The ABC's of How NOT to Write Speculative Fiction

by Susan MacGregor

Welcome to The ABC's of How NOT to Write Speculative Fiction, a writing primer that covers the common writing mistakes Susan MacGregor, a professional SF & F writer and editor of 30+ years, has seen in the never-ending slush pile. Whether you’re just starting out as a writer, or whether you’ve been writing for a while, these ABC’s will show you where your writing is going wrong. If you’re self-publishing, it will save you the future embarrassment of clumsy work. If you’re hoping to submit to traditional publishers, your chances of success will improve.

Writing Topics include: Action Pits, Anachronisms, Believability Issues, Character Faults, Clichés, Dialogue Tightening, Dramatic Tension Building, Exposition, Feedback, Formatting, Grammar, Hard SF, Horror, Historical Fiction & Humor Writing, How to Do a Great Reading, Italics Usage, Kangaroos (and other Animal character concerns), Logic Faults, Metaphors, Mood Handling, Novels as Short Stories, Obscenity/Profanity, Openings, Point of View Shifts, Purple Prose, Query Letters, Revision, Is it SF Enough?, Titles, Using Real People as Characters, Vagueness, Violence, Voice - Active vs. Passive, Word Choices, Young Adult Stories, the ZZzzz Factor, and more.

Also included is a Writer's Checklist for you to edit and gauge your own work.

166 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 11, 2021