[Announcement] Writing the Other 2017 Classes

I am pleased to share that I am teaching a Writing the Other class about RPGs in February 2017. The full text of the announcement, including instructions on how to get updates, is on the newly revamped www.writingtheother.com website.

In addition to the classes that I am teaching, I thought you might be interested in the works of these talented instructors. Please consider checking them out!

New Writing the Other Classes

2017 is almost here and we’re already planning a full year of Writing the Other classes! In addition to Weekend Intensives every other month there will be at least three Multi-week Classes. And we have an exciting roster of new classes and Master Classes coming up:

  • Writing Inclusive Games – Creating RPGs Sans Fail with Monica Valentinelli | February 2017
  • Master Class: Writing Bisexual Characters with Faith Cheltenham | February 2017
  • Master Class: Writing Your Future Self – Creating Older Characters with Ellen Klages | early March 2017
  • Master Class: How To Fail Gracefully with Mary Robinette Kowal and K. Tempest Bradford | April 2017
  • Master Class: Avoiding Offensive Tropes in Horror with Chesya Burke | Summer 2017
  • Worldbuilding Intensive (instructors TBA) | Summer 2017
  • Master Class: Writing From the Diaspora with Ken Liu | Autumn 2017
  • Master Class: Beyond Belief – Writing Plausible Atheist and Religious Characters with Nisi Shawl and Cynthia Ward | Autumn 2017

We also plan to have Master Classes on Writing Lesbian and Gay Characters, Writing Characters With Mobility Disabilities, and Depicting Class in Fiction later in the year.

For more about these classes, visit www.writingtheother.com.

December 14, 2016
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[New Release] Upside Down: Inverted Tropes in Storytelling

Upside Down Inverted Tropes in Storytelling Cover

“This compendium of literary undercutting and rebuilding is both enjoyable to read and an incisive work of commentary on the genre.”
— Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

Now Available!

Upside Down: Inverted Tropes in Storytelling is an anthology of short stories, poetry, and essays edited by Monica Valentinelli and Jaym Gates. Over two dozen authors, ranging from NYT-bestsellers and award winners to debut writers, chose a tired trope or cliche to challenge and surprise readers through their work.

Read stories inspired by tropes such as the Chainmaille Bikini, Love at First Sight, Damsels in Distress, Yellow Peril, The Black Man Dies First, The Villain Had a Crappy Childhood, The Singularity Will Cause the Apocalypse, and many more…then discover what these tropes mean to each author to find out what inspired them.

Join Maurice Broaddus, Adam Troy-Castro, Delilah S. Dawson, Shanna Germain, Sara M. Harvey, John Hornor Jacobs, Rahul Kanakia, Alethea Kontis, Valya Dudycz Lupescu, Haralmbi Markov, Sunil Patel, Kat Richardson, Nisi Shawl, Ferrett Steinmetz, Anton Strout, Michael Underwood, Alyssa Wong and many other authors as they take well-worn tropes and cliches and flip them upside down.

CONTENTS
Introduction — Jerry Gordon

SECTION I: INVERTING THE TROPES
On Loving Bad Boys: A Villanelle — Valya Dudycz Lupescu
Single, Singularity — John Hornor Jacobs
Lazzrus — Nisi Shawl
Seeking Truth — Elsa Sjunneson-Henry
Thwock — Michelle Muenzler
Can You Tell Me How to Get to Paprika Place? — Michael R. Underwood
Chosen — Anton Strout
The White Dragon — Alyssa Wong
Her Curse, How Gently It Comes Undone — Haralambi Markov
Burning Bright — Shanna Germain
Santa CIS (Episode 1: No Saint) — Alethea Kontis
Requiem for a Manic Pixie Dream — Katy Harrad & Greg Stolze
The Refrigerator in the Girlfriend — Adam-Troy Castro
The First Blood of Poppy Dupree — Delilah S. Dawson
Red Light — Sara M. Harvey
Until There Is Only Hunger — Michael Matheson
Super Duper Fly — Maurice Broaddus
Drafty as a Chain Mail Bikini — Kat Richardson
Swan Song — Michelle Lyons-McFarland
Those Who Leave — Michael Choi
Nouns of Nouns: A Mini Epic — Alex Shvartsman
Excess Light — Rahul Kanakia
The Origin of Terror — Sunil Patel
The Tangled Web — Ferrett Steinmetz
Hamsa, Hamsa, Hamsa, Tfu, Tfu, Tfu. — Alisa Schreibman
Real Women Are Dangerous — Rati Mehrotra

SECTION II: DISCUSSING THE TROPES
I’m Pretty Sure I’ve Read This Before … — Patrick Hester
Fractured Souls — Lucy A. Snyder
Into the Labyrinth: The Heroine’s Journey — A.C. Wise
Escaping the Hall of Mirrors — Victor Raymond
Tropes as Erasers: A Transgender Perspective — Keffy R.M. Kehrli

