Out of all the science fiction subgenres that exist, cyberpunk has got to be one of the most interesting to me, especially now. But how do you define cyberpunk, and, even more importantly, how do you write it? Read below to find out everything you need to know about the subgenre and how to get … Continue reading Cyberpunk: A Definition
Hello everyone! I have a short post for you today. The speculative fiction journal MetaStellar just announced its March submission cycle! Submit fiction up to 1, 200 words from now until March 31st. Using this link, fill out your submission and send it to a panel of judges. Also, if you don't have anything to … Continue reading MetaStellar’s Submission Cycle Is Open!
I admit I struggled a bit about what to post this week. But then I thought, why not just come up with multiple ideas and put them all in one post? After all, I did say I wanted to come up with writing prompts for you all. So without further ado, here are twenty-five science … Continue reading 25 Sci-Fi Writing Prompts
A lot of writers focus on publishing in literary journals, which is awesome. But literary journals aren't the only places you can submit your work to. This is especially true with genre writing such as science fiction and fantasy. Writers writing in these genres should also know about anthologies. These are usually produced by publishing … Continue reading Upcoming Sci-fi/Fantasy Anthologies
I haven't talked much about writing poetry on this blog. I have, however, talked quite a bit about speculative genres, mainly science fiction and fantasy. When you think about these genres, you might think of fiction, including novels and short stories. But speculative poetry also exists, and it acts as a great way to take … Continue reading How to Write Speculative Poetry
To answer the question, it depends on how you look at it. You could technically say that, yes, science fiction existed in the Middle Ages long before science fiction was really classified. Long before science fiction became known as a genre in the literary world. It wouldn't be exactly like what we read today, especially … Continue reading Did Science Fiction Exist in Medieval Times?
Everyone knows about science fiction and fantasy, but what about science fantasy? This is another one of those hybrid genres within speculative fiction that don't strictly follow science fiction or fantasy rules. However, this hybrid speculative genre utilizes various tropes and ideas that both science fiction and fantasy often use, meaning it's super easy to … Continue reading What Is Science Fantasy?
Thinking about publishing your speculative fiction novel but don't know where to start? It's true there are plenty of publishers out there, but narrowing the best science fiction and fantasy publishers down isn't too difficult. Some of these speculative fiction small presses also accept speculative genres such as horror, gothic, and all kinds of subgenres. … Continue reading Speculative Fiction Small Presses
We all know about tropes. They pop up in any form of writing, and often a hallmark of good writing is a writer's ability to tackle tropes, whether by exceeding the reader's expectations with them or subverting them altogether. Obviously, no genre is immune to any of these, but different tropes appear depending on what … Continue reading Science Fiction Tropes to Subvert
With all the craziness going on this week (and an awesome interview with E. J. Robison) here's a shorter post dedicated to a bunch of writing contests coming up. Writing contests offer writers the opportunity to advance their careers through the promotion of their work if they place. They also receive a lot of benefits … Continue reading Upcoming Sci-Fi and Fantasy Writing Contests
