CONGLAMITORIAL
Second in the series…. And speaking of the April 1933 Amazing, "Martian and Troglodyte," by Neil R. Jones was printed on the cover, but the story did not appear in the issue. The printing of the editorial, which took two more pages than hitherto, and some of the Discussions were increased in size…. The May 1933 Amazing was the first one of 86 not to contain part of a serial. The August-September had none either…. Have you ever wondered what letter of the alphabet authors pick on most as the first one in the title of their stories (omitting articles 'a,' 'the,' and 'an,')? Of course you haven't. Well, I'll tell you, anyway. An average of one-tenth of all the stories written begin with the letter "M," and another tenth with "S." That is their rating in a collection of over 2000 stories…. So, Amazing is trying to get rid of the word "scientifiction" that Gernsback coined, eh?… By the looks of the contents page of the May 1933 Weird, you would think that every story was complete…. The May, 1926 Amazing contains two stories by Jules Verne…. And the March 1930 Science Wonder had two stories by Frank J. Brueckel…. And you can find other similar cases, such as the Amazing Annual containing two stories by A. Merritt, and the June, 1930 Astounding with two of Diffin's yarns (one under the pseudonym of C. D. Willard).
If you have any original fan material on hand, we would be pleased to have you submit it for our serious consideration.
HOW TO WRITE A STF STORY
by Hoy Ping Pong
The first thing to remember in writing a science story is originality. You must have that, so the first things to select for your brain-child is a hero, heroine, and villain. No plot is needed. Or, if you desire one, that can be thot up after the story is finished.
Have your hero a tall, slim, cold, grey-eyed chap, with an iron jaw, and a sturdy body. He also must know all there is to know about everything. Now for the heroine; she must be a small, slim blond, blue-eyed, and be a scientist's daughter. That's the big point in originality. Nobody has ever thought of her being a scientist's daughter before. Now next comes the villain. He must be tall, dark, with snapping black eyes, and a brush across his upper lip. He must have an impossible name that no one can pronounce, including yourself. I would suggest someone who desires to have world domination. That, also, is original.
The big surprise of your story is this: Your villain must desire the heroine for himself. That is something that is new to STF readers. And, of course, I would politely suggest that the hero also want the girl. That would make a triangle out of it. The hero must chase the villain all over the universe, because the villain has the heroine in his vile clutches. Don't forget the word vile. Nobody has ever used that.
Of course, the invaders from Mars arrive on the scene about this time, also desiring world conquest. It would be a nice point of originality here to have the villain throw in with the Martians. It wouldn't do to have the whole army overthrow the enemy. The hero must do it himself, singlehanded.