Free a 145 guide to writing fiction

Are you an aspiring author interested in writing fantasy or SF? Then there is a free resource, a 145-page guide to writing speculative fiction, free on the web at www.writingtips.com.au. All 145 pages will help fantasy/SF writers, about 100 are relevant to genre writers generally, and the last 30 pages on 'Getting Published' are relevant to anyone wanting to get published in any form.

Free really does mean free, no strings attached, a community service. I didn't produce it, but I take credit for getting the British version up on the web! The producer is Australian fantasy and SF author, Richard Harland, who has also taught creative writing and conducted workshops throughout Australia (and just happens to be my partner).

As the author of 15 published books, Richard has an author website, and, as authors often do, he put a dozen pages of writing tips up on his site a few years ago. The feedback was so overwhelming that he decided to donate some of his writing time to producing a better guide on a separate, non-promotional website. I know he never expected it would take him a whole 4 months to write!

He wrote it as a community service to aspiring Australian authors, but I didn't see why it should be limited to Australia. His argument was that he had a reputation only in Australia and it would look silly to put himself up as an expert where he didn't have a reputation. I said it was the quality of the advice that mattered, and the feedback on the quality of the advice was incredibly positive. Anyway, we avoided a divorce and I won the argument when his latest steampunk fantasy novel was sold to Templar in the UK, Simon & Schuster in the US, and also France and Germany.

So, I helped with developing a British version of the guide, and there's now a choice of versions if you go to the website. There's also a complete downloadable file for those'like me'who prefer to read a print-out.

The guide covers i) Good Writing Habits, ii) Action, Setting, Dialogue and Interior Thought, iii) Characters and Point of View, iv) Story, Narrative Momentum and Pacing, v) Language, and vi) the all-important art of Getting Published.

The site is at www.writingtips.com.au and it really will help!

Aileen Harland