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discussion

FOR READERS: Reading Series

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Book Series

FOR READERS Today’s reader topic comes from QSFer ‘Nathan Smith: Do you wait for the whole series to be out—and do you know that can harm the series from a publishing point of view—or do you gobble and endure the long wait times? Do you like certain types of series more than others (ones where the b-characters in book one are the main characters in book two, or ones where you follow the same folk through the whole series, for example). Writers: This is a reader chat – you are welcome to join it, but please do not reference your … Read more

FOR WRITERS: Writing Flash Fiction

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flash - pixabay

FOR WRITERS Today’s writer topic comes from QSFer Scott: With the next QSF flash fiction contest just over a month away, I thought it would be great to have a chat about how to write this unique fiction format. For those of you who have done it, and done it well, how did you tackle it? What separates a good flash fiction piece from a not so good one? How do you hook the reader in just 300 words? I’ll tag our previous winners. Join the chat

FOR WRITERS: Building an Afterlife

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Afterlife

FOR WRITERS Today’s writer topic comes from QSFer MK Mancos: “Do your characters believe in life after death? Or merely a transference of energy?” I’d broaden this out a little… have you written stories based on the idea of an afterlife or reincarnation? Did you use an existing framework or come up with your own? How could this be applied in speculative fiction? Join the chat

FOR WRITERS: Mentors

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Mentor - Pixabay

FOR WRITERS Today’s writer topic comes from QSFer M.K. Mancos: “Learning the craft from your favorite authors” It’s a great topic – and it could work a couple ways. As writers, we often look for other more experienced writers to be our mentors, to answer some of the harder questions on the writing process, submissions, and publishing in general. But we can also learn a lot from simply reading and deconstructing some of our favorite authors’ works. As a writer, do you have a mentor? How do you find one? And have you used other writer’s works as inspiration for … Read more

Time to Refill the Topics Bucket

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rainbow bucket

Hey all, Once again, the well has gone dry. So it’s time to pipe in and tell us what you want to discuss over the next few months. Please type your ideas in the comments below, and indicate if they are for writers, readers, or both: WRITERS: What do you do when you get stuck on a WIP? READERS: Which of the Harry Potter characters did you most want to be queer and why? BOTH: Where is queer romance going in the next five years? Ten? Twenty? Thanks all! –Scott

FOR READERS: Cover Secrets

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cover secret

FOR READERS Today’s reader topic comes from QSFer J. Scott Coatsworth: Have you ever had that a-ha moment when reading a book, when the cover image suddenly makes sense? “Oh, it’s from that scene!” or “Ah, that’s what those squiggles are”. Writers: This is a reader chat – you are welcome to join it, but please do not reference your own works directly. Thanks! Join the chat

FOR READERS: Sex!

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sex - pixabay

FOR READERS Today’s reader topic comes from QSFer Ryane Chatman: What are some things that blow your mind? What are some things that make you cringe? Do you like porn graphic or fade to black? Writers: This is a reader chat – you are welcome to join it, but please do not reference your own works directly. Thanks! Join the chat

For Writers: Best Cons

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convention - pixabay

FOR WRITERS Today’s writer topic comes from QSFer ‘Nathan Smith: “From the angle of what you’ve learned, gotten out of them, best return-on-investment/diversity/voices, etc.” It’s a good question, and I like that Nathan broke it up by what you get out of it, because different cons are good for different things. :) Join the chat

For Readers: Finding Likeminded Readers

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readers - Pixabay

FOR READERS You like some weird things. Two-headed vampires. The “My Baby is a Tortoise Shifter” trope. When a novel has not two romantic leads, but seventeen. How do you find other readers who share your particular tastes? Where do you look? What are your favorite sites? Writers: This is a reader chat – you are welcome to join it, but please do not reference your own works directly. Thanks! Join the chat