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Writers

What is the Dryden Experiment?

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The Dryden Author and Artists Group

Hey all, I’m Joel Stottlemire, the Chief Editor of the Dryden Experiment. We are multi-media publishing company that uses a Creative Commons licensing structure. Scott asked me to write a post explaining what Creative Commons is and how we use it. Creative Commons is a book unto itself. It came out of the software community. A lot of programming is repetitive and code gets modified and copied all the time. This creates a kind of weird place in terms of rights. Whoever wrote the code in the first place legally owns it but it doesn’t make sense for every coder … Read more

Writing LGBT Characters

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Queer as Folk

Today’s topic comes from QSFer John Allenson – “How to write gay/trans/bi/gender-queer/male/female experience better.” I’ll redirect this one a bit. We all write characters that are like us in various ways, but inevitably we also have to write characters who are different. Sometimes it’s the little things – where they live, how they talk, their personal style – and sometimes it’s the bigger ones, like gender or sexual orientation. So my question for you today, and it’s a simple one – how do you research a character who is unlike you, especially in gender or orientation, so you get the … Read more

Writing vs. Marketing

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writing and marketing

This one’s for our writers. So you’ve slaved away at your computer through sunny days and dark nights. You’ve completed your opus magnum – or at least another short story, and you’ve sent it out into the world. A publisher picked it up, and it’s gonna be on the shelves next month. Now what? As the many writers in this group know, it’s not enough just to write a good story – you also have to sell yourself, something that many of us introverted writers are inherently uncomfortable with. So here are my questions today. How much time do you … Read more

Free Work vs. Paid Work

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Pencils

Today’s topic is for our authors out there. There are so many places to submit your work these days, from traditional publishers to journals (like the MCB Quarterly) to niche presses. Some pay very well. Some pay a little. And some pay nothing at all. And with sites like Amazon, Smashwords, etc, you can also give your work away yourself for free (forever, or for a period of time). But at some point, you gotta make some money to pay for your crack… I mean, writing addiction. So where do you come down on free work vs. paid work? Have … Read more

Writing Electronically

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Pencils

Yes, I’m back, after a five-day hiatus to move to our new digs with Mark, my hubby. Angel did a bang-up job with the discussion topics these last five days, and so she’s graciously agreed to continue the tradition with a new Angel Discussion every Friday. WooHoo! Meanwhile, back at the ranch, today’s topic comes from QSFer Anastasia Vitsky: “How has the use of electronic methods for writing changed the trends in sci fi?” I’d expand this to include cloud technology and the ability to write on the fly with your smart phone or tablet. I’m updating a story that … Read more

The Midweek Mingle: From the Horse’s Mouth

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Horse's Mouth

Last week, we talked about the Big Scary Barrier for including members of the QUILTBAG+ community in the SF/F community, and right there at the end, I put it on content creators (myself included) to create more diverse characters. By doing that, there’s more for someone queer to latch onto, and that will make that person feel more welcome. But that raises the big question: how? The easy answer would be for QUILTBAG+ individuals to start creating more content, and we do see that happening more and more, both with new authors entering the field and established authors coming out … Read more

Created vs. Evolved

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werewolf evolution

QSFer Hank T. Cannon has an interesting question for us today: Do you prefer “evolved” creatures and races, or creatures that are expressly created by other beings, these “creators” being either on the page or off the page? If both created and evolved exist, is there a conflict between them? What about those who are created, and then evolve? It could apply equally to paranormal, Fantasy or sci fi stories. In paranormal, for instance, we can have werewolves who “evolved” from a natural process, or those who were “created” by a man-made virus. In Fantasy, again maybe elves and dwarves … Read more

Using Prologues

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Star Wars Prologue

Today’s topic comes from QSFer Violet Joicey-Cowen – “To prologue or not to prologue, that is the question…” I’ve used prologues sparingly – in fact, I have one in the story I’m writing now – sort of – it’s a flash-forward that sets up a part of the story later on. I’ve also used them Robert-Jordan style, and of course, Anne McCaffery was famous for her Pern prologues. And don’t get me started on Star Wars. But I’ve also been criticized for using them in the past, especially when they represent an omniscient POV. So what’s your take? As a … Read more

The Long Haul of Novel Writing

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Typewriter

Today’s topic comes from QSFer EJ Runyon: “Found this on another page: ‘…believe in yourself and finish what you start. Most people have an initial idea and write while the fire is hot; when the moment of inspiration passes, they stop. Real writers can’t allow themselves to do this. Book writing is a craft, you’re building something like a house…if you write one page a day, every day, within a year you’ll have a book. If you don’t want to put in that time, you may be a great human being with bunches of good ideas, but don’t kid yourself, … Read more

Terrible Queer Characters

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Well of Loneliness

Today’s topic comes from QSFer Amanda Clay: “We’ve talked about really good queer representation in sf/f, how about really bad? What are the worst queer characters and story lines you have ever had to suffer through” You know, the ones that are so stereotypically over-the-top gay. Your limp-wristers. Your comically bad evil gay villains. Your “doomed to the pits of hell” 50’s lesbians. Your really bad men in drag passing as transgender folks. Your invisible bi characters. We can mine TV, film, and literature for this one. And have you written any that, looking back, you just kinda go “ick”? … Read more