The Turkey City Lexicon, edited by Lewis Shiner and Second Edition by Bruce Sterling, focuses on the special needs of Science Fiction writing and is intended to help workshop participants recognize and discuss common SF problems. Even if you are not going to a Turkey City workshop, it still is an entertaining and informative read and well worth your time, and you probably know it already.
Here are three to get you wondering:
White Room Syndrome
Show, not Tell
Plot Coupons
Someone should make a comic strip out of those 30+ hilarious pitfalls most published and unpublished works are filled with. Yes, Fantasy authors “call a rabbit a smeerp” all the time and SF authors fill their stories with “ontological riffs” to the wazoo, here’s looking at you, Dick. Which means? Well, you may want to make sure it’s not all from the Ol’ Baloney Factory, otherwise, do your thing.
Now, don’t let me put a Squid in the Mouth, unless you want an Eyeball Kick from a Whistling Dog, offering Bogus Alternatives and trying to sell you a Jar of Tang. In any case, You can’t fire me, I quit!
Happy reading and good luck with your workshops, wherever they are.
Alexander Ipfelkofer 