SF and Fantasy Articles by author

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Articles by Author
A

Kevin J. Anderson
Author's note Hidden Empire Hidden Empire is the first book in a multi-volume science fiction epic, The Saga of Seven Suns, filled with alien races, court intrigues, romance and sense-of-wonder on a galactic scale.	(13. Jul 2002)

Isaac Asimov
End of Eternity: the Non-Foundation Asimov	(11. Jul 2000)

Stuart Atkinson
Better Red Than... Green?	(18. Jan 2000)
A Deep Breath	(18. Jan 2000)
Waiting...	(18. Jan 2000)
The Lost Dawn July 20th, 2001, will be the 25th anniversary of the succesful touch-down of Viking 1 on Mars.	(12. Feb 2001)
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Carrie Badorek
Fantasy: Another Boys Club?	(25. Oct 2000)

R. Scott Bakker
Why Fantasy and Why Now?	(14. Jun 2000)

Stephen Baxter
Revisiting the past to save the future Longtusk by Stephen Baxter, a classic tale of courage and survival. Read the Author’s note.	(7. Apr 2002)

Peter S. Beagle
The Last Unicorn	(12. Jul 2000)

Rob H. Bedford
Fantastic 2000: A Review of the Year in Fantasy Overview of some of the event books of the year: GRRM's new book, Jordan's new book, new Dungeons and Dragons, etc.	(16. Feb 2001)

Gregory Benford
Mars in Our Time	(3. Dec 1999)

Amanda B. Blackburn
How to Spot a Fantasy Lover	(3. Dec 1999)

Peter Bottomley
Literature as a Form of Science Fiction A dissertation on the limits imposed within conventional literature compared with the freedom found in Science Fiction.	(18. May 2003)

John Brunner
The Sheep Look Up: A Book of Environmental Disaster	(11. Jul 2000)
Shockwave Rider: Brunner's Information Age	(12. Jul 2000)

Fletch .J. Bush
A Fiction Ramble	(25. Apr 2000)
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Lillian Cauldwell
How to Submit a Query Letter I show the reader two examples of how to write a query letter and how to write a synopsis so that your speculative history novel be accepted for publication.	(8. Mar 2004)

C.J. Cherryh
Where is Science Taking Us? Hammerfall by C.J. Cherryh, read the author's note.	(26. Feb 2002)

Caterina Christakos
How to Stop Writer's Block Cold! Simple effective techniques to leave your writer's block out in the cold.	(18. May 2003)

Neil Charles Cladingboel
Tips for New Authors So you've witten that award-winning short story, or maybe the great American novel - so what happens next? Well maybe these tips and hints will help you on your way. Author Neil Cladingboel shares some words of wisdom.	(13. Jan 2002)

Kay Crist
Online Publishing vs. TraditionalPublishing - A Personal Experience An article about internet publishing vs. traditional publishing by Kay Crist author of "Araroon".	(9. Mar 2001)

Lee Ann Cuccia
Don't Judge Fantasy by its Label	(27. Aug 2000)
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Tony Daniel
aMetaplanetary - Author's Note	(21. May 2001)

Cecilia Dart-Thornton
Folklore In this article Cecilia Dart-Thornton talks about the The Lore of the Supernatural.	(10. May 2002)

Dashjianta
Literary Editors What does an editor do? They take your manuscript, fix spelling and grammar errors and send it back. And that is exactly what a basic editor will give you. A good editor, on the other hand, will offer a much wider range of services.	(22. Mar 2002)

Ben Davis Jr.
The African American Science Fiction Character in Literature, Television, and Film The work is intended as a literary article based on my master's thesis that focused on the works of Octavia Estelle Butler and from a faculty symposium on the sci-fi genre as mythology. This article functions as a kind of survey into how Black characters in science fiction literature, television, and film have grown and have been handled in the pop culture medium over the decades. Sometimes the character is grossly stereotyped or tokenized, deemed unimportant only to serve as "fodder" or is under-appreciated, and how that character is treated as human and not so much as "the other."	(8. Mar 2004)

Marrissa R. Dick
Self-Publishing Digs Deep Into Your Pocket: But The Rewards Can Be Gratifying	(26. Feb 2000)

