Why You Say It, by Webb Garrison, is an intriguing collection of why certain phrases have taken hold in our language. For example, the...

The most common question that comes up at workshops is how can I know whether I have enough skill to write professionally? The answer is...

One of the advantages writers experience, one that people generally don’t hear about, is that publishers and other writers send them a...

There’s evidence that what we make of our lives is largely determined by where we are born and grow up. We are all influenced by our...

Readers with writing ambitions frequently ask about the common mistakes they might make. What are the most frequent errors made by...

Recently I posted a statement that Midnight in Paris was the best time-travel film I’d ever seen. A week or so ago I saw The Final...

Astronomy Magazine has a cover story: life on other worlds could be more diverse than on Earth. I haven’t gotten my copy yet so I’m not...

My last blog mentioned Gregory MacAllister, the journalist who appeared in several of the Academy novels. I should have added that Mac is...

Gregory MacAllister, the discursive critic of the Academy novels, was inspired by Henry Mencken. That doesn’t mean he writes anywhere...

Edgar Rice Burroughs was among the first authors I ever read. Only one Tarzan book, I think. But I loved John Carter, and I got...

Short fiction has always seemed to be the natural narrative form for SF. Ask most readers for their all-time science fiction favorites...

The Milky Way has, at last count, about two hundred billion stars. Billions of them are G-type main sequence, the same as our sun. Which...

I was an avid science fiction reader from my earliest days with Astounding Science Fiction, Startling Stories and Thrilling Wonder. While...

I’ve always been struck by the things we take for granted: electricity, plumbing, TV, cars and highways, doctors, newspapers. And a ton...

Seth McFarlane has been described as a fan of Star Trek, particularly The Next Generation. It’s hard to miss in The Orville, the Fox show...

In an era of unrelenting bad news, where the most visible current scientific advance had to do primarily with a black hole, let me offer...

The value of comics is grossly underrated. Newspaper strips have been reduced in size over the years, and there aren’t many adults who...

Writing careers, like those of teachers, embody serious rewards but also require major investments in time and effort. And that’s not...

Saga Press released Gregory Benford’s latest novel, Rewrite, shortly before the end of the year. Charlie Moment, a history professor...

I’ve mentioned before that people at SF conventions or simply attending luncheons or in classrooms tend to get annoyed if a speaker...