Year: 2015

New Class: Short Fiction Writing and the Other at the Brainery, Spring 2016

By:  TempestClasses

New class! I’m blending some elements of the Writing the Other classes I teach with Nisi with the Short Fiction syllabus I developed for the Brainery.

During the 15 weeks of the class, students will delve deep into learning this sometimes tricky skill through a combination of readings, analysis of published fiction, writing exercises, and developing, writing, and revising stories of their own in a safe, supportive atmosphere.

It starts with laying down a foundation of good writing craft, as many mistakes and pitfalls when writing the Other are born from lack of skill. The class will cover language, description, narrative structure, and plot, then dive deep into characterization, stereotypes and tropes, dialogue and dialect, worldbuilding, cultural appropriation, how to research the Other, and strategies for keeping your wordcounts under 8,000.

In addition to the regular instructor, students will benefit from guest lectures exclusive to this class by authors Nisi Shawl and Max Gladstone. Students will also have the opportunity to get a critique on their final submission from one of these writers.

Classes begin the week of January 25th. All the details at The Brainery.

Drew Coffman Writer's Block I

Last Minute Gifts For Writers: Put An Online Class Under The Tree*

By:  TempestGeekitude

Drew Coffman Writer's Block I

It’s Christmas week. And you still don’t know what gift you’re going to give the special writer in your life for the holidays. They have everything—a great laptop, a tablet with a Bluetooth keyboard, a copy of Scrivener, fully paid Dropbox, and a Pro subscription to Evernote. What else is there to give?

Lean in close and I will tell you.

Give them the gift of an online writing class.

Classes help writers at any level build skills as well as community, equally important for writers who wish to pursue a publishing career. The big name workshops such as Clarion, Clarion West, Viable Paradise, Odyssey, etc., require both a monetary and time commitment not all writers can afford. But an online writing class makes it possible to do everything from home and fit the classwork into an existing schedule. Some online classes only ask for a weekend commitment.

And for those weekend classes, you know what else makes a great gift? The promise that you will arrange things for that weekend so the writer you’re gifting doesn’t have to worry about anything else, from kids to cooking meals to walking the dogs, except the class. That right there is almost as amazing a gift as the class.

I can see I have you convinced. But, you ask, where can I find online classes for the writer in my life? Once again, I have the answer:

Weekend Classes

Short Story Intensive taught by Mary Robinette Kowal

Think you never have time to write? Think again. Mary Robinette Kowal wrote her first Hugo-nominated short story “Evil Robot Monkey” in ninety minutes. If you have ninety minutes, you can have a story — all it takes is understanding how to make every word work double-time. In this workshop, learn the same techniques she uses to create new fiction. Through exercises focusing on viewpoint, dialogue, and plot, you’ll learn how to let nothing go to waste. By the end of this three day workshop, participants will be given a writing prompt and complete their own short story.

Price: $275

Dates

  • February 26 – 28, 2016
  • March 25 – 27, 2016
  • April 22 – 24, 2016

 

The Art of Writing the Other – Weekend Intensive taught by Nisi Shawl and K. Tempest Bradford

Writers know that it’s important to write about characters whose gender, sexual orientation, religion, racial heritage, or other aspect of identity differs from their own. But many are afraid to do so for fear that they will get it wrong–horribly, offensively wrong–and think it is better not even to try. In truth, it is possible to write the Other sensitively and convincingly, and this workshop can start you on the path to doing just that.

Price: $250 + service fee

Dates: January 1 – 3, 2016

 

Multi-Week Classes

Creative NonFiction Workshop SPRING 2016 taught by Brooke Benoit

This 8-week workshop is designed to do a whole bunch of things for you and your craft. Firstly, assignments simply motivate some of us who are otherwise floundering in our writing practice. Engaging and varied exercises are planned with flexibility to meet your needs and to get you writing. Then there is the opportunity to acquire some new skills through direct feedback on your work from a professional editor and writer, as well as all the helpful little tips I will be providing you with. You will also get fresh weekly reader feedback through peer reviews of your work.