Jay Dubya
Learning Novel' Writing from Agents and Editors Author Jay Dubya reviews some of the novel' writing tips he has received from agents and editors that have enabled him to advance from a "writer of manuscripts" to an "author of novels."	(7. Apr 2002)
Starting An Internet e-Publishing Business Was Not Easy Aspiring science fiction authors that want to crack into the Internet e-publishing market are given tips or what to do and told exactly how difficult it is to become an established e-book' writer.	(18. May 2003)

Dave Duncan
The Pearl in a Grain of Sand Author's Note - Paragon Lost, A Chronicle of the King's Blades.	(31. Oct 2002)

Jay Dubya
Journalism, Creativity and Reactionary Creativity Jay Dubya identifies the characteristics that distinguish newspaper journalism from creativity and creativity and relates his descriptions to higher level thinking skills. Jay dubya maintains that "writers" present journalism and organize non-fiction books and that "authors" create stories and novels.	(27. Jan 2002)
Dickens, Thurber, Andersen, London and Perseus Author Jay Dubya describes how Charles Dickens, James Thurber, Hans Christian Andersen, Jack London and the Greek hero Perseus all shared a common quality that enabled each to cope with and overcome rejection. An author must ask himself, "Do I have a soul of clay or a soul of fire?" Jay Dubya maintains that if you think you have a soul of clay, then pursue some other field of endeavor besides short story and novel writing.	(9. Feb 2002)
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Paul Escu
Personalised writing In this article Paul Escu tells us a bit about his experience with writing.	(12. Dec 2000)
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Timothy James Faulkner
Our Dimensionality	(2. May 2000)

Antavius S. Flagg
A Problem, Not a Fantasy In this article Antavius S. Flagg discusses his views on the problems with fantasy today.	(24. Jul 2001)
Lucid Writing Advice The first of a series of writing articles desgined to make you a better writer.	(7. Apr 2002)
Lucid Writing Advice II Article II of Lucid Writing Advice, the five things that creates a better manuscript.	(15. Apr 2002)
Lucid Writing Advice III The third installment of the series focusing on developing the scene to its greatest potential.	(17. Apr 2002)
Lucid Writing Advice IV The next installment	(4. Jun 2002)
Lucid Writing Advice V Have you lost your voice? Well this article will try and find it for you.	(13. Jul 2002)
Lucid Writing Advice VI Learning how to take your take in writing, but still letting the reader understand what you mean	(13. Jul 2002)
Lucid Writing Advice VII An add on to LWA V	(13. Jul 2002)
Lucid Writing Advice VIII What's in a sentence?	(3. Aug 2002)

Bret Funk
The Death of Science Fiction An article discussing several major technological breakthroughs of the last few years and how their development will eventually take the 'fiction' out of science fiction.	(8. Mar 2004)
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Abby Goldsmith
Robert Jordan: Genius or Hack? This is a look at the criticism and praise receieved by the Wheel of Time series.	(7. Jan 2002)
Sexism and Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series A critical follow-up to "Genius or Hack" concerning Robert Jordan's portayal of gender relationships.	(9. Feb 2002)
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Mike Haran
SPACE BASED WARFARE Exames the facts of furure space warfare from a military point of view.Uses a tacical and scientific approach in keeping with correct military analysis	(18. May 2003)

G. Miki Hayden
What Works in Science Fiction Writing What works in science fiction is what works in romance, mystery, and mainstream fiction-a plot that intrigues, a conflict that requires resolution, and characters with which the reader can identify.	(22. Mar 2002)

Noelle Hay
Tolkien's hobbits show basic goodness of people No character is as clearly prone to good as Samwise Gamgee is. Down to earth and common as the soil he worked in, he wasn't the noble son of a king, or the adopted son of an eccentric millionaire. He was a gardener, like his father before him and the one character in the book we could all understand.	(9. Feb 2002)
September 11 and the Lord of the Rings In times of darkness, Americans crave the uplifting. LOTR lifted the hearts of Americans like no other movie could.	(22. Mar 2002)
Fantasy Fans In One of Tolkien's widely recognized essays "On fairy stories" he emphasized that the happy ending, the "eucatastrophe", is an essential element of Fantasy, necessary for it to fulfill its major functions: Recovery, Escape, Consolation. It is ironic then, that fantasy finds it's roots deep in mythology. The themes in the two genre's are distinctly different. What makes a fantasy fan yearn for a happy ending?	(22. Mar 2002)
Evolution of a Sidekick No matter what you think of sidekicks somewhere in all of us, there is a red-headed wizard in hand me down robes. The function and psychology of sidekicks can be more compelling than the heroes they serve and reveal more about the reader than the author.	(18. May 2003)
Fan Fiction: Bane or Boone? Parodies are protected under the law, but using characters from a copyrighted publication for derivative work is not. This means that almost every fan fiction being written is infringing on the copyright. Copyright law is clear...or is it?	(18. May 2003)

