Bryan Thomas Schmidt

Well, since it’s International Fiction Day, and it’s also about a year since my first short story was published in an anthology, I thought I’d share something fictional with you. This is my first sold fantasy short story. It’s written like a modern fairy tale and focuses around a dragon’s friendship with a young girl.  [ Read More ]

Okay, if you’re a pantser like me, you may reach a point where you feel like you need to actually get a better handle on organizing your manuscript. You’ve finished a draft or two but there’s character arcs to refine, plot line arcs to refine, motifs to identify & exploit, etc. You’re not an outliner.  [ Read More ]

I respect George R.R. Martin as a writer. He’s immensely talented. I’ve met him. He’s a nice guy. I respect the achievement that is regarded as one of the greatest fantasy series of all time. I read the first two books. I enjoyed them for what they are. But I couldn’t finish book 3. A Storm  [ Read More ]

Okay it’s time. For two years now, I have amassed a library of classic SFF books but have not managed so far to tear into reading them. To be fair, I read 52 books a year just for SFFWRTCHT. And I do get requests for other interviews now, so I read another 20-40 for those  [ Read More ]

Well, we survived it: A Science Fiction Con with no WiFi. Most of us were less than happy about that, and the hotel had a plethora of problems, including a badly leaking roof which forced staff to evacuate the art show to a new location due to the heavy rains and tornado weather. However, the  [ Read More ]

Well, my first Con of the year has finally arrived. I’m attending the third annual ConStellation Con in Lincoln, Nebraska, April 13-15 at Guest House Inn on Cornhusker Highway in North Lincoln. So if you’re in the area, come on out! Guest of Honor is Elizabeth Bear, a Hugo nominee for the podcast she does  [ Read More ]

Well, the Con Programming Chair from Constellation in Lincoln, NE, April 13-15 sent me my panel schedule. I’ll be launching Space Battles there as well as promoting my other stuff. More details to follow when I have them. Elizabeth Bear is the GOH. Hope to see some of you there. Character Building – Saturday, 11 a.m.  [ Read More ]

Well, a long while ago I placed my first comedic noir Science Fiction story in an anthology edited by my friend Jaleta Clegg. The table of contents has finally been announced and publication is this Spring from Hall Brothers Entertainment. So here’s the official scoop:           Wandering Weeds: Tales of Rabid Vegetation  [ Read More ]

I read a lot of books for my author interviews on SFFWRTCHT and blogs like GraspingForTheWind.com, www.SFSignal.com, and Ray Gun Revival, as well as my own blog. In fact, reading for those dominates my reading time. I rarely squeeze in books for fun or learning anymore. Most of the time, I’m excited to read the  [ Read More ]

Recently I came across a situation that reminded me how important transitions and seeding story details are to good fiction. These are things which most pros do without even thinking about it, but up and coming writers, learning craft, probably have to be more deliberate about. I will not specify where I encountered this but  [ Read More ]

One of the highest compliments anyone has paid me is to tell me “You’re a professional.” I’ve actually heard this several times the past few months. My first reaction is: “I wish I was. I don’t make any money.” But what they really mean is that I act like a professional in my timeliness and  [ Read More ]

by Patty Jansen Let’s presume for a moment, that there is a writer called Leon. Leon doesn’t exist, of course, and I picked the name because I don’t actually know anyone by that name. Leon, however, embodies a number of characteristics I’ve seen in workshops and on writer sites. Leon has written a novel, has  [ Read More ]

Well, it’s award season, so it’s obligatory to let you know that The Worker Prince is eligible for Hugo nominations. I suppose I’m also eligible for the Best New Writer Award.  But far more important, if you ask me, SFFWRTCHT and the column interviews are eligible for Hugos in Best Fan Writer. Please keep this in  [ Read More ]

Supervolcano: Eruption by Turtledove, Harry Pathfinder Tales: Death’s Heretic by Sutter, James L. Firebird (Alex Benedict, #6) by McDevitt, Jack Anniversary Day ( A Retrieval Artist Novel, #8) by Rusch, Kristine Katherine Owl Dance by Summers, David Lee * Blood and Other Cravings ed. Datlow, Ellen Downpour (Greywalker, #6) by Richardson, Kat Greywalker by Richardson, Kat The Flying Machine  [ Read More ]

Well, 2011 is gone and I am as glad as anyone it will never return. I thought 2010 was a bad year but 2011 was so much worse. In may 2010, I lost my full time job. By the end of the year, my part time one also went away due to my out of  [ Read More ]

