Social Media is the place to ask questions and make connections. As a writer, many of the magazines I publish in or authors/editors I meet are via connections on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. One platform that I also visit for this purpose is Reddit. It is a huge platform of over 520 monthly readers and has a million or more active “subreddits” to choose from. How I like to use the platform is to choose among the subreddits and subscribe so that they appear on my front page dashboard. This is the default page you see when you first sign into the website or use their mobile app. I do not view Reddit as a place to promote my books, although I’m sure there are subreddits you might be able to do a book plug here and there if you are so inclined, but I do view it as place to forge new connections and tap into the knowledge bases of fellow science fiction writers and fans of the genre.

Below is a listing of subreddits that I feel might be useful for a writer of Science Fiction, Fantasy, or Horror. I hope you’ll give them a test run.

AskScience (/r/askscientists)
This is not a community of writers, but of physicists, astronomers, mathematicians, doctors, biologists and more. They have strict rules about where they source their information. If you are looking for science advice for your stories, this could be a great resource to tap.

AskScienceFiction (/r/asksciencefiction)
If you have ideas for a story and what advice about how plausible it sounds to science fiction readers, this might be the place to go. It seems to be a fun group too!

DestructiveReaders (/r/destructivereaders)
This is a critique group who are known to be tough on the writers who post their work, but if you are looking for in-depth reviews or to see critiques of other writers work to gain pointers, this is an interesting group to follow.

Etymology (/r/etymology)
For all you budding Tolkiens out there, this subreddit is about learning word histories and developing languages. A real must for fantasy and science fiction authors.

Fantasy Writers (/r/fantasywriters/)
A hangout for writers of fantasy books. They also have a discord channel if you feel like chatting in real time.

Fantasy Worldbuilding (/r/FantasyWorldbuilding/)
This subreddit is dedicated to worldbuilding, both fantasy and science fiction. It would be a great place to bounce ideas and gain advice.

Imaginary Landscapes (/r/imaginarylandscapes)
This is a motherload of inspirational fantasy and science fiction images and scenes. If you have writer’s block, this place might ease you back into creativity.

NaNoWriMo (/r/nanowrimo)
Being a former ML of Nanowrimo, I always like to point out places for fellow wrimos to find support during their writing sprints. Look for this group to be the most active during the month of November.

NoSleep (/r/nosleep)
The content of this active community is created by both amateurs and pros of the horror genre. Favorite stories are upvoted and trophies are given monthly and annually for the best offerings. One of the fun aspects of the group are that all the responses to the stories are as if they are real. If you write horror or enjoy reading this genre, this is a place to subscribe to.

PrintSF (/r/printSF/)
A place to discuss published SF, novels, short stories, comics, images, and more. This is more of a science fiction fan group, but as a writer, I find it invaluable to follow what is popular with readers.

PubTips (/r/pubtips)
A subreddit of publishing experts where you can post query letters for community critique.

ScienceFiction (/r/sciencefiction/)
For fans and creators of Science Fiction and related media in any form.

SciFi (/r/scifi/)
For fans of Science Fiction, or Speculative Fiction. SF movies, books, and TV shows.

SciFiWriters (/r/scifiwriting)
This community of speculative fiction and science fiction writers is filled with discussion and critiques for those who write science fiction.

SelfPublish (/r/selfpublish)
This is a place “for writers to discuss the process of self-publishing, share experiences in the ‘industry,’ and read up on self-publishing news.”

Worldbuilding (/r/worldbuilding)
This group is filled with great artwork and ideas in world creation. Most of what you find here are images, but there are world building discussions as well.

Writers (/r/writers)
If you want to talk shop with fellow writers of all genre, this is a good place to visit.

WritersGroup (/r/writersgroup)
The critiques of this subreddit are not as intensive as the ones on DestructiveReaders, it is more of a constructive peer-review. While the subreddit is not as active as some groups, it is still worth taking a look at.

WritersOfHorror (/r/writersofhorror)
In this active community, submit your horror-genre stories and scenes for critique, ask for advice from the community, or share interesting finds related to the genre.

Writing (/r/writing)
If you want to find fellow authors and talk shop, the first place to stop is a place called “writing”! This is not genre specific, but for general craft questions, it is a great place to begin.