Writing 101 • Part 2: Mary Sue, Totally Badass Survivalist

One of the few benefits of being my age is that it helps you to develop a sense of historical perspective.Most people, it increasingly seems to me, live inside a temporal bubble that is at best about ten years long. To such people five years ago is ancient history, and thus irrelevant, while five years in the future is so far away as to be impossible to imagine.Ironic, then,...

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Writing 101 • Sidebar: Hello, Mary Sue, Goodbye, Credibility

There’s a character you should all know and dread: “Lieutenant Mary Sue Je’nerik, the youngest cadet ever to make commissioned rank in Star Fleet.”At least, such is the lore. I first encountered Mary Sue in a piece of Star Trek fanfic that was being passed around amongst my writer friends that was so badly written, I had to believe it was intentional parody. Since then, though,...

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The Never-ending FAQ • 11 June 2025

A lot of questions have piled up in my inbox since the last Never-ending FAQ post, most of which are variations on “Where are you?!” and “What happened?!” The shortest possible answer is, “I’ve been busy.”Since this rarely seems a satisfactory answer to most people, I’ll elaborate.First and foremost:A lot of time in the last few weeks went into this book, The Day We Said...

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Book Release: THE DAY WE SAID GOODBYE TO THE BIRDS • by Allan Dyen-Shapiro

  “Genocide Joe” is a marked man.Once a highly respected corporate microbiologist, now the scapegoat for a GMO-caused ecological disaster that’s turned San Francisco Bay toxic and poisoned thousands, Joe has lost everything: his career, his reputation, his wife, his home, and most of his friends. All he has left is his 18-month-old daughter, Daphne, the clothes on...

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“As the Moon Rises” • by Isabelle D’Amato

I hasten through the dark and snowy woods, as quickly as the poor horse will carry me.Dusk is falling fast and an icy wind is rising, piercing through my coarse peasant robe as if it’s barely there. Storm clouds scud across the sky, low and fast. In the distance, but not distant enough, a wolf howls, then another, and then yet another. Their voices stir the tiny hairs on the...

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Writing 101 • Sidebar: Visualization Techniques

Sometimes, when I’m having trouble writing a scene, I’ll take a step back from trying to express it in words and just try to see the moment in my mind’s eye. Where is this taking place? Who’s in the picture? What are they doing? What important things are in the picture? What’s about to happen to those people or those things?Sometimes an image comes readily to mind. Sometimes...

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“Outpost” • by Gordon Pinckheard

“Mother,” Isaac called out to the Colony’s management system, “I’d like to talk to someone Earthside.” Isaac was bored. He had finished lessons for the day and had seen quite enough of his classmates. He wanted a break from teenagers, some adult company, a face he hadn’t seen in a while. “Certainly, Isaac. Who would you like to speak to?” “Julie, if she’s available. Don’t...

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Writing 101 • No Session Today

Class cancelled. Last-minute schedule conflict. See you on Thursd...

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“Catgut Variations (on a G string)” • by M. David Blake

I once owned a violin, covered with green silk, wrapped in gold and gauze, bound with iron chains and hidden in a teak-wood cask. It was an odd way to keep a violin, I’ll admit.The violin was beautiful, almost iridescently grained, but as useless to me as an ostrich plume on a seal-clubbing expedition. No blow I could strike had any impact, and no stroke of my bow brought...

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Ask Dr. Cyberpunk • with your host, Bruce Bethke

And now, as <s>threatened</s> promised last week:INVASION of the DISCODROIDS!I’ve been taking some deep dives into the archives lately, to find the answer to the question that keeps coming back up: what inspired me to write “Cyberpunk?” The good news is that at the time, I kept detailed journals. The surprising discovery was that, while I’d always thought I’d...

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