Home | The World of Cat Rambo

The World of

books, community, classes, & resources

Who's Cat Rambo?

Since coming through Clarion West in 2005, Cat Rambo’s 300+ fiction publications have included stories in Asimov’s, Clarkesworld Magazine, and The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, and frequently appear in year’s best of collections. They work across genre, writing literary, thriller, science fiction, slipstream, fantasy, magic realism, historical, and humor with fluid ease, making them one of the leaders in American story writing.

The Books

Upcoming Events

Dec

Writing Friendships

There's plenty of advice on writing love scenes, but what happens when the relationship's purely platonic? What special considerations come into play when writing friendships, and how do you convey all the shared history on the page so the reader can experience the friendship's depth? In this class, we'll talk about how to write friends.

Dec

Working with Voice and Point of View

How do voice and point of view work together to create an engaging character?

Dec

Turning Your Life Into Speculative Fiction

People say “write what you know,” but that’s hard when you want to write about cybernauts, dragons, or amorphous creatures from another dimension. How can you use the details of your own everyday existence to make your story seem real, even when it’s got otherworldly elements?

Jan

Short Story Workshop

Learn how to write, refine, and submit short stories in a workshop that combines lecture, discussion, in-class writing exercises, and critiquing each other's stories. Over the course of this class you will write and workshop at least one story.

Jan

Writing Killer Descriptions

Descriptions can be key to creating an evocative world for your reader, but at the same time, they can slow the pace of a story to a crawl. Learn tips and techniques for writing descriptions that pull a reader in without getting them lost in the words.

Jan

Turning Your Life Into Speculative Fiction

Jan

Extended Literary Devices Workshop

Over the course of three sessions, we will explore the world of literary devices and how to use them to enrich and enliven your fiction, both short and long. Through a mix of lecture, discussion, and in-class writing exercises, you will emerge with plenty of new tricks and techniques for your writerly toolbox.

Jan

Pulling Everything Together: Working with Theme and Motif

Plot, characters, and setting are all you need to make a story, right? Nope. There's a fourth element you need to consider: the story's theme, which is amplified by the motifs and symbols you employ. Over the course of three sessions, we will discuss how to determine your theme and convey it to your reader through motifs and symbols.

Feb

What to Show and What to Tell: Working with Exposition

Sometimes "show, don't tell" is bad advice, because it's a point where you do need exposition. Often exposition offers context and helps the reader understand the story, character motivations, and the story world. How do you know when to show versus when to tell, and how does the show/tell ratio affect the flow of time in the story?

Feb

Writing Your Way Into Your Novel

Got a science fiction, fantasy, or horror novel that you want to start (and keep) writing? This is the workshop for you.

Mar

Names & Titles

In this mixture of lecture, discussion, and writing exercises, you will become adept at titling and come away knowing how to name your characters and write titles.

Mar

Advanced Short Story Workshop

This class is intended for students who know the basics of writing stories but want to refine that skill. You must have taken my short story workshop or an equivalent program or else submit a writing sample with your application.

Latest from the Blog

Where I’ll Be: Origins 2025

Once again I’ll be at Authors Alcove for Origins Game Fair in Columbus, Ohio. Please stop by the booth and say hi, or come to

June 17, 2025 No Comments

Who's Cat Rambo?

The Books

Upcoming Events

Latest from the Blog

End of July Newsletter

Where I’ll Be: Origins 2025