Writing 101 • Day 1: Welcome to the class

I was doing a reading at an SF/F con this past weekend—

Sorry for not alerting you that I was going to be there. It was very much a last-minute, spur-of-the-moment decision to go. I haven’t been to a con since DemiCon 30 in 2019, and to be honest, I wasn’t sure I wanted to get back into the SF/F con scene. Cons can be very strange places full of even stranger people…

Nonetheless, at the last minute I decided to go through with it, and so late in the afternoon on Saturday I found myself in a conference room with a half-dozen or so fans, doing a “reading.”

Now, when some writers do readings, they really do just read. Manuscript in hand, face-down in the paper, barely making eye-contact with the audience, sometimes twitching nervously, sometimes speaking so softly they’re completely drowned-out by the noise from whatever is going on in the next room over. (In this case it was a showing of the old Hammer Horror movie, Quatermass and The Pit. I love that one. Wish I could have been watching it.)

I’ve been doing these things for about 40 years though, so for me, a reading becomes a lot more interesting if I can turn it into a free-ranging conversation with the audience. Which is what I did.

I did read some fiction to them. Not my fiction, mind you; as an editor and publisher, I feel free to read whatever I like, provided it’s something I published and think they’ll like, too. As always, a few selected pages from Henry Vogel’s Heart of Dorkness stole the show. We were at a con. The story is set in a con. As soon as the p.o.v. character starts kvetching about the long line at registration and the slow elevators, the audience is pulled into the story.

It was during the subsequent conversation that someone in the audience caught me flat-footed. I should have anticipated the question. In hindsight, it was obvious. It was:

“As an editor, what do you look for in a story?”

You know, I’ve been doing this editing and publishing thing for so long, I’ve nearly forgotten the answer to this question. “Um, er, a good story, isn’t it obvious? Read what we’ve published in our books.

“Read the free fiction we’ve published on our web site. It’s all right there, if you just click on the SHOWCASE tab.”

But that’s a deflection, not an answer. What do I consider to be the things that define a good story? What separates the wheat from the chaff, the gold from the dross, the [insert shopworn cliché here]? I’ve always considered reading slush pile submissions to be like panning for gold…

(On the good days, “in a clear mountain stream,” but there are plenty of days when it feels more like, “in the runoff from a landfill…”)

…looking for the few gleaming nuggets that might be hiding there. But what is it, exactly, that makes a submission more likely to catch my eye? 

Hmm. I need to think about that.

Hence, this new column series. For the next—oh, twelve weeks, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I’ll be trying to strike up a conversation with you, about what it is that makes for a good SF/F story and how to write it. 

Why Tuesdays and Thursdays? It’s an old collegiate habit. I want to put myself on a strict albeit arbitrary schedule, to force me to think about the topics and write out my ideas beforehand. There is no syllabus; I’ll be making this up as I go along and am hoping the conversation will be steered by engagement with you. I am hoping to con subborn recruit a few guest lecturers to share their experiences and insights, but that idea is still in the early developmental stage, so I won’t promise anything right now. 

My parents were both teachers. I have spent my entire adult life resisting the push to become a teacher. But maybe, it’s time to finally give in and do it. 

See you next Thursday!

—Bruce Bethke

 

And meanwhile…

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

Pete Wood Challenge #38, “Happy Trails,” is now open for entries!

The Challenge: Write a story of up to 150 words in length using the prompt, “happy trails.” The prompt does not need to appear in the story. Any genre is fine.

Prizes: 1st place $20.00 USD, 2nd place $15.00, 3rd place, $10.00, Honorable Mentions, (1-2) $5.00. The winning entries will be published online by Stupefying Stories in June of 2025.

Who can enter: The contest is open to both Codexians and the general public. One entry per writer, please.

How to enter: Send your entry in the body of an email to:

southernfriedsfwriter@gmail.com

Include the words “Happy Trails” in the subject line. It wouldn’t hurt to include “Pete Wood Challenge 38” or “PWC 38” in your email, too. 

Deadline: 7AM EST, May 15, 2025

Now get writing!

Categories: Writing 101