free advice

The Single Most Important Thing You Can Do To Make Your Writing More Awesome

There’s no magic bullet for being a decent writer, or making people bond with your characters or fall in love with your story. Writing is a million different skills and challenges, and each story is different. But the more I struggle to make this work, the more I think there’s one key thing that makes…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders Feb 25

I Wrote 100 Terrible Stories That I’m Glad You’ll Never Read

Several years ago, I was getting burned out in my high-stress newspaper job, and I came across a fancy hardcover book listing science fiction publishers, agents and editors. I paged through it on my lunchbreak, until I found a part of the introduction which proclaimed: “Many writers now make a decent living just from writing…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders Jan 25

The Weirdest Stories Are Sometimes the Most Real

For years, I thought of weirdness and personal storytelling as sort of opposites. You can have surreal, cartoony, acid-trippy, logic-melting insanity, or you can tell a grounded emotional story about people. But the big epiphany I had while writing All the Birds in the Sky is, sometimes weirdness is intensely personal. I don’t know why…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders Jan 22

11 Ways to Write a Character-Focused Story That Still Feels Action-Packed

Everyone loves a story that races forward. There’s a reason we love books that are “page-turners.” But does a fast-paced story full of thrills and excitement mean you can’t also make room for character? Hell no. Here are 11 ways to create a story about characters and emotion that’s also a seat-of-your-pants ride. One of…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Jan 19

How to Make People Fall in Love With Your Ridiculously Competent Hero

We all love characters who are good at what they’re doing. Nobody wants to root for someone who screws up constantly or walks into traps we can see a mile away. But at the same time, it can be hard to love someone who’s too perfect. So how do you make us believe in, and…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders Dec 23

The Two Most Powerful Words That You Can Say To Yourself While Writing

“I’m bored.” These two words are the hardest thing to admit, when you’re writing your deathless novel, or screenplay, or short story. You’re supposed to be creating a work of timeless brilliance. How can you be bored? But admitting that you’re bored is the first step to not being bored. The power of boredom A…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders Dec 9

The Difference Between a Great Story and a Shitty Story Is Often Really Tiny

Hollywood people often say that it’s a miracle there are any good movies at all. Because so much can go wrong, and so many random things have to go right, for a movie to avoid being a hopeless disaster. I can believe this, because in general the difference between the good and bad versions of…

Movies Charlie Jane Anders Oct 30

How To Handle Rejection of Your Writing, Without Becoming a Basket Case

Rejection is part of being a writer. Unless you’re that one-in-a-billion wunderkind who gets “discovered” while you’re still in high school and goes on to become a literary sensation. Almost everybody who writes stories (or anything) has their work dismissed and sent packing, over and over. And learning to deal with rejection is a crucial…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders Sep 15

10 Writing “Rules” We Wish More Science Fiction and Fantasy Authors Would Break

Science fiction and fantasy are genres where almost anything can happen — as long as the author can make it seem plausible, and as long as it’s part of a good story. But that doesn’t mean there are no rules. If anything, the fact that these genres are so wide open mean that there are…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders Sep 10

Help! I Put A Placeholder In My Story—And It Became Permanent!

Writing is a messy business for most of us—even if you’re one of those people who outlines everything in advance, there’s always going to be some parts that you make up as you go. And sometimes, a first draft will include stuff that you know you’re going to have to change later. But what happens…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders Aug 18

How to Deal With Harsh Criticism of Your Writing

There’s nothing more vulnerable than the act of making up stories. Whether it’s an introspective personal story or a seat-of-your-exploding-pants thriller, you’re taking something out of your unfiltered imagination and putting it into the form of a product. That people then criticize. How do you handle that? Learning to deal with criticism is one of…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Jul 22

How To Raise The Stakes In Your Story Without Wrecking Your Characters

The best science fiction and fantasy stories are impossible to tear yourself away from — and often, that thrilling sense of momentum comes from the sense that the danger to the world keeps getting bigger and scarier. But how do you raise the stakes without sacrificing your characters? All images by Mateusz Orzminski (More at…

Movies Charlie Jane Anders May 19

10 Ways To Create A Near-Future World That Won’t Look Too Dated

Writing about the world to come is a scary proposition, because nothing becomes obsolete faster than futuristic visions. Especially if you’re writing about a decade or two from now, your story risks looking ridiculous within a few years. So here are 10 tips to keep your near-future setting from looking too dated. All artwork by…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Apr 17

2 Secrets To Writing A Story That People Can’t Tear Themselves Away From

When people talk about how to write a great story, you hear a lot about structure, and how to lay down the track so that the audience is swept along. But writer Frank Cottrell Boyce has some fantastic advice about the true secret of writing a story (or movie) that people can’t get enough of:…

Movies Charlie Jane Anders Mar 17

Google Should Hire Kanye

Right now, Apple reigns as the premium brand for mobile products; its monopoly on status symbol status is way too secure. Look upon at how excited people got about the Apple Watch when Android Wear does almost exactly the same damn thing. Spectators fawned over the new gold Macbook even though it’s a $1,300 laptop…

Tech News Kate Knibbs Mar 11

“He Said, She Said”: Is There Any Cooler Way To Show Dialog In Fiction?

