The past several weeks have been hectic, leaving me little time for blogging. Unfortunately, I’ve also been contending with depression, burnout, and fatigue for reasons too long to elucidate here (and you probably don’t care anyway).  Winter and ongoing pandemic stress have exacerbated the problem. Whatever. I’m working through it.

On a lighter note, I’m thrilled to announce that four of my short stories will be published across two anthologies in late March. More information on that soon! For now, I lined up another fantastic selection of helpful articles about writing and publishing.

Monica Valentinelli discusses the ingredients of dark science fiction and offers a generous helping of positive writing advice to keep us motivated.

Ken Miyamoto explains the difference between story and plot while Susan DeFreitas delves into strategies for presenting backstory.

Over at Mythcreants, Oren Ashkenazi warns prose writers against emulating TV and film while Chris Winkle teaches us how to improve reader engagement.

Brian Andrews guides us through writing believable action scenes, Julie Duffy provides pointers on transitioning between novels and short stories, and Philip Athens summarizes the history of pulp magazines.

All that a little more. Enjoy!

When Science Fiction Meets Horror in World-Building by Monica Valentinelli

101 Softly-Delivered Writing Lessons by Monica Valentinelli

What the 2021 Facebook Changes Mean for Authors by Thomas Umstattd, Jr.

Plot vs. Story: What’s the Difference? by Ken Miyamoto

Backstory and Exposition: 4 Key Tactics by Susan DeFreitas via Jane Friedman

Focus on Short Fiction by Julie Duffy

Five Bad Habits Writers Learn from Movies and TV by Oren Ashkenazi

Optimizing Your Story Ideas for Better Engagement by Chris Winkle

How to Write Amazing Action Scenes by Brian Andrews

How to Write A Bestselling Thriller by Hank Phillippi Ryan

Doublespeak: A Look at Voice by Terry Odell

A Brief History of Pulp Fiction by Philip Athans