Price: $220

Start Date: February 2, 2016

 

The Architecture of Fiction taught by Nick Mamatas

Where does your story start? How on Earth do you keep it going? What’s the difference between ending a story and just stopping it? Regardless of genre, length, or form, every story has a beginning, middle, and an ending—in no particular order. Beginning writers often start their stories in the wrong place, confuse action with plot, and then end a scene a bit too early… or too late. In four weeks, award-winning novelist, anthologist, and editor Nick Mamatas will guide you up and down the path of storytelling—through the architecture of fiction. This workshop will give you the tools you need to move through a story with confidence—whether it’s a novel, novella, or short story.

Price: $350

Start Date: January 21, 2016

 

The Brainery Online Workshops for Speculative Fiction Writers

Classes begin the week of Jnauary 25th and are scheduled based on student availability.

Novel Workshop and YA Novel Workshop taught by Jilly Dreadful, Ph.D.

Designed for writers with a complete (though not necessarily finished) manuscript in need of a full critique. The goal is to help shape first drafts into stronger second drafts and to help writers develop strategies for revision and expansion. Students will receive in-depth critiques from their peers and the instructor.

Price: $500

Short Fiction Writing and the Other taught by K. Tempest Bradford

A brand new class designed for writers who want to include characters in their fiction whose gender, sexual orientation, religion, racial heritage, or other aspect of identity differs from their own, but are hesitant to do so for fear that they will get it horribly, offensively wrong. Students will learn strategies for writing the “Other” sensitively and convincingly as well as strengthen their short story writing craft in general through a combination of readings, analysis of published fiction, writing exercises, peer critiques, and developing, writing, and revising stories in a safe, supportive atmosphere. In addition to instruction and in-depth critiques from Bradford, students will also benefit from guest lectures exclusive to this class from authors Nisi Shawl and Max Gladstone.

Price: $575

 

Short Fiction taught by Valerie Valdes

A workshop designed for speculative fiction writers looking to produce submission-ready short fiction in the form of flash fiction, short stories or standalone novel excerpts. Participants will deepen their theory and practice through the discussion of course readings, a continually evolving feedback loop from the instructor and classmates, as well as the kind of accountability that a community of peers can provide. Writers work on four submissions during the program: two new and/or original works, up to 7500 words in length, a revision of one of the two previously submitted pieces, and a work of flash fiction 1000 words or less.

Price: $475

 

Science Fiction Fairy Tales taught by Jilly Dreadful, Ph.D.

A hypoxic-style workshop designed to push students to challenge themselves as writers and to question the conventions and limits of what it means to remix fairy tales in modern ways. Every week students will consider a different fairy tale and science theme pairing, and remix it using experimental methods. Students will write (on average) 750-1500 words weekly, as well as discuss each other’s work.

Price: $500

 

This represents classes I’m aware of that are open to enrollment right now. If you know of any other online classes that fit this description, please add them in the comments.

Now, get to those links are give the writer in your life who has everything else a craft-building class of amazeballs and be a holiday hero.

*Yes, I know, not everyone celebrates Christmas and thus has a tree. But really, the image of putting the Internet under a tree is too good to pass up.

New Class: Weekend Intensive – The Art of Writing the Other Jan 1 – 3 2016

By:  TempestClasses

Another weekend intensive! This time over a holiday weekend, which should help with accessibility.

When: January 1 – 3 (detailed schedule at the link)
Where: ONLINE via Google Hangout
Price: $250 + service fee
To Register: Visit Brown Paper Tickets (Registration opens December 5th)

Miss this class? Sign up for our mailing list to get notifications when we give it again.

A Fine Dessert

KidLit Authors and Illustrators: Time To Step Up

By:  TempestThe Publishing Biz

This past week author Daniel José Older laid down some hard truth about the illustrations for the children’s book A Fine Dessert1. In the video below he points out that slavery is an “open wound” that America as a whole has been lying about to itself “forever” and that illustrations showing black children as slaves smiling, happy to work hard making fancy food for massa are a problem. Please watch the whole thing, because Daniel really lays it out and what he says is important.

He followed up his panel appearance with a piece in The Guardian that highlights the severe lack of children’s books with African-American people in them.

In 2014, only 5% of the 3,500 children’s books published were about black characters; Christopher Myers has called it “the apartheid of children’s literature”.

This doesn’t even take into account other groups of POC. I suspect that there are very few Latin@, Asian, and Native American characters in kid’s books as well, and that’s just naming three groups.

