The following information does not form part of the rules of the James White Award, but it is intended as friendly (and, we hope, useful) advice for writers thinking of submitting a story to the competition.

Choosing your subject

Your story should be science fiction. We will define science fiction broadly and stories with fantasy and/or horror elements will be considered. But stories that lack the element of the extraordinary are unlikely to win the competition. Stories must be strong – experimental fiction is fine but this is a short story competition, so writing with a strong plot, a beginning, middle and end, is likely to stand a better chance of winning. It will help if you know the answers to the following questions (although you might not want to include all this information in the actual manuscript) before you start writing your story. Who is your main character (the protagonist)?

What do they want?

What happens to them?

How do they respond to what happens?

What does their world look like and how does it differ from our own?

What background information does the reader need to know for this story to make sense?

Can I tell this story in a form that makes sense between the 2000 and 6000 word limit? If you’ve written something that has a protagonist who simply experiences events but takes no action and experiences no change then it probably isn’t really a story. No matter how strange or exotic the background, characters are important and stories that feature realistic people behaving believably stand a better chance of winning. If you are going to include one of the following clichés in your story, think very carefully before submitting it: robots (or computers or monsters) that turn on their creators

time-travelling assassins

virtual reality

dragons

abductions by UFOs

vampires

alien invasions

quests for magical items

god/s as alien/s or alien/s as god/s

ultimate weapons

stories about Elvis Presley, Adolf Hitler, Albert Einstein or Jesus

retelling Adam and Eve in space…

It’s not that these ideas can never be the basis for good stories or even that they are bad ideas, it’s just that they are ideas that have been used a lot. If you think the way you’ve used them brings something really new to the field, or that your story is really exceptional, then by all means submit that story. But, if you’re using these ideas lazily or without thinking about what they mean or how they’ve been used before, your story is unlikely to win. Be aware that the judges are likely to have read most existing variations of these ideas.

You can find more examples of other over-used story ideas at Strange Horizons (www.strangehorizons.com/guidelines/fiction-common.shtml).

Writing your story

Don’t just start at page one and make it up as you go along. It’s important to work out the plot of your story. You don’t have to go into incredible depth, just enough to ensure that you’ll never write yourself into a corner and that the details you include are relevant to your story. Remember: it’s much easier to rewrite an outline than it is to rewrite a whole story. Always know how your story is going to end before you begin (yes, this does sound like the same thing, but it’s such an important point that it’s worth mentioning twice). Your characters are as important as the plot. Some writers design their characters first and then build the plot around them, others do it the other way around, but whichever way you do it, don’t neglect either. Include a good balance of dialogue and prose: stories that are all dialogue never seem to go anywhere, and stories that are all prose can seem lifeless (no matter how action-packed they are). Keep the story moving: your readers really don’t need to know the intricate details of the design and manufacture of your protagonist’s lampshades, unless it’s actually relevant to the plot. Don’t let your characters get too complacent: there should be something driving them at all times. Experiment… Try different types of characters with different attributes. A good trick is to pick characters who are exactly the opposite of what the story seems to require. Change is important – stories that end without significant change to the circumstances of the protagonists and those close to him are more likely to feel inconsequential. If the story didn’t matter to them, why should it matter to the reader. Your protagonist should not, normally, be a passive observer. Choose words carefully. You can often have more impact with one or two well chosen word than a page of waffle. When writing each scene ask yourself: Why is this moment important for these characters?

How do these events take me closer to the end of the story?

What is different in my story after this scene? If you can’t answer these three questions clearly, think about whether that scene really needs to be in the story – no matter how much you may like the writing.

Finished?

Once you’ve completed your story, set it aside for a few days. Then come back to it and try to read it as though it was written by your worst enemy: make a list of all the things wrong with it, and work out what you need to do to correct them. Ask an impartial observer to read your story, and encourage them to criticise it. For this, you really will need someone who won’t be afraid to tell you if the story is utter rubbish. That said, your critic must also be able to tell you exactly what IS wrong with it. Don’t take such criticism personally. Writers’ groups can be very useful for aspiring writers – especially if you haven’t shared your work with strangers before and if you are willing to take seriously the advice/suggestions of others in your group. The BSFA Orbiter groups are free for all BSFA members and are run by email or post and have helped many writers get their work published – you can find out more at www.bsfa.co.uk. Other local and online groups can be found using Google. Don’t be afraid to rewrite… If you’re not happy with a scene, write it again. Still not happy? Write it from the point of view of another character. STILL not happy? Then you need to decide whether you need that scene at all. If, when you get to the end of your story, you find that it’s far too long, there are a few tricks you can use to reduce the size… First, remove everything that doesn’t directly relate to the plot (detailed character descriptions, exposition, conversations about the weather, that kind of thing). Still too long? Then delete the first third of the story and see if it still works… You might find that it works even better than before.

Make a good impression