Robert Heinlein
Robert Anson Timeline	(10. Dec 1999)

Peter Heyrman
Science Fiction: Editing and writing in the genre Science Fiction fans have always argued about the definitions within their genre. While many people get prickly about exactly what constitutes what, the most important job of writers and editors remains the same: suspension of disbelief.	(22. Mar 2002)

Alma A. Hromic
The Stepchild of Literature The problem with fantasy is that those who do it well make it look easy. That means that everyone thinks they can write one.	(22. Mar 2002)
On Fantasy Fantasy is not a new thing - but in today's turbulent world books and movies like "Lord of the RIngs" and "Harry Potter" are taking the world by storm. Why is fantasy enjoying such a renaissance?	(10. May 2002)
I

Ian Irvine
Science Fantasy A SHADOW ON THE GLASS is a "science-fantasy" novel. When creating this book, did you think in terms of combining Science Fiction and Fantasy?	(13. Jul 2002)
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Paul Kieniewicz
The Gift of Immortality Do you really want to be immortal? How long would you like to live? The article explores the psychological implications of living an endless life.	(18. May 2003)

J. Knight
Life: A Fate Worse Than Death Death is bad. Coming back to life is worse.	(11. Jul 2001)

Katherine Kurtz
The Knights Templar "My interest in the Knights Templar goes back many, many years, and first surfaced in print when I began writing about the Knights of Saint Michael in the Deryni series."	(18. Dec 2002)
L

Ursula K. Le Guin
The Left Hand of Darkness: the Role of Sex	(11. Jul 2000)

Holly Lisle
Interview with a Dragon Author's Note for Memory of Fire Book One of The World Gates.	(13. Jul 2002)

M.G. London
Lead, Follow, of Go Over the Sea The Lord of the Rings tells a story of the end of an era where feudal servitude marked by heroic idealism was the mode. The figures of Theoden, Denethor, Frodo, and even Saruman are the figures who most closely fit this model of the leader that Tolkien has discussed in his "Ofermod" essay and that can be seen in Beowulf. The relationship they form with a subordinate figure helps define each of the leaders as they struggle in a world at war.	(11. Sep 2001)

Karin Lowachee
The Backburner Book Nobody was more surprised than the author that WARCHILD came out the way it did.	(10. May 2002)
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Ebony McKenna
Music to build a world	(12. Aug 2000)
Doctoring the Tardis	(4. Dec 2000)

William Meikle
Story Beginnings - Ten to avoid In the same way that editors don't want to see an ending they've seen before, equally, there are some story beginnings that have been done to death. Here are ten you shouldn't use.	(7. Jan 2002)

Byron Merritt
Frank Herbert Lives Byron Merritt writes about his grandfather Frank Herbert.	(4. Mar 2002)
Dune versus Dune A comparative study of the two Dune movies (Lynch vs. Harrison) by none other than Frank Herbert's own grandson.	(10. May 2002)

Chris Moy
The Future of Artificial Intelligence So what is Artificial Intelligence anyways?	(15. May 2001)
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R. Aditya Narayan
Human Cloning - Should it be done? This article explains he scientific phenomenon that is cloning, its merits nd demerits, the stands taken by various governments, and my argument on why it should not be done.	(11. Jul 2001)
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Christopher Priest
A Retreat from Reality	(21. May 2000)
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William Alan Rieser
Genre Difficulties The author describes the latent problems associated with modern science fiction writing. He offers a simple remedy.	(11. Sep 2001)
Can Anyone Tell the Time? This article brings some elements about time to the attention of SF/F readers who may not have previously thought about it.	(18. Dec 2001)
An Appreciation of Tolkien A summation of prevailing attitudes about the man who is considered a force in fantasy. The depth and meaning of LOTR are explored.	(7. Jan 2002)
On the Eerie Uncertainty of AI This article discusses some of the issues raised by artificial intelligence.	(17. Feb 2002)
On the Effrontery of Wonder Women The author takes umbrage with producers who cast beautiful women in dumb and inappropriate roles.	(4. Mar 2002)
On the Brevity of Behemoths Except for a single blockbuster, the fantasy world has come up with slim pickings.	(4. Mar 2002)
On The Infinite Endurance of Some Bogeymen What makes some bogeymen long lasting and others mild and diluted in their effect on readers?	(18. Mar 2002)
On the Need for Effective Fantasy The author takes issue with biographers and films that depict falsehoods as truth.	(22. Mar 2002)
On the Insufferability of Druidom The author questions the validity of Druids with some surprising insights.	(7. Apr 2002)
Viewing the Icons The author takes a look at two classic series, The Foundation Trilogy and the Dune series and casts them in the light of present day expectations.	(15. Apr 2002)
That's the Way It Used To Be Have we really made progress based upon the literary visions of our fantasy and science fiction writers?	(22. Apr 2002)