The article points out that the publishing industry still suffers from the Highlander problem: There Can Be Only One. This has to be addressed, no doubt. At the same time, we should also address the other side of the equation: Authors.

On the panel, Daniel acknowledged that “a book is a creation of a village, just like people are,” and he’s so very right. That means no single entity within the village–editors, publishers, authors, marketers, reviewers, readers–is solely responsible for fixing these systemic problems. However, each entity within the village should do whatever is in their power to effect change2.

We need more authors from diverse backgrounds writing books with characters like them, and we need more of them to get published. We also need more authors from all backgrounds writing books with characters that aren’t like them, characters that come from minority, marginalized, or oppressed groups, characters that aren’t often found in children’s literature. We need those characters drawn in ways that reflect the vast divversity even within said groups. We need authors and illustrators to create books that reflect the truth of people from these groups, even if that truth is uncomfortable. We also need authors to create books that reflect how the world should be and could be for kids from these groups. Because it’s just as important to look forward and to speculate with hope as it is to look back with clear eyes and reveal hard truths about the way things were and how that impacts the way things are.

We need all of these things. Right now.

Now we get to the part where some authors say: I agree with you, but just look at what happened to Sophie Blackall (the illustrator) or even Emily Jenkins, the author. They tried and they got it wrong and they got attacked!

Yes well, that’s art3.

Less flippant answer: It’s always worth it to try, to fail, to try again and be better, to learn from your missteps, to grow and keep trying.

Others will rightly point out that this growth that comes out of failure has an impact on people beyond the author, and that is true. It’s imperative to then do your best to learn from others’ mistakes and to put in the work so you can avoid the obvious pitfalls.

How?

This is the part where what I say sounds like a pitch, but it’s honestly not.

Here’s how: You learn how to write the Other sensitively and convincingly. It can be done. You start by reading the book Writing the Other: A Practical Approach by Nisi Shawl and Cynthia Ward. Or, you start by taking Nisi and Cynthia’s workshop in person or online. Or, you start by taking a another workshop or class about writing and the Other online or at a university or at a convention or conference.

And yes, Nisi and I are teaching a class on this topic next month. (You can register here if it fits in your schedule, and you can get announcements of new classes here if not.) And we’ll keep teaching it whenever we can throughout next year and hopefully beyond. Because this issue is important to us, as it’s also important to Cynthia Ward and Daniel José Older and many, many, many other authors and editors and teachers.

Look for these opportunities. Read the book, read articles and blog posts and talk to people and listen. Because we need more authors, especially authors who already have relationships and contracts with publishers, to say: children’s books should be for all children, not just some. Also to say: children’s books that include Black and Latin@ and Japanese and Native American and Nigerian and other characters from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds are for all children, no matter their background, because we are all people and all of us deserve to be reflected in books and all of us deserve to be seen by the Other (relative to yourself) as people worth knowing and understanding.

We need this now. Let’s get it done.

By whatever means necessary.

 

Footnotes

  1. If you haven’t yet heard about the controversy, there are summaries, illustrations, and reactions from various folks, including the author–the illustrator is in the video–at Bossip and VH1 [⇧]
  2. For an example of what publishers and editors can do, see this blog post by the LEE&LOW staff. [⇧]
  3. Also, I wouldn’t characterize the criticism as an “attack” though I know some will [⇧]

New Class: The Art of Writing the Other – Weekend Intensive

By:  TempestClasses

When: December 11th 7PM Eastern to December 13th 10PM Eastern
Location: ONLINE via Google Hangout
Price: $250 + service fee
Registration begins: November 6, 2015

This is a new version of our class condensed into a shorter time frame (2.5 days) that also costs less. The material covered in this course is similar to our previous 6 week classes, just heavily concentrated. This class is for writers who cannot commit to regular meetings over several weeks but can devote one weekend.

The class is appropriate for all writers (fiction, plays, comics, screenplays, and games included) from all backgrounds and any skill level.

Please see the registration link for all details, including schedule.

Miss this class? Sign up for our mailing list to get notifications when we give it again.

Tempest Challenge #16: Archangel by Marguerite Reed & Elysium by Jennifer Marie Brissett

By:  TempestTempest Challenge

Took a long hiatus, sorry! I wanted to get out the last of the Wisdom from WisCon suggestions. This week’s books feature characters that AREN’T isolated from their families and communities, plus gorgeous writing and awesome covers.

