home stretch of my latest story, closing in on the final two scenes. I actually plotted this one out fairly carefully from the get-go – a first for me. And while I didn’t stick to the plot summary exactly, the general outlines do apply. So I have a pretty good idea of where I’m going for the ending. But the exact nature of it is still a little bit of a mystery to me. Ideally, an ending will take everything that came before and suddenly put it into focus, giving the reader that “aha” moment, or at … Read more

Writing a Transgender Character

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I’ll start by saying that I’m not transgender. I am a gay man, and so to a limited extent, I think I can relate to someone who is transgender – at least in terms of struggling with something inside of me that’s different – and with society’s reaction to it. But I’ve always imagined that coming out as transgender must be like coming out as gay or lesbian, times ten. In my writing career, I’ve mostly stuck to writing straight characters and gay men. But I’m starting to challenge myself to write in some of the other parts of the … Read more

The Amazing, Expanding, Oozing Plot Line

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As I mentioned last week, I’m embarking on a new project – a novella that I want to hit a certain length, and need to finish by a certain date. A date that’s coming up all too quickly. So for the first time in my little writer life, I’ve actually sat down and plotted out the whole thing, scenes and all. It’s a new experience for me, as I usually fly by the seat of my pants. I’m finding that I rather like having the structure. But two scenes in, I’ve already been surprised by several things that happened. They’ve … Read more