2017 Sci-Fi and Fantasy Online Conference Series
In April 2017 Writer's Digest hosted a one-of-a-kind event exclusively for science fiction and fantasy authors! When you buy this package you'll receive all of the sessions presented in the conference. You'll get expert insights from SIX award-winning and bestselling authors on the finer points of how to write within the science fiction and fantasy genres. Hone your craft and take your science fiction or fantasy novel to the next level!
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Using the Real in Your Science Fiction and Fantasy The usual writing advice “write what you know" doesn't seem to apply to speculative fiction, but in fact our world can certainly inspire and inform your writing. Learn how to incorporate our real world into your science fiction and fantasy. |
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Lessons From the Pulps: How to Write Bestselling Science Fiction and Fantasy What can the classic era of pulp fiction magazines teach the contemporary science fiction, fantasy, and/or horror author? Examples from the pulps can remind contemporary authors to write to entertain, surprise, and delight their readers. After all, the current bestselling fiction authors in every genre, if taken back in time to 1936, would be writing for the pulp magazines. This 60-minute seminar will cover fiction as entertainment, why the villain starts the story, why the hero ends the story, and more. |
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Strangers in Strange Lands World-building and character are different sides of the same coin-especially in science fiction and fantasy. No matter how intricate a world you create, your protagonist will reshape it with her will and action; no matter how vivid a character you draw, they'll be shaped and limited by their context. How have great works of fantasy and science fiction dealt with the interplay between character and setting? How can you exploit contrasts between character and setting to generate theme and conflict-or to put new spins on old settings? And how can you use these techniques to orient the reader, who is always, herself, a stranger in our strange lands?
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Science Fiction vs Science Fact: How Far Do You Go in the Science and When Do You Focus on Storytelling? Science fiction is hard. Really hard. That may sound like an understatement, but when writing in the genre, you need to decide how far you want to go in showing your research into the pros and cons of generation ships, how gravity wells work, and the physics behind a lightsaber. In this presentation hosted by award-winning science fiction author Tee Morris, he discusses the fine line between knowledge and education against character development and storytelling.
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All That Glitters: Building a Believable Magic System Do you tie down your magic with rules, or take it off the leash and let it roam free? Whether using a rule-based (limited) magic system or a free-roaming (unlimited) one, establishing the believability, originality, and world-building of magic is key to creating stories as methodical and real as Sanderson's, or as sweeping and artistic as Tolkien's. In this presentation, Charlie N. Holmberg not only discusses the differing concepts and roles of magic systems, but factors the implications of a magic system into the world surrounding it.
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Merge Complex Science Seamlessly Into Your Fiction Complex science can be one of the foundations of your novel, but how do you make it interesting and engaging to your readers? In this presentation, bestselling author Joe Hart provides examples and tactics to meld complicated science concepts into gripping storylines that sell. |