As my Holiday gift to fellow writers, who have been so supportive of the tips offered on this blog, I’ve compiled a list and brief descriptions of 15 really top writing resources to help you move forward in your growth as a writer. Links to either Amazon or Barnes & Noble are included for those  [ Read More ]

This post originally ran on Jamie Todd Rubin’s blog as part of my blog tour for The Worker Prince. Jamie gave me permission to rerun it here so more of you can find it. Bryan Thomas Schmidt: Well, Jamie, thanks for inviting me to your blog. I am a big fan of Golden Age Science Fiction,  [ Read More ]

I’m running another giveaway of signed copies of my debut novel. The book got Honorable Mention on Barnes and Noble Book Club’s Years Best Science Fiction Releases for 2011 alongside John Scalzi, Ben Bova, and more. Additionally, it continues to get rave reviews.  Here’s the latest from Catherine Russell at Functional Nerds: Review: The Worker Prince  [ Read More ]

It’s that time of year again. And I find myself reflecting on a year filled with books. I read 52 books a year just for SFFWRTCHT alone. And this year, between guest blog posts, reviews, research, and more, I added at least 23 more books on top of that. I lost count, truthfully, and I’m  [ Read More ]

A modified version of this post first appeared on the blog of author Jeremy Ship on October 27th. A companion piece on heroes appeared around the same time on Adventures In SF Publishing’s blog. One of the traditional tropes of much science fiction and fantasy has long been the damsel in distress. Naturally, modern women often  [ Read More ]

[For those expecting only ten, I accidentally put up a draft version of the post. I apologize for any confusion. I actually have more than ten to share as you'll see.] Christmas decorations went up and music started playing earlier than ever this year. But perhaps that bores you. Instead, how about Christmas tales told  [ Read More ]

Well, I had to wait until I arrived but here’s my schedule for this weekend at ChamBana Con in Urbana. Have already run into old friends here which is a surprise but a cool one. Looking forward to making new ones. Guest of Honor: Geoffrey A. Landis and his wife Mary Turzillo. Also here Glen  [ Read More ]

Ordinarily I wouldn’t share something so early on but since this is a teaching blog, I thought it might be interesting to post an early chapter of this work in progress, a sword and sorcery book, and then perhaps look at it later when it’s published or at least further along. So for what it’s  [ Read More ]

Aspiring Writer and Book Blogger Kris Keegan did it, so I thought a list of my own top genre books would be fun. I am not listing these in any particular order. And where series are involved, I just list the series rather than individual books. But this is a list of books with great  [ Read More ]

I don’t know that I have a big following really but lots of other writers do it, so here’s an update on what I’m working on right now. My primary focus at the moment is two projects: “The Returning: Book 2 In The Saga Of Davi Rhii,” which is at 65840 words out of 90000  [ Read More ]

One of the most important tasks for a writer is creating character names. Everyone has their own approach. Some find it more challenging than others. Here’s 10 Tips which might help you with the naming. 1) Keep A List. Mary Robinette Kowal kept a spreadsheet of names when writing Shades Of Milk And Honey as a  [ Read More ]

September is cross promotion month and we are teaming up with Adventures In Science Fiction Publishing Podcasthttp://www.adventuresinscifipublishing.com/ for a month of special guests and cross promotion. For those unaware, AISFP is a great podcast which interviews industry people regularly on important topics. Led by Shaun Farrell, it also features contributions from Author Moses Siregar III, Brent  [ Read More ]

Well, I’ve seen three speculative fiction movies in the past week–one great one and two which I think were really good. I enjoyed all three. Two were in 3D, in both cases unnecessary and just a jab by Hollywood for more money. But regardless, I recommend them to genre film fans and general audiences as  [ Read More ]

Packed with action and humor with strong characterization, good special fx and a healthy dose of heart, Kenneth Branagh’s THOR is the best comic book movie I’ve seen in ages and destined to continue steadily earning boxoffice $s throughout the summer. Chris Hemsworth is terrific in the title role, a god banished to mortal on  [ Read More ]

My friend Gene Doucette has a new book out called Immortal. A combination of science fiction, fantasy, and horror, it’s hard to categorize neatly by genre, but he’s given me the opportunity to review the book and do an interview as well. As a bonus, you can find an excerpt below. I hope you’ll check it out,  [ Read More ]