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How To Write About Sex Without Being Boring

Sexuality is one of our most basic drives, but it’s also fundamental to our identities as people. Which means sex is the subject of a million cliches, and tons of terrible writing. Not to mention, stupid prejudice. The good news? Science fiction and fantasy writers have a special opportunity to look at sex afresh. Here’s…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Jul 15

One Weird Trick For Cutting Down Your Novel

Book doctors don’t want you to read this advice! They don’t want you to know about this foolproof advice for reducing the excess verbiage in your novel (or short story). But I’m going to share it with you, for free. Revising a work of fiction can be a nightmare, especially if your story has a…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders Jun 24

10 Can’t Miss, Surefire Secrets Of Torturing Fictional People

Everybody loves a sadist. At least, when it comes to storytelling. The more pain and misery a writer puts her or his characters through, the more we adore it. But how can you torment your characters without going too far, or falling flat? Here are 10 killer rules for how to bring the pain. Images…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Apr 3

10 Things That Every Brand New Creator of Science Fiction Should Know

Being a science fiction creator is the most amazing adventure — you get to invent whole new worlds, brand new futures, and fantastic technologies, and you get to tell the most incredible stories about them. But it’s also a tough and heartbreaking career path, whether you’re in books, comics, movies or television. Here are 10…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Mar 6

Why is it so hard to write a decent ending?

Endings define stories. A great ending can make everything that’s come before seem retroactively great. A weak ending can ruin everything. But why do they have to be so impossible to write? And is there any trick for crafting a strong ending that doesn’t involve endless misery? In a word, no. Not really. I’ve written…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders Jan 22

How to Write Descriptive Passages Without Boring the Reader or Yourself

Describing stuff can be the hardest part of writing prose fiction. You have a scene in your head, with all the dialogue and action, but now you have to fill in what everything looks like. There’s nothing more boring to write, or read, than a long descriptive passage — but here’s how to spice it…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders Dec 9

The 10 Types of Writers’ Block (and How to Overcome Them)

Writer’s Block. It sounds like a fearsome condition, a creative blockage. The end of invention. But what is it, really? Part of why Writer’s Block sounds so dreadful and insurmountable is the fact that nobody ever takes it apart. People lump several different types of creative problems into one broad category. In fact, there’s no…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Nov 21

10 Ways to Make Everyone Root for Your Amoral Protagonist

One step beyond the anti-hero, there’s the amoral or morally challenged main character. Sometimes, a protagonist is so dark, you can’t even use the term “hero” to describe him or her. But how do you get your audience to root for a character who might throw an old lady under a bus? Here are 10…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Oct 15

The Only Kind of Sentence You Should Use in Your Fiction

People will advise you to write all sorts of sentences. Snappy sentences, lyrical sentences, Hemingway-esque short sentences, long Faulknerian sentences. But there’s really only one kind of sentence that actually works: a sentence that carries the reader forward from the previous sentence. This is harder than it sounds. I don’t care what kind of fiction…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Aug 20

7 Deadly Sins of Worldbuilding

Worldbuilding is an essential part of any work of fiction. But especially for science fiction or fantasy, it’s the lifeblood of storytelling. But when worldbuilding fails, it can wreck your whole story, and leave your characters feeling pointless. Here are seven deadly sins of worldbuilding. Top image: Under Tomorrow’s Sky by Daniel Dociu. 1. Not…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Aug 2

What does it mean when people say your story’s “tone” is wrong?

