The second annual BristolCon convention will be held on 6th November this year.

This is a great little convention for science fiction and fantasy fans, and is especially convenient for those in central and South West England, and South Wales.

Guests for BristolCon 2010 include Paul Cornell, Joe Abercrombie, Colin Harvey, Alastair Reynolds, Juliet E McKenna, Eugene Byrne, and others.

Tickets are available at the special price of £15 until midnight tonight, after which they rise to £20.

I’ve bought mine. To book yours, click here.

In this week’s guest post, fantasy author R. L. Copple discusses the importance of using the right words to communicate with your audience.

Words Gone Wild
R. L. Copple

When I was a teen, my mom asked me to mop the floor while she ran an errand. When she returned, she stared at the floor and said, “Rick, I asked you to mop the floor.”

“I did,” I told her.

Continue reading “Guest Post: Words Gone Wild”

My three-quarter page, 1600 word article “The Future Is Now” appears in the arts section of today’s Irish Times, arguing that fans of smart contemporary literature should be reading British and Irish science fiction.

Here are the two main quotes:

“While there are still those who patrol and defend both sides of the divide between genre fiction and the mainstream, taking pot shots at anyone daring to cross over, the signs are that the boundaries are becoming increasingly porous, and that smart, critically-acclaimed contemporary genre fiction is being produced by a new generation of unapologetically science fictional writers.”

And;

“If you refuse to read a book simply on the grounds that it might contain some speculative or fantastical elements, you could find yourself missing out on some of our most inventive and excitingly contemporary literature.”

This is my first professional article in a national newspaper, and goes some way towards realising my teenage ambition to be a journalist.

You can read the full article in today’s edition of the paper, or on its website here: The Future Is Now

On Dark Fiction Review, Sharon Ring has published an article that asks authors how they handle negative reviews of their work. My own responses are quoted below:

How do you feel about negative reviews of your work?
Negative reviews are always disappointing. Of course they are. If you’ve poured your heart and soul and time into a piece of writing, you want people to connect with it, and if they don’t, you’re bound to feel frustrated. Personally, I tend to mope around the house for a few hours, feeling sorry for myself. But at the end of the day, you have to take it in good humour. It’s all part of the game, and if you can’t take the odd negative review, you shouldn’t be a writer.

Continue reading “Negative Reviews”

The fourth podcast from Abaddon & Solaris Books features an interview that I took part in at Eastercon in April. Here’s the blurb:

“Jenni Hill catches up with Jetse de Vries and Gareth L. Powell – respectively the anthologist of and one of the contributors to the upcoming Shine anthology – at EasterCon, and talks about the anthology and the convention. A good time was had by all.”

To download the podcast, click here.

In this week’s guest post, New Jersey-based author Stuart Clark examines where speculative fiction authors get their crazy ideas.

Running With The Idea
By Stuart Clark

A question that authors often get asked is “Where do you get your ideas?”  It’s a topic that many speculative fiction authors have blogged about recently.  The general consensus seems to be that ideas are everywhere and they come from observing the world around us.  But simply having an idea is like having salad dressing without the salad – It may be good, but it’s almost unpalatable on its own.

So what’s after the “What if?”  How do you take that initial idea and turn it into a full-blown story?  Whether you’re writing shorts or novels, there are a number of techniques you might want to consider.

Continue reading “Guest Post: Running With The Idea”

In order to write well, you first have to write badly. You have to learn your craft. It’s like learning to drive a car – you can’t compete in the Monte Carlo grand prix the first time you sit behind a wheel; you have to make all the embarrassing mistakes, the awkward stalls and occasional prangs – and the same’s true for writing.

Continue reading “Burn Your Notebooks”

Issue #228 of Interzone includes Andy Hedgecock’s review of the Shine anthology (Solaris 2010).

“Gareth L. Powell and Aliette de Bodard have been consistently impressive Interzone contributors in recent years so it is no surprise their collaboration on ‘The Church of Accelerated Redemption’ yields rich and original insights into the lonely and disaffected life of a computer engineer. The tension arises when unexpected events offer the chance of change. A neatly crafted story of AI and human possibility.”

This afternoon, Colin Harvey and I co-presented the 5pm creative writing lecture at Bath Spa University. There were around 20-30 students in attendance. I read a brand new short story called The Bigger The Star, The Faster It Burns, which seemed to go over well, and did a brief question and answer session. I also shared with the students the following five pieces of writing advice:

Continue reading “Creative Writing Lecture”

Writer Matthew S. Dent reviews Silversands on his blog:

“I really did enjoy this novel. It was fun, but not silly. The characters were strong, the plot engaging, and the writing well beyond competent. But the real triumph, I feel, is the world that Powell has created. A universe with humanity scattered across the stars by unreliable FTL travel is one that has a lot of potential, particularly with the developments at the end of the story. I hope that Powell returns to this universe at some point, and it would be a real shame if some of the characters from Silversands didn’t get a second appearance.”

Read the full review here.