Jean Rogers
Any fantasy you like, so long as it's medieval	(23. Mar 2000)

Sean Russell
The Mystery of the New The one Kingdom by Sean Russell. Read the Author's note.	(26. Feb 2002)
S

Steven Savage
A way with worlds: 01 - Your Main Character	(16. May 2000)
A way with worlds: 02 - It is the little things that count	(17. May 2000)
A way with worlds: 03 - In the beginning . . . there was a lot of planning	(18. May 2000)
A way with worlds: 04 - Intelligent life and culture	(19. May 2000)
A way with worlds: 05 - Magic and Technology	(20. May 2000)
A way with worlds: 06 - Pyramids of Power	(21. May 2000)
A way with worlds: 07 - Getting a Vision	(22. May 2000)
A way with worlds: 08 - Your Worlds are in Danger!	(24. May 2000)
A way with worlds: 09 - Retcon as Continuity	(25. May 2000)
A way with worlds: 10 - The Fanfic Rebellion!	(26. May 2000)
A way with worlds: 11 - Attitude	(29. May 2000)
A way with worlds: 12 - Finding Inspiration	(30. May 2000)
A way with worlds: 13 - Writing religion in your continuity	(31. May 2000)
A way with worlds: 14 - Creating new religions	(2. Jun 2000)
A way with worlds: 15 - Timeline-Based Writing	(5. Jun 2000)
A way with worlds: 16 - Yin and Yang: Utopia Dystopie Cornucopia	(7. Jun 2000)
A way with worlds: 17 - SEX: A completely boring discussion	(14. Jun 2000)
A way with worlds: 18 - Putting it all together: Xai	(26. Jun 2000)
A way with worlds: 19 - World View: Evolving with Alicia Ashby	(4. Jul 2000)
A way with worlds: 20 - Yin and Yang: The Deadly Hero	(11. Jul 2000)
A way with worlds: 21 - Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed	(15. Jul 2000)
A way with worlds: 22 - The Paradox of the Badass	(5. Aug 2000)
A way with worlds: 23 - The Persecution Rests	(28. Aug 2000)
A way with worlds: 24 - Service, Service!	(17. Sep 2000)
A way with worlds: 25 - Crime and Punishment (and a lot of other stuff)	(25. Sep 2000)
A way with worlds: 26 - More Crime and Punishment	(8. Oct 2000)
A way with worlds: 27 - Yin and Yang: Self-Serving Self-Sacrifice	(22. Oct 2000)
A way with worlds: 28 - Timeline-Based Writing: The Critical Axis	(10. Nov 2000)
A way with worlds: 29 - Why are we doing this?	(24. Nov 2000)
A way with worlds: 30 - Cycles of Conflict Steven Savage's latest Way With Worlds column where he talks about writing conflicts.	(10. Dec 2000)
A way with worlds: 31 - Losing the Race A new article by Steven Savage best described by a quote from the article: The problem is that when creating whole new races is that people tend to make them stereotypical: "race X is violent, race Y is wise, etc."	(14. Dec 2000)
A way with worlds: 32 - Yin and Yang: Knowledge and Ignorance A new article about worldbuilding by Steven Savage, and to quote the article: "What your characters do not know is just as important as what they do know".	(8. Jan 2001)
A way with worlds: 33 - Yin and Yang: Subjectivity and Objectivity In this latest column about worldbuilding by Steven Savage talks about Subjectivity and Objectivity.	(11. Jan 2001)
A way with worlds: 34 - The Odds Do you know the odds for events in your world? Even common ones?	(16. Feb 2001)
A way with worlds: 35 - Normalcy How are you defining normal in your world? Do you even have an idea of what is normal in your setting or how people define it?	(16. Feb 2001)
A way with worlds: 36 - The March Change is the very essence of writing - if nothing happens, you don't have anything to write about. Doing it right is the problem, and that's what this column is about.	(23. Feb 2001)
A way with worlds: 37 - God, Darwin, History In this column, Steven Savage looks at God, Darwin and History as excuses and how they may pop up in your writing and your worlds.	(13. Mar 2001)
A way with worlds: 38 - Parallel Earths Parallel Earths are a classic element of writing, however writing parallel Earths can be more difficult than it seems.	(27. Mar 2001)
A way with worlds: 39 - Technology and Terminology In this column Steven Savage talks about Technology and terminology in original worlds.	(17. Apr 2001)
A way with worlds: 40 - Communicating Your World In this column Steven talks about how worldbuilders sometimes get too wrapped up in the creation to forget that they have to communicate their world to others.	(15. May 2001)
A way with worlds: 41 - Playing God In this column Steven talks about the attitude than an author should "play god" in their worlds and stories.	(15. May 2001)
A way with worlds: 42 - Without Words Language, speech, is just one method of communication. In writing your stories you have to deal with non-verbal communication as well.	(21. May 2001)
A way with worlds: 43 - TMI TMI stands for "Too Much Information," and is the topic of this column by Steven Savage.	(26. Jun 2001)
A way with worlds: 44 - The Drought In this column Steven talks about why there may be to little information in a story.	(3. Jul 2001)
A way with worlds: 45 - Aslan Meets His Match: Theme versus Setting Maybe you hadn't heard the news - but HarperCollins apparently wants to write more Narnia stories - but without the Christian influence.	(3. Jul 2001)
A way with worlds: 46 - Dark Mary Sue This column by Steven Savage is about Mary Sues...	(11. Jul 2001)
A way with worlds: 47 - The Realism Factor What is realism in the settings you create or use? What is this quality of realism that's so valued?	(31. Jul 2001)
A way with worlds: 48 - Apocalypse How In this column Steven Savage talks about creating post-apocalyptic worlds.	(3. Sep 2001)

