Ellison, Harlan harlanellison.com
Fredsti, Dana danafredsti.com
Freeman, Brian James brianjamesfreeman.com
Graham, Stacey staceyigraham.com
Gresh, Lois loisgresh.com
Gruber, Xaque huffingtonpost.com/xaque-gruber
Hamilton, Sequoia sequoiahamilton.wordpress.com/
Hardy, Janice janicehardy.com
Howard, Chris SaltwaterWitch.com
Johnson, Kij kijjohnson.com
Jones, Lisa Renée lisareneejones.com
Kent, Derek Taylor ScarySchool.com
Ketchum, Jack jackketchum.net
King, E. E. elizabetheveking.com
Kress, Nancy nancykress.blogspot.com
Klick, Todd amazon.com/Todd-Klick/e/B0050OMZYA
Kozlowski, Jan jankozlowski.com
Lake, Jay jlake.com
Lansdale, Joe R. joerlansdale.com
Laurence, Elliot luminalmedia.com
Mazmanian, Lance mazmanian.net
McAllister, Bruce mcallistercoaching.com
McCoy, Karen kbmccoy.com
McGowan, Douglas nothingexceptional.com
McIntyre, Vonda N. bookviewcafe.com/bookstore/bvc-author/vonda-n-mcintyre
Mewes, Wendy wendymewes.com
Modesitt, Jr., L. E. lemodesittjr.com
Morrell, Jessica Page jessicamorrell.com
Morton, Lisa lisamorton.com
Moss, Gabrielle gabriellemoss.net
Nolan, William F. williamfnolan.com
Nye, Jody Lynn jodynye.com
Obstfeld, Raymond raymondobstfeld.com
Pete, Derrick D. derrickpete.com
Peterfreund, Diana dianapeterfreund.com
Reaves, Michael imdb.com/name/nm0714184/
Reed, Rainbow wickedpoetry.jigsy.com
Royle, Nicholas nicholasroyle.com
Rubenstein, Devorah Cutler thescriptbroker.com
Rubenstein, Scott imdb.com/name/nm0747936
Saus, Steven stevesaus.com
Schreiber, Brad bradschreiber.com
Scott, Melissa mescott.livejournal.com
Scott, Michael Dillon dillonscott.com
Scott, Sharon storyhousestudios.com
Sebanc, Mark stoneharp.com
Selbo, Jule fullerton.academia.edu/JuleSelbo
Sevi, Mark marksevi.com
Shirley, John john-shirley.com
Skipp, John facebook.com/john.skipp.7
Thompson, Ben badassoftheweek.com
Valenzuela, Diego facebook.com/TheDiegoValenzuela
Vaughn, Vanessa thedirtyblondeburlesque.com
Wagner, Jeremy jeremy-wagner.com
Wales, Vincent M. vincentmwales.com
Wanless, James voyagertarot.com
Winner, Brianna winnertwins.com
Winner, Brittany winnertwins.com
Zicree, Marc Scott marczicree.com
ABOUT THE EDITOR
LAURIE LAMSON was co-editor of Now Write! Screenwriting with her aunt Sherry Ellis and completed Now Write! Mysteries after Ellis’s untimely death in March 2011.
Lamson is a screenwriter with a filmmaking background who has written on assignment for several producers. She is delighted to share her passion for screenwriting as the teleconference host for International Screenwriters’ Association. She offers coaching and editing to fellow writers of scripts and books—both fiction and nonfiction.
She is the author of a magic realism book for girls, Witch Littles: Magic in the Garden.