So you’ve written some sparkling dialogue, and even made sure your characters don’t all have the same “voice.” But there’s still a problem with your dialogue — you feel weird writing “he said” and “she said” over and over again. Is there any way around this? What can you do to avoid this repetition? https://gizmodo.com/all-your-characters-talk-the-same-and-theyre-not-a-hi-5379280…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Feb 17

10 Ways To Turn Your Real Life Experiences Into Science Fiction

Unless you’ve commanded a starship, fought off an alien invasion or survived a global disaster, your life experiences probably aren’t too science-fictional. But still, the most powerful stories are often rooted in things that actually happened. Here are 10 tricks for turning your personal true stories into science fiction. People often say that you should…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders Dec 18

The Difference Between Good Worldbuilding And Great Worldbuilding

Worldbuilding is the bedrock of science fiction and fantasy. We obsess about it constantly, because characters and plots are often only as compelling as the worlds they inhabit. We’ve decried bad worldbuilding before — but what makes worldbuilding great? Here’s one key factor. So I’ve been obsessing about worldbuilding a lot lately, and trying to…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders Nov 13

How To Create A Killer Opening For Your Science Fiction Short Story

A short story is like a chess game: The opening is a huge part of whether you win or lose. The first sentence of a short story doesn’t just “hook” readers, it also sets the tone and launches the plot. So here are the seven major types of short story openings, and how to pick…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Oct 29

10 Tips And Tricks For Creating Memorable Characters

Science fiction and fantasy are built on cool ideas and fascinating worlds — but those things are only as good as the people who live around and inside them. How do you create compelling fictional characters? It’s a huge challenge. But here are some tips that might make it easier. There’s no silver bullet or…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders Aug 5

free advice

The Single Most Important Thing You Can Do To Make Your Writing More Awesome

I Wrote 100 Terrible Stories That I’m Glad You’ll Never Read

The Weirdest Stories Are Sometimes the Most Real

11 Ways to Write a Character-Focused Story That Still Feels Action-Packed

How to Make People Fall in Love With Your Ridiculously Competent Hero

The Two Most Powerful Words That You Can Say To Yourself While Writing

The Difference Between a Great Story and a Shitty Story Is Often Really Tiny

How To Handle Rejection of Your Writing, Without Becoming a Basket Case

10 Writing “Rules” We Wish More Science Fiction and Fantasy Authors Would Break

Help! I Put A Placeholder In My Story—And It Became Permanent!

How to Deal With Harsh Criticism of Your Writing

How To Raise The Stakes In Your Story Without Wrecking Your Characters

10 Ways To Create A Near-Future World That Won’t Look Too Dated

2 Secrets To Writing A Story That People Can’t Tear Themselves Away From

Google Should Hire Kanye

“He Said, She Said”: Is There Any Cooler Way To Show Dialog In Fiction?

10 Ways To Turn Your Real Life Experiences Into Science Fiction

The Difference Between Good Worldbuilding And Great Worldbuilding

How To Create A Killer Opening For Your Science Fiction Short Story

10 Tips And Tricks For Creating Memorable Characters

Ryan Coogler Is Shifting ‘Animorphs’ Into a Disney+ Show

No Fooling, ‘Spaceballs 2’ Will Hit Theaters April 2027

I Regret to Inform You That the Artemis II Astronauts Are Having Lots of Screen Time

The First ‘Maul: Shadow Lord’ Reactions Are Most Solid

‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Season 3 Is Doing What You Hoped

Wearables Are Getting Very Messy

Trump Wants to Start Privatizing TSA in Latest Budget Proposal

Lost Warship From Battle of Copenhagen Found After 225 Years

AirPods Max 2 vs. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen): Which ANC Headphones Win?

The Best Gadgets of March 2026

AirPods Max 2 Review: Still Ridiculously Expensive and Ridiculously Nice

DJI Osmo 360 Review: The Best 360 Camera for the DJI-Pilled

Aqara Smart Lock U400 Review: Hands-free Unlocking at Its Best

MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ Review: A Solid 2-in-1 Laptop With Some Glaring Flaws

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

Let us help find what you are looking for...