This week’s challengers: Margurite Reed and Gretchen T of A Room of One’s Own bookstore.

And, as always, you can support me making Tempest Challenge vids by clicking the links below when you…

Buy Archangel (The Chronicles of Ubastis) by Marguerite Reed from A Room of One’s Own, Powell’s, or Amazon; or Elysium by Jennifer Marie Brissett from A Room of One’s Own, Powell’s, or Amazon.

New Class: Short Fiction Workshop at the Brainery, Fall 2015

By:  TempestClasses

I’m one of the teachers for the Brainery’s short fiction workshop this semester! Check it:

This course is an intense practicum in speculative fiction writing and students can expect a traditional graduate-level fiction workshop, concentrating on understanding and implementing the various aspects of speculative fiction. These aspects include craft issues such as characterization, point of view, narrative structure, style, and voice. Although this class is designed with a flexible schedule in mind, students are expected to commit to the same standards as expected of graduate-level creative writing courses, including: deadlines, feedback, and accountability.

Click here for all the details, including price. With this class you not only get a workshop, but Master Class roundtable sessions with Ken Liu and Amal El-Mohtar, two of my favorite writers.

Author Websites Are Necessary

The 6 Elements Of A Good Author Website

By:  TempestWriting Life

The other day on Twitter Sofia Samatar laid down some truth:

Yes. All the yesses. +1, co-sign.

Every author should have a website, even if you’re just beginning and have only one thing published. Heck, even before you have things published. You should always take as much control over your online presence as you can. That starts with having a good website1.

Having a good, clear, professional-looking website does not require a lot of technical knowledge, a lot of money, and a lot of maintenance. But if you’re not very technically inclined and feel intimidated by creating a website, there are people who are happy to help you. Some will do so for free, some for a small fee, and some who are pros and charge pro rates. But before we get into that, let’s break down what an author website should have on it.

The six elements you need:

  • Homepage
  • Blog
  • About
  • Publication List
  • Events page*
  • Contact

Homepage

With many author sites it’s a good idea for this to be a static page. Yes, my homepage is my blog. I regret this decision! Especially now that I don’t blog here as much. I’ll likely change it soon. Having a static page allows you to highlight what’s new–such as a new book or story–and give an at-a-glance view to your visitors to the important info about you and serve as a portal to the rest of the site plus other important sites2. This is where you’ll list the social networks you’re on and your profiles on Amazon, Goodreads, etc.

Blog

BUT I DON’T WANT TO BLOG you might be screaming right now. That’s fine. Just because I say you should include a blog it doesn’t mean you have to update that blog every day or hour. You don’t even need to call that section Blog. You can call it News, Announcements, or something similar. The purpose of this section is for you to have an easily updatable place to put the kind of news and info readers like. Not just when your book is published, but when it gets a nice review, when it’s nominated for or wins an award, if you’re interviewed or otherwise mentioned in the press, pictures from your book signings or other appearances, when you publish a new story, when you start selling merch, or whatever.

Of course, if you want to have a traditional blog, even better. But don’t feel compelled to make your blog section an online journal if that’s not your speed.

About

In addition to talking about yourself and your amazing work, your About page should contain or have links to your official bio (I have a public Google Doc with a long and short version), your official photos (link to the hi-res versions of images, don’t embed them) and photo credits, and hi-res versions of your book covers. This makes it really easy for folks to grab this info without you having to search it out each time.

This is also the place to list your social network and other profiles.

Publication List

This one is self-explanatory. The only thing I’ll suggest here is that you make it attractive! However, a simple list with links is fine, too.

Events Page

This one had a star next to it because it’s only really necessary if you make a lot of personal appearances and do many signings. Those who’ve published a book will need this section, maybe not if you’re just publishing short stories at the moment. In that case, the announcements on your blog should suffice, just be sure you have a blog category called Events or something like that so they’re easy to find.

There are lots of ways to maintain an Events page and I have no particular best practices. Check out what other authors do for ideas. I do suggest including info on this page on how people can request to book you for events, signings, and the like.

Contact

Always have a way for people to contact you! Always. I prefer to have contact forms because then no one is getting your actual email address unless you email them back. And it cuts down on spam. And if you don’t mind if fans ping you on social media, mention that here, too.

