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Author Archives: Casey Blair
Guest Post: We Are Not Entertained by Aigner Loren Wilson
There’s this common misconception that the world of editing (in the sense of submitting your story to a magazine or contest) is an absolute puzzle constantly being shifted around by angry and jaded editors. In classes, writing groups, and even among non-writers, I hear it repeated that you have to have this unknowable combination of luck and talent to land a spot in a magazine, and it isn’t worth trying or learning. You got it or you don’t.
But that type of thinking leaves most people without it.
I want to say that in my years as a reader, judge, and developmental editor none of that is true. Especially about editors. We’re not shadowed goblins lying in wait to crush every writers’ dream. The reason we got into this line of work is because we want to hear a good story, a new story. We want to be entertained.
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Guest Post: Comedy Is a Ninja by Noah Sturdevant
Things are tense these days. I hope I’m not shocking anyone by saying that. There’s a lot of negative emotions going around, and people deal with them in different ways. One of the healthier ways is to engage with a good movie, game, book, or other form of media and get lost in a story. As a person empathizes with characters, they achieve catharsis as they experience their emotional journey together with the characters they empathize with. People enjoy dramas to release their sadness, they enjoy action to feel power over a world which often shows them to be powerless. Some enjoy horror for the endorphin rush, or to release pent up negative emotions in a more healthy way than going to the hardware store and looking for a chainsaw that’s light enough to chase someone with, yet not so light that it can’t get the job done.
Um, for example.
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Posted in guest post
Tagged comedy, crossed genres, genre fiction, guest post, humor in writing, noah sturdevant, quick draw
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Guest Post: Carrie Vaughn on That Ineffable Quality of Voice
Ask many writers what got them to the next level, what separates great writers from good writers, sparkling writing from the merely competent, and they’ll often give the same answer: voice. A voice that stands out, that grabs the reader and … Continue reading
Posted in guest post
Tagged carrie vaughn, developing voice, narrative voice, point-of-view
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Chandra Clarke on the Importance of Not Giving Up in the Face of Big, Intractable Problems
It’s so easy to feel overwhelmed by… everything right now. Climate change, the rise of authoritarianism, the economy, systemic racism, a global pandemic. Social media (which arguably has never been a showcase for the best humanity has on offer) has … Continue reading
Posted in guest post
Tagged chandra clarke, climate change, community organizing, fight for change, guest blog post
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Guest Post: Jeffrey A. Carver on How I Ventured into Audiobooks and Lost My Shirt—or Maybe Found It
Audiobooks are the current gold rush in publishing—or so they say, and you know “they” always know what they’re talking about. If you don’t get on the audiobook wagon, you are sure to lose out. That might or might not … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged audio books, audiobooks, guest blog post, indie publishing, jeffrey a carver, production, wide distribution
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Guest Post: B. Morris Allen on Writing in Harmony
Writing is inherently frustrating, because it’s a process of condensing imagination into prose–taking countless colours and dimensions of dreaming and stripping them down to a few crude black and white stick drawings that readers can expand back in their own … Continue reading
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Tagged about writing, anthology, collaboration, developing voice, writing craft
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Guest Post: Gustavo Bondoni on Argentine SFF
Last week, Argentina’s largest literary prize, sponsored by the government through the National Arts Fund, announced that it would only accept science fiction, fantasy and horror entries this year. All hell broke loose immediately. In some cases, there were people … Continue reading
Posted in guest post, Uncategorized
Tagged argentine sff, genre history, gustavo bondoni, sff around the world
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Guest Post: Mark Engleson on When Lack of Social Grace Crosses the Line
When Lack of Social Grace Crosses the Line An autistic responds to “The Shealy Logs” (Burgin Mathews, No Depression, Spring 2020) In “The Shealy Logs,” Burgin Mathews relates the story of John Shealy, who created decades of logs of performances … Continue reading
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Tagged actually autistic, asd, autism, disability awareness, mark engleson, responsibility, social anxiety
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Guest Post: Michael R. Underwood on Five Tips for Cultural Worldbuilding Without Building a World Bible
Worldbuilding can be an intimidating part of writing science fiction/fantasy, whether it’s an epic fantasy or a distant far-future space opera. There are many ways focusing on worldbuilding first can go awry, chief among them the possibility that worldbuilding becomes … Continue reading
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Tagged culture, how to finish a story, michael r underwood, mythology, power dynamics, research, worldbuilding
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