Alairic Seruthsson
The truths and legends about King Arthur	(20. Aug 2000)

Seshendra Sharma
Poetics, East and West This article shows Seshendra Sharma's scholarship and masterly handling of poetics.	(8. Mar 2004)

William Shatner
Tek War: Shatner's Future	(12. Jul 2000)

L.A. Solinas
Lord of the Rings: Judeo Christian Ethics and Mythos A brief study of Judeo-Christian morality and beliefs, and their subsequent impact on "Lord of the Rings" and its accompanying books.	(7. Jun 2001)
The Grandfathers of Fantasy A study of three pre-Tolkien fantasy writers, the "grandfathers of modern fantasy." Covered are Lord Dunsany, George MacDonald, and William Morris.	(3. Jul 2001)
Evaporating the "Mists" A critical dissection of the quality and reach of the Arthurian fantasy novel "Mists of Avalon."	(11. Sep 2001)
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Marti Talbott
Burned by an Agent Marti Talbott talks about his experience with an agent.	(7. Jun 2001)
Hope for new Authors Self-publishing is the topic of this article by Martin Talbott.	(7. Jun 2001)

Sheri S. Tepper
The Power of Art The Fresco by Sheri S. Tepper. Read the Author's note on The Power of Art.	(26. Feb 2002)

J.R.R. Tolkien
A Reflection on Tolkien's World - Gender, Race & Interpreted Political, Economic, Social & Cultural Allegories	(1. Jan 1999)
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Xina Marie Uhl
What are Electronic Books (and why should I care)?	(5. Aug 2000)
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Denise Weinstein
Print On Demand--The Tempting Siren of the Publishing Business POD printing is a mistake for any writer who ever wants to make it in the literary market. Although their promises sound good, POD services do nothing but fleece inexperienced writers.	(8. Mar 2004)

Jeff Wheeler
The Economics of Being a Fantasy Writer This article shows the economics behind the paid short story markets and the development of free e-zines.	(18. May 2003)

James Wittenbach
New Ideas for a New Century of SF	(6. Oct 2000)

Janny Wurts
Beyond a Vision The eagerly awaited new volume in Janny Wurt's masterwork of epic fantasy, the Wars of Light and Shadow. Read the author's own notes.	(26. Feb 2002)