jazzymaemedia.com
laurielamson.com
PERMISSIONS
Now Write! Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror
Laurie Lamson
“Love Between the Species” by Mario Acevedo © 2014 by Mario Acevedo
“More Than Words Can Say” by James G. Anderson © 2014 by James G. Anderson
“Wood Knot Dew” by Piers Anthony © 2014 by Piers Anthony
“Creativity on Demand” by Steven Barnes © 2014 by Steven Barnes
“The Secret Room” by Aimee Bender © 2014 by Aimee Bender
“Writing Horror” by Glenn M. Benest © 2014 by Glenn M. Benest
“Magical Inspiration” by Sabrina Benulis © 2014 by Sabrina Benulis
“The Grimm Art of Fairy Tales” by Kate Bernheimer © 2014 by Kate Bernheimer
“Teaching Robert Heinlein’s Starship Troopers” by Richard Bleiler © 2014 by Richard Bleiler
“How to Molotov Cocktail the Thorny Problem of Adaptions, Speculative and Otherwise (The Screenwriting Anarchist’s Way)” by Peter Briggs © 2014 by Peter Briggs
“A Long and Lonely Road” by David Brin © 2014 by David Brin
“Walking the Dog” by Kealan Patrick Burke © 2014 by Kealan Patrick Burke
“What You Don’t Need” by Ramsey Campbell © 2014 by Ramsey Campbell
“Describe a Spiral Staircase” by Lillian Stewart Carl © 2014 by Lillian Stewart Carl
“Finding Your Spirit in Speculative Writing” by Eric Stener Carlson © 2014 by Eric Stener Carlson
“Create a Power!” by Jeffrey A. Carver © 2014 by Jeffrey A. Carver
“Paint It Dark: Creating an Eerie Atmosphere and Foreshadowing Ominous Events” by Simon Clark © 2014 by Simon Clark
“The Eleven Tenets of Fear” by Christine Conradt © 2014 by Christine Conradt
“Bump in the Night” by Sara B. Cooper © 2014 by Sara B. Cooper
“Seeking the Darkness” by Edward DeGeorge © 2014 by Edward DeGeorge
“Writing into the Spiritual Unknown” by Pen Densham © 2014 by Pen Densham
“Put It in Space” by Danika Dinsmore © 2014 by Danika Dinsmore
“Steal from Your Dreams with a Twist of Fevered Writing” by Kim Dower © 2014 by Kim Dower
“Think Historical” by David Anthony Durham © 2014 by David Anthony Durham
“How We Feel a Story” by Eric Edson © 2014 by Eric Edson
“First There Was the Title” by Harlan Ellison © 1997 by Harlan Ellison. Renewed 2005 by The Kilimanjaro Corporation. Reprinted by arrangement with, and permission of, the author and the author’s agent, Richard Curtis Associates, Inc., New York. All rights reserved. Harlan Ellison is a registered trademark of The Kilimanjaro Corporation.
“Surviving Writer’s Burnout” by Dana Fredsti © 2014 by Dana Fredsti
“Writing About Your Childhood” by Brian James Freeman © 2014 by Brian James Freeman
“Oh, the Humanity: What Makes Monsters Tick” by Stacey Graham © 2014 by Stacey Graham
“Story Endings: Where Monsters Lurk” by Lois Gresh © 2014 by Lois Gresh
“Call of the Wylleen” by Xaque Gruber © 2014 by Xaque Gruber
“The Joy of Six” by Sequoia Hamilton © 2014 by Sequoia Hamilton
“So, What Do You Know? Deepening Your World Building Through Point of View” by Janice Hardy © 2014 by Janice Hardy
“Building Worlds Without Boring Your Readers or Becoming the Minister for Tourism” by Chris Howard © 2014 by Chris Howard
“Feel Things Out” by Kij Johnson © 2014 by Kij Johnson
“How Do Sub-genres Impact Your Creation of a Hero?” by Lisa Renée Jones © 2014 by Lisa Renée Jones
“FUNdamentals of Writing” by Derek Taylor Kent © 2014 by Derek Taylor Kent
“Economy” by Jack Ketchum © 2014 by Jack Ketchum
“Fact into Fiction” by E. E. King © 2014 by E. E. King
“Follow the Money” by Nancy Kress © 2014 by Nancy Kress
“How Spielberg and Shakespeare Grab ’Em in Five” by Todd Klick © 2014 by Todd Klick
“Bringing Horror Home” by Jan Kozlowski © 2014 by Jan Kozlowski
“Flashing
Yourself” by Jay Lake © 2014 by Jay Lake
“A Writer Writes” by Joe R. Lansdale © 2014 by Joe R. Lansdale
“Unlimited Ideas” by Elliot Laurence © 2014 by Elliot Laurence
“Break the Compass” by Lance Mazmanian © 2014 by Lance Mazmanian
“The Black Unicorn” by Bruce McAllister © 2014 by Bruce McAllister
“How Characters Drive Plot” by Karen McCoy © 2014 by Karen McCoy
“Catching Up with the Future” by Douglas Mcgowan © 2014 by Douglas Mcgowan
“An Exercise in Dreamsnake” by Vonda N. McIntyre © 2014 by Vonda N. McIntyre
“Leaping in to Landscape” by Wendy Mewes © 2014 by Wendy Mewes
“System Rules” by L. E. Modesitt, Jr. © 2014 by L. E. Modesitt, Jr.
