Full disclosure: this might be one of my favorite Heinlein short stories that I've ever read. It's got all of my favorite things that I look for in a sci-fi short story: time travel, an epic twist, a dash of horror. But I won't spoil it all right now. I'll just say that I really … Continue reading —All You Zombies— Review
Another Arthur C. Clarke review (I'm starting to notice a pattern here)! But in the grand scheme of things, does the short story "The Sentinel" hold up to his other work? Honestly, I have some mixed feelings about the story as a whole. Time to ramble. You might have heard me mention this story before, … Continue reading The Sentinel Short Story Review
I've always been fascinated by science fiction that includes and discusses religion. It might seem like a dichotomy at times, but I don't see why they can't work together, just like religion and science in real life. Despite Arthur C. Clarke identifying as an atheist, he included a lot about religion and tackled religious themes … Continue reading The Star – Arthur C. Clarke Review
I knew even before I began reading this story that it would be one of those stories that would stick with me for the rest of my life. The relatively short narration offers a profound look at the world and ourselves. I think it's easy to see why this won the Hugo Award for Best … Continue reading The Ones who Walk Away from Omelas Review
Coming up with short story ideas doesn't have to be difficult. It might seem like an idea comes once in a while through a sudden burst of inspiration, but that doesn't have to be the case. You can come up with more short story ideas easily. How do you do that? Check out six tips … Continue reading How to Come Up with More Short Story Ideas
Believe it or not, you can write 10+ short stories within a year. Or even more than that. The simple trick is to first outline each story in a way that prepares you best to write it. You're not going to have a full fleshed-out story to begin with, but carefully outlining means you save … Continue reading Outline a Speculative Story in Five Easy Steps
For some reason, this post didn't go up on the usual Saturday, even though I scheduled it (thanks, WordPress), so here's a Sunday special! You might have heard of the term "technobabble" when it comes to writing sci-fi. In short, it's the new terms you use to establish and describe something scientific or technical in … Continue reading How to Include Technobabble in Your Sci-fi Story
Last week, I mentioned slow beginnings and how editors are quick to send rejections if a story has one. These beginnings keep readers from exploring the setting, character, and conflict you want to show them. You know, the actual story! But how do you avoid them and start a story off right? Read below to … Continue reading Slow Beginnings in SF/F Short Stories
When writing a short story, you need to make every word count. That means giving your readers the basic pieces of a story, including a character, their conflict, and the setting where everything takes place, right away. Because if editors aren't interested in your story from the first few lines, they're going to pass on … Continue reading 3 Ways to Get Editors Invested in Your SF/F Story
Welcome back to another post I created for Sci-fi Month! I can't believe the month is already almost over. For this week, I thought I would get back into writing about writing sci-fi. I've been working on writing more short stories lately, so I thought I would share some tips with you for writing a … Continue reading 3 Tips for Writing a Sci-fi Short Story