I Am Not Tech-Savvy And Can’t Make My Own Website

That’s okay! There are several options below for creating a website easily without needing technical acumen. But if you still feel nervous about it, there are people who will help you. Some for free, some will charge a fee.

I used to design websites for a living. I don’t anymore, but I still set up WordPress for folks who need it because, for me, it’s simple and doesn’t take much time. If you really need an author website and have $75, I will set it up for you on WordPress.com and walk you through the basics and show you how to update it on your own.

If you need a more complex website, or want an installation on your own host (explained below) and a customized design, there are other folks who can help you. My friends Stephanie Leary and Jeremy Tolbert are both WordPress experts and make beautiful sites. They charge pro rates. They are worth it.

If you’re a person willing to help authors create simple websites for free or for a fee, scroll down to the comments and let us know! Please say whether you work for free or charge and include a link to your website or portfolio.

What Should I Use To Make My Website?

I always suggest that people use WordPress to make author websites. WP is a blogging platform, but it’s easily used as a whole site management tool. It makes updating simple, and you can get a nice look without knowing any code. It’s also free. You can set up a site on WordPress.com or get your own hosting and set it up on your server for free.

There are other options, such as drag and drop site builders on SquareSpace or similar. I’m not a huge fan of those, but as long as they allow you to have all the elements mentioned above with little fuss and at your level of technical comfort, go with what works for you.

I do not suggest using Blogger, because it sucks. LiveJournal and DreamWidth won’t work because they are mainly blogs with a little bit of functionality for static pages, but not enough.

Tumblr is a possibility because you can create static pages, add your own domain name, and mess around with themes enough to customize. However, I find it all really hard compared to WordPress and the resulting site not as functional or easy to maintain.

WordPress.com or Host It Myself?

If you want to set up a site completely for free, then you can go with WordPress.com. Someone on Twitter asked if a site URL like authorname.wordpress.com projected an unprofessional vibe. In my experience, not as much as authorname.blogspot.com or an AOL.com email address. It looks perfectly legit to be on the .com site.

If you’re still nervous about it, you can put your own domain on a WP.com site so it looks like authorname.com even though you’re still using WP.com on the backend. WordPress will sell you a domain name themselves, but it’s a bit less expensive to buy the domain elsewhere and pay the fee to attach it to your WP.com site. I use NameCheap where .com domains cost less than $11 a year.

The drawback with WordPress.com is that you have to use the WP themes they list3, you can’t install one you just find somewhere. You’re also restricted to specific plugins. Plugins are awesome–they add extra functionality to WordPress and there are a handful I cannot live without.

For the most control over themes, plugins, and domains, you’ll need to get your own hosting account. My main advice here: DO NOT GET GODADDY. It’s just best to look elsewhere. I use MDD Hosting and pay less than $20 per month. There are tons of good hosting options out there–ask for suggestions on social media if you don’t already know of a company. And always read the reviews before you sign up.

Not sure if you need a hosted site or can just stick to WP.com? Start out on WP.com. You can migrate everything, including comments and images, over to a hosted WordPress installation later if you decide to switch. The process is easy.

You Need A Good, Clear Website Of Your Own

You don’t need to spend any money to get one started, you don’t need to spend a lot of money to get the little extras that make it feel even more professional, and you don’t need to know anything about code to create and maintain it. If you need help, help is available. If you have questions, ask. Let there be no barriers to you having a good, clear website.

Footnotes

  1. After you have a website, the next step is to create profiles on high profile social networks and other author-related websites so that you can craft your Google search results the way you want to. But that’s a different post…. [⇧]
  2. If you want an example of a site with a static front page, look at this other site I built [⇧]
  3. These days there are way more good-looking themes than there were when I moved away from WP.com. For author sites, I suggest checking out Satellite, Writr, Fictive, and Wilson. There are many more free themes to choose from. [⇧]

New Class: Writing the Other Online – Fall 2015

By:  TempestClasses

Writing the Other Online Fall 2015 will take place from September 26th to October 31st weekly on Saturdays at 10am Pacific
Location: ONLINE via Google Hangout
Price: $450 + service fee
Registration begins: August 26th, 2015

Writers know that it’s important to write about characters whose gender, sexual orientation, religion, racial heritage, or other aspect of identity differs from their own. But many are afraid to do so for fear that they will get it wrong–horribly, offensively wrong–and think it is better not even to try.

