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Monthly Archives: January 2012
Teaching Writing Online
When I first advertised that I’d be teaching an online writing class devoted to writing fantasy and science fiction stories, Todd Vandermark, the tireless editor of the SFWA blog, mailed me asking if I’d write a blog post about it. Sure, I said — only let me do it first so I have something to write about. I’m two thirds of the way through, and now I’ve got something to say… Continue reading
Writing in 3-D
Landscape and long descriptions are often a feature of fantasy and science fiction. Often the purpose is to look gee-whiz pretty, but it can inform the story in many ways. Here, for example, is the beginning of Gormenghast:
Gormenghast, that is, the main massing of the original stone, taken by itself would have displayed a certain ponderous architectural quality were it possible to have ignored the circumfusion of those mean dwellings that swarmed like an epidemic around its outer walls. They sprawled over the sloping earth, each one half way over its neighbor until, held back by the castle ramparts, the innermost of these hovels laid hold on the great walls, clamping themselves thereto like limpets to a rock. These dwellings, by ancient law, were granted this chill intimacy with the stronghold that loomed above them. Over their irregular roofs would fall throughout the season, the shadows of time-eaten buttresses, of broken and lofty turrets, and, most enormous of all, the shadow of the Tower of Flints. This tower, patched unevenly with black ivy, arose like a mutilated finger from among the fists of knuckled masonry and pointed blasphemously at heaven. At night the owls made of it an echoing throat; by day it stood voiceless and cast its long shadow.
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Posted in Writing
Tagged apex magazine, description, gormeghast, jim c. hines, maria doria russell, online workshop, twin peaks
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Online Classes and Workshops For 2012
NOTE: These classes are past. You can find the current listing of classes here. Given what a success the first round of classes has been and how much darn FUN they are to teach, I’m going to try to make … Continue reading
Class Notes Session 3 – World-building
(Saturday class – you haven’t had this session yet, don’t worry, we will this weekend!) Week Three deals with the world of the story: both the setting (the world as the characters know it) and the world of the narrative … Continue reading
“So Glad We Had This TIme Together” Up At Apex
My story, "So Glad We Had This TIme Together," is up on Apex in an issue that includes a lot of really good stuff from Gregory Frost, Sarah Dalton, and Jim C. Hines. I hope you'll check it out! The … Continue reading