By Kate Elliot The cold equations of “realism,” some claim, suggest there is little scope for women taking an active and interesting role in epic stories set in fantasy worlds based in a pre-modern era. Women’s lives in the past were limited, constrained, and passive, they say. To include multiple female characters in dynamic roles […]
Read More Writing Women Characters into Epic Fantasy without QuotasPavane by Keith Roberts My rating: 5 of 5 stars Read for the Science Fiction Masterworks Book Club. Who’s this Keith Roberts guy? I wondered. I had never heard of him. But lots of people I had heard of had, because they all did blurbs for this edition of this book: Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, […]
Read More Book Review: Pavane by Keith RobertsCat Rambo, in addition to having the coolest name ever, has been an active part of SF/F for about as long as I can remember. She’s served in SFWA, and is currently running for president of the organization. She edited Fantasy Magazine. She’s a prolific author. And she has the best hair! I’m happy to welcome her to […]
Read More On Being An “Older” Female Writer – Cat RamboMatt Braun, one of the most significant names in Western fiction, gives us a rundown of what competitive sports were like in the Wild West! By Matt Braun You mention the word “sports” in the same breath with the “Old West,” most people will give you a blank stare. Yet sports were as much a […]
Read More Sports in the Wild WestOriginally posted on The Toy Soldier Saga:
By Django Wexler I am, I have to admit, a war buff. I read military histories for fun, the kind with fold-out maps covered in little colored arrows and notations like “Kollowrath (40,000)”. As I am also a fantasy novelist, the nature of war in fantasy fiction has…
A hybrid writer is calling for submissions for Gunsmoke & Dragonfire: A Fantasy Western Anthology. Submissions open immediately. This is a collaborative project in which each contributor (writer, editor, etc.) will receive one share of profits, if any. Contributors are encouraged to make best use of their collective resources for marketing (social media, blog, YouTube […]
Read More Call for Submissions: Gunsmoke & DragonfireI uploaded an album called Music of the Troubadours a few years ago, which is a collection of songs of the troubadours and trovieres. I just thought it was worth sharing. I’ve been listening to it because it’s a good soundtrack for the story I’m writing. Enjoy!
Read More Music of the TroubadoursBy Jeanette Ng Well described meals can add a lot of flavour to one’s world building. I have clear memories of salivating over the banquets described in Brian Jacques’ Redwall books. Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games has meticulously described food, especially in with each district having its own distinctive bread. I love writing about food almost […]
Read More Tidbits from a Pseudo-Medieval KitchenScience fiction and fantasy mashups are popular right now. They give us an excuse to abandon typical SFF tropes for elements we’re familiar with in other genre fiction. Here’s some tips and tricks for successful plotting and worldbuilding in a mashup genre: Familiarize Yourself with the Blended Genre Okay, so you’re writing a space opera […]
Read More Successful Worldbuilding in SFF MashupsScience fiction and fantasy, in my experience, are rarely all one thing. Sometimes – often! – SFF blends elements of other genres of fiction into it. For instance, I think just about every Philip K. Dick novel I’ve read is either transgressive fiction or a detective/crime novel. Sometimes those elements seem so weird that not […]
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