“The Villain’s Handbook” by Jessica Page Morrell © 2014 by Jessica Page Morrell
“The Setting in Horror” by Lisa Morton © 2014 by Lisa Morton
“Creating Convincing Communication Between Humans and Supernatural Creatures” by Gabrielle Moss © 2014 by Gabrielle Moss
“Make It Real” by J. Michelle Newman © 2014 by J. Michelle Newman
“Of Heroes and Villains” by William F. Nolan © 2014 by William F. Nolan
“Breaking the Was-ing Habit (and Making Friends with Your Active Verbs)” by Jody Lynn Nye © 2014 by Jody Lynn Nye
“When the World Turns to Shit, Why Should I Care? Character Arc in Dystopian Stories” by Raymond Obstfeld © 2014 by Raymond Obstfeld
“‘He Do the Police in Different Voices’” by Reggie Oliver © 2014 by Reggie Oliver
“Anatomy of Choice” by Derrick D. Pete © 2014 by Derrick D. Pete
“Start with the Name” by Diana Peterfreund © 2014 by Diana Peterfreund
“Freelancing Sci-Fi TV” by Michael Reaves © 2014 by Michael Reaves “Using Your Senses” by Rainbow Reed © 2014 by Rainbow Reed
“Go for a Walk” by Nicholas Royle © 2014 by Nicholas Royle
“Giving Sentience to Ordinary Objects—An Object’s Purpose” by Devorah Cutler-Rubenstein © 2014 by Devorah Cutler-Rubenstein
“Surprise in the Twenty-Fourth Century” by Scott Rubenstein © 2014 by Scott Rubenstein
“Where Does He Get Those Wonderful Ideas? Making Speculative Fiction Speculative” by Steven Saus © 2014 by Steven Saus
“Metamorphosis” by Brad Schreiber © 2014 by Brad Schreiber
“Humming the Sets: World Building That Supports the Story” by Melissa Scott © 2014 by Melissa Scott
“Begin at the End . . .” by Michael Dillon Scott © 2014 by Michael Dillon Scott
“Writing the Series” by Sharon Scott © 2014 by Sharon Scott
“In Xanadu . . . Grounding the Fantastic” by Mark Sebanc © 2014 by Mark Sebanc
“Choosing Your Speculative Genre” by Jule Selbo © 2014 by Jule Selbo
“The Uncanny Valley” by Mark Sevi © 2014 by Mark Sevi
“Writing Is Seeing” by John Shirley © 2014 by John Shirley
“The Choreography of Violence” by John Skipp © 2014 by John Skipp
“Diabolical Evil for Beginners” by Ben Thompson © 2014 by Ben Thompson
“The Constant Writer: How to Plot an Entire Story in Minutes and Never Run Out of Ideas” by Diego Valenzuela © 2014 by Diego Valenzuela
“What’s Love Got to Do with It?” by Vanessa Vaughn © 2014 by Vanessa Vaughn
“The Art of Being Horrifically Prolific” by Jeremy Wagner © 2014 by Jeremy Wagner
“Credibility” by Vincent M. Wales © 2014 by Vincent M. Wales
“Tarot for Writers” by James Wanless © 2014 by James Wanless
“Understanding Yourself Better Through Creative Writing” by Brianna Winner © 2014 by Brianna Winner
“How to Channel Your Imagination” by Brittany Winner © 2014 by Brittany Winner
“Creating Your Own Science Fiction” by Marc Scott Zicree © 2014 by Marc Scott Zicree
DISCOVER THE ART AND CRAFT OF WRITING WITH NOW WRITE!
NOW WRITE!
Fiction Writing Exercises from Today’s Best Writers and Teachers
This treasure of personal writing exercises from some of today’s most acclaimed names in fiction—including Steve Almond, Amy Bloom, Robert Olen Butler, Jill McCorkle, Alison Lurie, Jayne Anne Phillips, and Virgil Suarez—covers everything a fiction writer should know, from creating a believable scene to jump-starting a stalled story, and much more.
NOW WRITE! NONFICTION
Memoir, Journalism, and Creative Nonfiction Exercises from Today’s Best Writers and Teachers
This essential handbook—featuring the personal writing exercises that Gay Talese, A. J. Jacobs, Reza Aslan, John Matteson, Lee Gutkind, Tilar Mazzeo, and other masters of nonfiction use to push through writers block, organize a story, fine-tune dialogue, and more—belongs on every nonfiction writer’s bookshelf.
NOW WRITE! SCREENWRITING
Screenwriting Exercises from Today’s best Writers and Teachers
This volume—featuring never-before-published writing exercises from the acclaimed screenwriters of Raging Bull, Ali, Terminator 2, Fame, Groundhog Day, Cape Fear, Lost, True Blood, The Shield, and many other hit films and television shows—can help and inspire both new and experienced screenwriters.
NOW WRITE! MYSTERIES
Suspense, Crime, Thriller, and other Mystery Fiction Exercises from Today’s best Writers and Teachers
The indispensible guide for writers of whodunits, techno-thrillers, cozies, and everything in between—featuring never-before-published personal writing exercises from John Lutz, Louise Penney, Hannah Ives, and more of today’s bestselling and award-winning mystery writers.
*John William Polidori—author of The Vampyre, the first vampire story.
*Peeping Tom of Coventry—made the mistake of watching Lady Godiva’s naked ride, and according to some, her husband, the Lord of Coventry, removed his eyes.
* Please talk only to your own children or a friend or relative’s—and please get their parents’ permission before talking to them. Do not chase children you do not know down the street, shouting, “I just want to learn about your metaphors!”
* The terms narrative genre or the more specific film genre are not to be confused with the sometimes-pejorative term genre film.
* The term was first coined perhaps by Steve Neale, film genre scholar.
*See Linda Williams, “Film Bodies: Gender, Genre, and Excess,” Film Quarterly, volume 44, no. 4 (Summer 1991): 2–13.
Now Write! Page 32