Category Archives: Science Fiction Story

SMELLS LIKE VIVID DESCRIPTION

Posted on January 2, 2024 by Philip Athans

Caro Verbeek identifies herself as “a smell historian.” Take a look at her TED video to get a fast but robust context on how smell works, what it can mean, etc. I was surprised to hear in this video that, “Smell is apparently … Continue reading →

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MORE ON THE SCIENCE:FICTION RATIO AND SF SUB-GENRES

Posted on December 5, 2023 by Philip Athans

As with my previous video on fantasy sub-genres, I’d like to add some additional thoughts and context to the more recent video “The Science:Fiction Ratio for Authors,” which you can watch now, if you haven’t already: Are there SF sub-genres at … Continue reading →

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ENDING PROMPTS

Posted on October 3, 2023 by Philip Athans

I’ve written short stories using writing prompts before and found it a useful exercise just to get started writing something. Prompts tend to be all about how a story starts, it’s a brief setup to push you into a story. … Continue reading →

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ISOLATION 14

Posted on April 13, 2021 by Philip Athans

They keep calling me Mr. Hartford. “My name is Donovan,” I say, but can’t be sure I’ve been heard. I’m cold, and I want to tell them that, too, but I can’t, or I don’t try. Someone is holding my … Continue reading →

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FOG: EXPLORING WEIRD TALES Vol. 5, No. 1—PART 18

Posted on July 9, 2019 by Philip Athans

Diving once more into the January 1925 issue of Weird Tales we come to: Um… That’s supposed to be C. Franklin Miller… And there’s an interesting typo in the first paragraph, too: …a certain emotion, a certain tensity, that his … Continue reading →

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NOTES FOR A NOVEL THAT I WILL (PROBABLY) NEVER WRITE

Posted on March 20, 2018 by Philip Athans

“The point of my keeping a notebook has never been, nor is it now, to have an accurate factual record of what I have been doing or thinking,” wrote Joan Didion in her essay “On Keeping a Notebook.” “That would … Continue reading →

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JUST . . . WRITE

Posted on February 6, 2018 by Philip Athans

Last week I posted a short story called “Do You Want Me to Leave You Alone While You Cry?” I wrote this story in exactly 85 minutes, longhand, with a cheap pen using up just a smidge more than five … Continue reading →

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DO YOU WANT ME TO LEAVE YOU ALONE WHILE YOU CRY?

Posted on January 30, 2018 by Philip Athans

“God damn it, just get the fuck off me,” Jane said, her voice deeper, more growly than normal. She pushed with both hands and a chill of panic raced through her when Bret didn’t move. But then he relaxed and … Continue reading →

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MOVING FORWARD WITH BACKWARD

Posted on November 28, 2017 by Philip Athans

As a copy editor, I’ve changed the word backwards to backward probably ten thousand times. Like the word towards, which I whined about in detail for other reasons, the difference between backward and backwards is likewise symbolized by the Atlantic … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, characters, freelance editing, freelance writing, horror novels, how to write fantasy, how to write fiction, how to write horror, how to write science fiction, Publishing Business, Science Fiction & Fantasy Novels, Science Fiction Story, SF and Fantasy Authors, transmedia, Writing, writing advice, writing fantasy, writing horror, writing science fiction, Writing Science Fiction & Fantasy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

BOOKS FOR FANTASY AUTHORS XX: HEINLEIN’S RULES: FIVE SIMPLE BUSINESS RULES FOR WRITING

Posted on July 26, 2016 by Philip Athans

From time to time I’ll recommend—not review, mind you, but recommend, and yes, there is a difference—books that I think fantasy authors should have on their shelves. Some may be new and still in print, some may be difficult to … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, E-Books, freelance editing, horror novels, how to write fantasy, how to write fiction, how to write horror, how to write science fiction, indie publishing, POD, Publishing Business, Pulp Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy Novels, Science Fiction Story, SF and Fantasy Authors, transmedia, Writing, writing advice, writing fantasy, writing horror, writing science fiction, Writing Science Fiction & Fantasy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments