Category: Uncategorized

Races, Religions, and Cultures: How to Ethically Borrow Inspiration from Existing Patterns of Human Existence - March 19, 2022 at 2:30 EST The vast diversity of richly-populated worlds is a common and much-loved aspect of Science Fiction. Since we haven't met any aliens (yet...!), the diversity within a writer's mind and work is a direct product of what we know of history and can learn or extrapolate from personal experience. This panel will discuss how to ethically borrow inspiration from existing cultures without perpetuating harmful stereotypes, and distinguishing the difference between cultural appropriation and appreciation (and how you can avoid the former!) when writing Science Fiction. This panel is part of Storycrafting Sessions: Science Fiction, a 100% FREE virtual conference happening on March 19th! Sign up for this panel or…

Civilization and Conquest: Colonial Echoes & Themes in Sci-Fi - March 19, 2022 at 12:30 EST Many aspects of mainstream Science Fiction involve or revolve around themes of discovery and exploration. As Science Fiction boldly explores the far reaches of space and other dimensions, or extrapolates futures -- utopic, dystopic and in-between -- writers face a challenge to capture the magical moments of discovery while addressing the fact that many 'magical moments' of discovery in human history were followed by exploitation, war, and varying forms of oppression for the resources and peoples 'discovered'. As far as we fling our minds to encompass the vast imagined (and not-yet imagined!) corners of the universe, echoes of colonialism and conquest follow. Science Fiction offers an ideal arena for reimagining history or reengineering the…

Trigger Warning: Writing Sci-Fi With Emotional Awareness - March 19, 2022 at 11AM EST on Zoom! Various traumatic events like wars, genocides, invasions, & colonization -- on an individual, global, and often galactic scale -- often form important plot and thematic points in Science Fiction. While these are important events to represent, they also present a dilemma as they are traumatic events with wide ripple effects that can be felt for generations on individual, social, cultural, economic and national levels. Developing an aware and conscientious approach when working with emotionally triggering content is important when working with material of this type or scope. This panel will discuss how to tackle sensitive subjects in Science Fiction, and how writers can cultivate informed and effective story development while avoiding harmful stereotypes. We'll…

Today marks the launch of my newest endeavor to help authors build successful long-term careers: the Author Success Club. The Author Success Club is a premium membership club hosted on Ko-fi. Every month, the Author Success Club provide new resources to help members improve one of the following areas of their careers: Marketing - Most resources will focus on digital marketing since that’s what my expertise is in, but there will also be resources to help you sell books at in-person events.Health - This might not seem career related, but when your health falls apart, so does everything else. The Author Success Club will share resources on how to make self care part of your routine in order to maintain the health of your brain and body.Writing craft - All…

Editors Talk: How to Self-Evaluate Your Story Structure - July 3, 2021 at 5PM EST What do editors look for? How can you make sure your story is in the best shape possible before submitting to a publisher, magazine, contest, or other venue? This panel of editors and authors will share how to evaluate and refine your story structure before sending your work to an editor. They’ll also share some of the most common structure mistakes they see. Moderated by Nicole ZelnikerFeaturing: Emelyne Museaux, Hannah Van Vels, Jeni Chappelle, Crystal L. Kirkham, Stephi Cham Sign up here or check out the full event schedule! Nicole Zelniker is an author and a producer at The Nasiona. She graduated from the Columbia Journalism School in 2018. In 2015, Nicole worked with Triad City Beat as their investigative intern. She is the former editor-in-chief (2016-2017)…