This is a tricky one.  For one thing, people can’t even agree whether it’s a subgenre or its own genre.  And once you reach some sort of consensus on that, getting people to try and agree on a definition – well.  Science fantasy, I hope we can all agree, is, as the name implies, a [...]

So, I was talking to my friend Anne (of Sky Shark fame) last week about short stories and anthologies and how I thought I would try a few more, and she said, “Wow, you know way more about this than I do” and hence I am writing this post.  To share my knowledge with the [...]

People seem to get these two confused, so let’s clear the waters, shall we? Premise: the basic idea of the story Plot: what happens in a story They are not the same, though they are related.  I’ve seen it said that the premise is your initial idea, what drew you to a story, what made [...]

I can hear you now saying, “Kit, now you are just making up subgenres.”  Am I?  Am I? Possibly, but let’s face it.  Science fiction and westerns go together like mint and chocolate.  Peanut butter and jelly.  Cream soda and Red Vines.  (Mmmm.)  Whatever combination you like.  They were meant to be. Don’t believe me? [...]

You know how it feels.  You write something, you edit it, you polish it, and finally – FINALLY – it feels like you can let it go, let it out into the world to find its way. Its horrible, dangerous way, filled with literary agents and editors and critics and… But I get ahead of [...]