In truth, as author Daniel Jose Older puts it, when writers create characters from backgrounds different than their own, they are really telling the deeper story of their own perception. It is possible to write the Other sensitively and convincingly, and this workshop can start you on the path to doing just that.

Drawing on and updating decades-old work by Nisi Shawl and Cynthia Ward, authors of the acclaimed reference “Writing the Other: A Practical Approach”, this six week online course delves deep into learning this sometimes tricky skill. Authors Nisi Shawl and K. Tempest Bradford will combine lectures, discussions, and writing exercises in a safe, supportive atmosphere.

The class is appropriate for all writers (fiction, plays, comics, screenplays, and games included) from all backgrounds and any skill level.

Miss this class? Sign up for our mailing list to get notifications when we give it again.

Rise Together

I Challenge You To Support and Signal-Boost Marginalized Voices

By:  TempestRants

Rise Together

If you’re not a person who follows news about gaming or gamers, you might have missed a thing that happened. Tauriq Moosa, a media critic, left social media due to sustained harassment over something he wrote on the Internet. Yesterday, Moosa wrote something else that I want you to read. I’m quoting extensively. Still, read the whole thing.

Lots of folks are trying to show me support. I really appreciate it, but what I would appreciate it more if you took your energy in fighting battles with people who don’t care about me to raise the voices of minority folk. Maybe use this time to try get more people employed who aren’t straight white men.

Instead of the collective being one that shouts down marginalised folk, let the default collective be one that raises us up and doesn’t let us be drowned out by bizarrely angry and dismissive others. The status quo is broken and solidarity for marginalised voices should be a constant for progress, for looking and moving forward; solidarity shouldn’t only exist for when things dissolve. Things are already broken and supporting one another is how we continue.

As you might imagine, I know Moosa’s feel on this one. And I agree 100% that the status quo should be about raising up voices and not focusing on whatever asshole flavor of the month comes along to push us down. I’m not saying don’t argue with them and don’t challenge them–you can’t change their minds. I have proof. You might convince someone watching, though–I’m saying don’t let that be the whole of your work.

There are some defenders (not just of me, in general) that I can count on to ride out of the darkness and skewer obvious bigots on their lance. It’s not hard. And it makes everyone feel better. But then how much work do these defenders do when there’s no prejudice monster to slay? How much public work? How much energy do they expend on taunting the enemy vs touting marginalized artists?

The SFF community has quite a few popular people with giant platforms, and the majority of these people are generous with their platforms. Because the majority are great people! However, I wish that those big platform people would take a minute to look through their last 40 promotion/signal-boosting posts, their last 40 shares on Facebook, their last 100 tweets, and count up how many times marginalized voices get the boost vs people from the dominant culture.

You might be surprised by what you find1.

Don’t cry about it, though. Seriously, I do not want to hear you crying about how you tried and you do sometimes and you didn’t mean to and and and. What I want from you is to commit yourself to doing better in the future.

Make conscious choices to promote more marginalized voices. Seek out more books, short stories, music, art and the artists and writers who create them. More guest posts, more cover reveals, more vlog embeds, more links, more GIFs. Write thoughtful responses and companion pieces to media criticism that focuses on the issues marginalized people face, and always link back prominently. Give credit to other people’s ideas loudly, in boldface, so that it’s harder for people to say only you and others like you are the expert voices on this stuff. Don’t feel like you know enough or know enough people to do more? Ask your friends, ask the Carl Brandon Society, ask Twitter. Go for balance, or go for imbalance in favor of folks not from the dominant culture. Keep a literal tally so you know for sure.

Take all that anger you feel when someone like Tauriq Moosa is hounded off of social media or when someone like me gets dozens of hate-filled tweets and turn it into a cavalcade of attention for artists and writers who need it (that includes the artists and writers under attack).

Side benefit: it really pisses off bigoted haters when the person they’re trying to tear down gets built up by people with more social and cultural juice than they have.

Main benefit: it gives marginalized voices a better chance at recognition, which could lead to more opportunities for them to get paid for what they do and thus do more of it.

Footnotes

  1. Or, you may find that you’re already building up more marginalized voices than not. Awesome! I appreciate the heck out of you. Do me a favor, though? Nudge your high profile friends, please. Thanks. [⇧]