Writers and creative people talk about tone all the time. But what does it mean? Is it just the difference between a comedy and a drama? Is it just light versus dark? When you write a story, how do you figure out your “tone,” and keep it from lurching from one thing to another? Here…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders Jul 15

How to turn a high concept idea into an actual story

Every story begins with an idea. What’s amazing about science fiction stories is, they often start with a cool idea. Like a spin on space travel or robots that nobody’s ever thought of before. But how do you turn an idea into a story, with memorable characters and powerful moments? That’s often the hard part.…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders May 14

What it Means When Someone Tries to Tell You THE Rules of Good Writing

There’s only one rule for how to write a story, and that’s: “Write a good story.” Apart from that, anything goes, as long as you can pull it off. (And some things are harder to pull off than others.) But sometimes, people will try and teach you ironclad rules of fiction writing. Like, avoid an…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders Feb 1

How to Write for Money Without Selling Out Too Much

This past weekend, it seemed like all of the Twitter conversations were about fiction writing, and selling out. It’s a weird conundrum: Most advice for writers assumes that you’re doing this as a business, and you want to make money at it. But you shouldn’t want to make money too badly. Is there a line…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Jan 7

How to Tell if the First Draft of Your Novel Just Isn’t Worth Salvaging

It’s almost the end of November, which means one thing: tens of thousands of you have just finished a novel. Congratulations! Now for the heart-breaking part — looking at the hundreds of pages of action and emotion that you wrote in a feverish daze, and figuring out how to revise it. Or whether you really…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Nov 26

One Simple and Incredibly Painful Way to Fix Your Novel Draft

Congratulations! You’ve written a first draft of a science fiction or fantasy novel. You (and your heroes) have vanquished the enemy, and your story has come to a glorious end. And now, the real agony begins. Chances are your first draft is a misshapen wreck, which requires huge surgery. The good news is, there’s one…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders Aug 28

How to Write an Omniscient Narrator If You’re Not Actually Omniscient Yourself

Many of science fiction’s greatest novels are written in third-person omniscient. And this should come as no surprise, because nothing lets you depict a complex situation full of people (and creatures) with their own points of view, like a narrator who can view the whole scene from outside. But many, many writing teachers will tell…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders Jul 11

What’s the difference between capturing an emotion and creating a mood?

Science fiction and fantasy stories transport us to a whole other world. And immersing us in a fantastical place needs more than just great world-building — it needs a sense of mood. The best speculative fiction authors are experts at conjuring the mood of a particular time or place. But what’s the difference between summoning…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders May 30

10 Books Every Fantasy Author Should Read

Fantasy novels don’t arise by magic. An aspiring fantasy author has to learn the craft, but also discover the roots of fantasy literature, as well as history and mythology. The more you’ve read, the more you know — and the better equipped you’ll be for your journey into the lands of imagination. So we asked…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders Mar 29

10 Secrets to Creating Unforgettable Supporting Characters

Creating one interesting character is hard enough — but when it comes to writing a whole novel or series of books, you have to create dozens of them. How can you keep your supporting cast from seeming like cookie-cutter people? There’s no easy answer, but a few tricks might help you create minor characters who…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Mar 27

How To Write About Sex Without Being Boring

One Weird Trick For Cutting Down Your Novel

10 Can’t Miss, Surefire Secrets Of Torturing Fictional People

10 Things That Every Brand New Creator of Science Fiction Should Know

Why is it so hard to write a decent ending?

How to Write Descriptive Passages Without Boring the Reader or Yourself

The 10 Types of Writers’ Block (and How to Overcome Them)

10 Ways to Make Everyone Root for Your Amoral Protagonist

The Only Kind of Sentence You Should Use in Your Fiction

7 Deadly Sins of Worldbuilding

What does it mean when people say your story’s “tone” is wrong?

How to turn a high concept idea into an actual story

What it Means When Someone Tries to Tell You THE Rules of Good Writing

How to Write for Money Without Selling Out Too Much

How to Tell if the First Draft of Your Novel Just Isn’t Worth Salvaging

One Simple and Incredibly Painful Way to Fix Your Novel Draft

How to Write an Omniscient Narrator If You’re Not Actually Omniscient Yourself

What’s the difference between capturing an emotion and creating a mood?

10 Books Every Fantasy Author Should Read

10 Secrets to Creating Unforgettable Supporting Characters

‘Cognitive Surrender’ Is a New and Useful Term for How AI Melts Brains

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