SECTION III: DEFINING THE TROPES
Afterword — Monica Valentinelli & Jaym Gates
Trope Definitions/Index of Tropes

SECTION IV: ACKNOWLEDGMENTS AND ADDITIONAL BIOS

Book Details:
Cover artist Galen Dara
TPB ISBN: 978-1-937009-44-1
HC ISBN: 978-1-937009-46-5
366 Pages

Monica Valentinelli is an editor, writer, and game developer who lurks in the dark. Her work includes stories, games, and comics for her original settings as well as media/tie-in properties such as the Firefly TV show, Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn, and Vampire: The Masquerade. Her nonfiction includes reference materials such as Firefly: The Gorramn Shiniest Language Guide and Dictionary in the ‘Verse, and essays in books like For Exposure: The Life and Times of a Small Press Publisher. For more about Monica, visit www.booksofm.com.

Jaym Gates is an editor, author, and communications manager. She’s the editor of the Rigor Amortis, War Stories, Exalted, and Genius Loci anthologies, as well as a published author in fiction, academic nonfiction, and RPGs.

December 13, 2016
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RPG Creator Relief Fund Achieves 501(3) Status and a Look Ahead

RPG Creators Relief FundIf you recall, you might remember that I’m part of the RPG Creator Relief Fund. I’ve got great news! This year, we achieved 501(3) status and this will help the charity grow in the future to help other creators in dire need. Plus, if you’re looking for charities to donate to, your contributions are tax deductible.

Today, I’d like to share a statement from Sean Patrick Fannon, our Communications Director.

RPG Creator Relief Fund Entering 2017

Greetings to all of you who love RPGs and the folks who make them! There’s no arguing that 2016, while a fantastic year in terms of RPG releases and the immense creativity behind them, was a bit rough on a lot of folks who make this their vocation. Injuries, illnesses, and serious financial setbacks hit a lot of great folks, and still others are facing major challenges in the days, weeks, and months to come.

This is exactly why we created the Roleplaying Game Creators Relief Fund. Inspired by such great efforts as the Hero Initiative, we wanted to put together a way to help RPG writers, artists, editors, and other creative folks who work professionally in this field to gain help through tough times. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization, we need as much help as RPG fans can give us in order to fill the Fund with assets that can be called on when needed.

We experienced a lot of success this year, but we plan to do much more in 2017 and beyond. We’ll be creating more great bundles for you to purchase, with the proceeds going to the Fund. As well, we’ve got some special, exclusive projects in the works, designed specifically for the RCRF to generate much-needed money to give those in need.

We’re also exploring charity drive initiatives, such as auctions at conventions; live-cast gaming feeds; gaming group challenges; and other creative and energetic concepts to motivate the RPG community to help those who make the games and worlds we all love.

We’d love to know what gamers would like to see, as well, so please reach out to us and let us know. You can find us online at our website, or on Facebook. If you want to look at the bundles we have available at any given time, check out our DriveThruRPG page.

To all who’ve supported us so far, we thank you most profoundly, and we hope you’ll help us spread the word and get more gamers involved. We all know important it is to team up to fight the darkness and help our fellow adventurers heal and survive when times are bad.

For the RCRF Board of Directors, Board of Applicants, and Advisory Board,

Sean Patrick Fannon
Communications Director, RCRF

December 9, 2016
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[New Release] The Cainite Conspiracies Anthology

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I am pleased to announce that The Cainite Conspiracies, a collection of fourteen stories set in the world of Vampire: The Masquerade Dark Ages is now available. Stories were written by these fine authors, which include exemplary storytellers and Vampire: The Masquerade developers past and present: Maurice Broaddus, Renee Ritchie, Justin Achilli, Russell Zimmerman, Andrew Peregrine, Catherine Lundoff, Eddy Webb, Jacob Klünder, Ree Soesbee, David A. Hill Jr., Alan Alexander, Richard Dansky, Danielle Lauzon, and Neall Raemonn Price.

In celebration of this release, three of our authors wrote about their stories. You can read about “Family is Family” by Renee Ritchie, “Sand and Dust” by Andrew Peregrine, and “A Quest for Blood” by Russell Zimmerman.

I hope you enjoy this collection. I had a lot of fun putting The Cainite Conspiracies together!

November 30, 2016
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Announcing a New SFWA Column about Game Writing

sfwa-logo

I am pleased to announce I’m writing a new column for SFWA.org about game writing. In my debut column, I address a few definitions and misconceptions about writing for games. I hope you’ll check out the article, and comment if you have opinions. Words matter!

Words are integral to game design and gameplay. –SOURCE: Writing for Games: Introduction and a Few Misconceptions

November 29, 2016
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