Writing tips – Speculating Canada: Canadian Horror, Science Fiction, and Fantasy

June 21, 2020

On The MacGuffin and Exponential Growth Economies

By Derek Newman-Stille For folks who are unfamiliar with the term, a “MacGuffin” is an object, a device, an event, or a character used in fiction as a plot device to advance the story that is unfolding. We see MacGuffins regularly in speculative fiction, whether it be the Infinity Gauntlet, the Death Star, the One Ring, or the Ark of...

Editorials Comments: 0

December 28, 2015

LGBT Canadian Authors Talking About Writing Queerly – Tanya Huff

I want to thank Tanya Huff for once again providing a brilliant and insightful essay. This time Tanya talks about writing queerly, an important question in LGBT writing and speculating about the topic of queerness. Here is her fantastic reflection: Writing Queerly or Queer Writing by Tanya Huff Given my age, as far as I know, there was nothing resembling...

Author Commentaries Comments: 0

June 17, 2014

Speculating Canada on Trent Radio Episode 8: An Interview with Marie Bilodeau and Karen Dudley About Myth and Canadian SF

In this interview, SF authors Marie Bilodeau, Karen Dudley, and I explore the mythic underpinnings of modern Canadian SF. Prepare for us to open up mythic worlds within all of those little corners of reality. Marie Bilodeau is an award-winning, Ottawa-based Science Fiction and Fantasy author and a professional storyteller. A modern mythographer, Marie creates worlds of wonder with pen...

Interviews/On Air Comments: 2

April 14, 2014

Quote – Writers Need to Show Real Person

“The writer who flinches at exposure, who dares not show the depths of his fears and loves or show what truly matters above all else to him as a real person, will fail to capture any reader’s head or heart.” -Julia Czerneda – Introduction to Douglas Smith’s Chimerascope

Quotes Comment: 1

October 6, 2012

Interview with Douglas Smith

An Interview with Douglas Smith By Derek Newman-Stille This week I had a great opportunity to chat with Toronto author Douglas Smith to discuss ideas about genre-crossing in SF, the ability of SF to challenge the status quo and propose new questions and ideas about how we can view our world, and the power of SF as a medium without...

Interviews Comments: 3

Tag: Writing tips

On The MacGuffin and Exponential Growth Economies

LGBT Canadian Authors Talking About Writing Queerly – Tanya Huff

Speculating Canada on Trent Radio Episode 8: An Interview with Marie Bilodeau and Karen Dudley About Myth and Canadian SF

Quote – Writers Need to Show Real Person

Interview with Douglas Smith