Welcome to Other Worlds Writers’ Workshop
for serious writers of fantasy and science fiction
You have discovered the Other Worlds Writers’ Workshop, a place where serious writers of speculative fiction can polish their skills and learn from each other. Works posted here range from short-shorts to full-length series, from first drafts to finished works in final polishing. We have programs geared to varying skill levels (see Workshops). Professional writers are not only welcome but especially invited to join and share in the benefits of a workshop tailored to the needs of our genre. If you have ever read a published work and found yourself mentally screaming “Show, not tell!” or looked at your own after the fact and thought, “Did I really say that? Argh!”, you belong here.
Writers will find here:
- Help with worldbuilding: discussions and critiques aimed at improving the background setting of your story, essential to all good speculative fiction, even that set in the “real” world
- Line edits: for those who want to put the final gloss on the manuscript before it goes to the editor
- Story analysis: if your characters are hopeless or your plot has canyons instead of potholes, here is the place to fix them, and save some editor the price of a rejection notice
- Technical help: do your sword fights need help? You can’t find a plausible way to disguise a seven-foot alien as human? Throw out your question and let your fellow members help
- Chat: discussion and talk lists related to the care and feeding of speculative fiction, tips for getting published, working with editors, and other craft-related issues
- Bookstore: through the Other Worlds Bookstore, you can pick up references for just about anything you need to help build your worlds, from how to write to how middle-tech fantasy types get bread on the table or steel on their hips
- Links to agents and other helpful sites
Above all, you will find other writers who both read and write speculative fiction, and can critique your work with an eye to the needs of the genre.