by Ellen Buikema

The death of a popular character has caused more than one angry fan to send email to the author and unfavorable reviews to chat groups and review sites. So, when you absolutely must cause a character’s demise, how do you do that without enraging your readers?… Read the post

by Ellen Buikema

(Part 1 of this series can be found here.)

Begin in the Past

When building the world for your science fiction story, consider creating the backstory, or history.

Whether your world is an advanced space-faring civilization, about to encounter aliens, or if a virus wiped out most of the planet’s peopled population, you need to begin in the past.… Read the post

Every year in January, we love digging into the stats and sharing the posts that got the most views and shares the prior year. Often these posts surprise us, and always they delight us.

Here are the "Dynamic Dozen" for 2022

Every single one of these articles wowed us, and it was interesting to see how many were from a long time ago.… Read the post

by Ellen Buikema

To get your science fiction story started, ponder the should, might, and heaven forbid, but what if it happened anyway.

Start by asking, “What if?”

The “What if” question drives the Sci-Fi genre.

Science fiction stories have an element of newness, the new thing that is grounded in reality.… Read the post

Every year here at Writers In the Storm, we picture one word that we need to guide us through the coming year. It might be an action or a belief or a philosophy. Below are our words. We hope you will share yours with us in the comments!… Read the post