Read How to Write Science Fiction Fantasy Orson Scott Card 0035313107832 Books
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Learn to write science fiction and fantasy from a master
You've always dreamed of writing science fiction and fantasy tales that pull readers into extraordinary new worlds and fantastic conflicts. Best-selling author Orson Scott Card shows you how it's done, distilling years of writing experience and publishing success into concise, no-nonsense advice. You'll learn how to
- utilize story elements that define the science fiction and fantasy genres
- build, populate, and dramatize a credible, inviting world your readers will want to explore
- develop the "rules" of time, space and magic that affect your world and its inhabitants
- construct a compelling story by developing ideas, characters, and events that keep readers turning pages
- find the markets for speculative fiction, reach them, and get published
- submit queries, write cover letters, find an agent, and live the life of a writer
The boundaries of your imagination are infinite. Explore them with Orson Scott Card and create fiction that casts a spell over agents, publishers, and readers from every world.
Read How to Write Science Fiction Fantasy Orson Scott Card 0035313107832 Books
"Fantastic advice and great insights into not only writing overall but specifically the challenges of Speculative Fiction. Probably the most helpful advice in the book was "end the story you started". Understanding the different story types and structures for each was key in figuring out what I have found troubling in so many books. I could never put my finger on exactly what bugged me, but seeing that so many authors start one type of story and finish a different one brought into crystal clarity a key differentiator between professional authors and would-be writers.
I expect the wisdom in this book will have a profound effect on making my own writing much stronger."
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How to Write Science Fiction Fantasy Orson Scott Card 0035313107832 Books Reviews :
How to Write Science Fiction Fantasy Orson Scott Card 0035313107832 Books Reviews
- This is a great resource book to walk you through the steps to create a great story. This needs to be read over and over again. Thanks to Brandon Sanderson for recommending this book. Grab a copy and read it and read it again. Everything from world building to magic systems and how to decide what form a space travel your worlds use. Is it Hyperspace? or is it Jump gates? How and whys of which one to use, and what the cost of magic is.
- Fantastic advice and great insights into not only writing overall but specifically the challenges of Speculative Fiction. Probably the most helpful advice in the book was "end the story you started". Understanding the different story types and structures for each was key in figuring out what I have found troubling in so many books. I could never put my finger on exactly what bugged me, but seeing that so many authors start one type of story and finish a different one brought into crystal clarity a key differentiator between professional authors and would-be writers.
I expect the wisdom in this book will have a profound effect on making my own writing much stronger. - Orson Scott Card's How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy (HTWSF&F) is short and not very helpful. Of the 138 pages I would say that it had about 10 pages of useful information and that is being generous.
I have really enjoyed his other books, Ender's Game, Speaker of the Dead and others, so I was disappointed with this effort and really expected a lot more.
The title sells that it is going to teach the beginning writer "How to write SF & F." I don't see how this claim can be made. Of course, in the introduction, there is a disclaimer that the book will not cover writing in general but only details specific to SF & F.
There is some relevant information, but it is brief and covers things such as long distance space travel, time travel, magic, back story, languages, and the MICE quotient, which all stories have a bit of - milieu, idea, character, event. All of this is presented in lists of short paragraphs. Not all that helpful. - This is an awesome little book that delves into the basics of writing speculative fiction from world building to publishing to dealing with family members who don't understand your need to write. I read one reviewer who didn't care for this book because everything in it is intuitive. Yes, most of what's in here makes perfect sense in a "Well, duh!" kind of way, but sometimes intuitive things need to be spelled out clearly. You may kind of know something at the back of your brain, but unless you can bring it to the front of your mind, it's not going to work for you. This book brings these things to the front of your mind, simply, clearly, and effectively.
For example, Mr. Card writes that you should know why things are the way they are in your world. (Well duh, right?) Of course you should know why things work the way they do in your world, whether it's how spaceships manage to travel faster than light, or what the price of magic is. But the important thing is to know how all this stuff works before you really start, as opposed to making it up as you go. If you know what the rules are, then you can make your world believable. (Also, you don't have to keep going back and forth trying to find what you wrote before so that you don't contradict yourself.) What your characters do within those rules can happen spur of the moment, but the world they live in must be pretty well defined in your own mind before they start living there.
The last section (The Life and Business of Writing) was the least intuitive of all, but so necessary. Getting published doens't mean quitting your day job (OK, that part was intuitive). Some of what he says is almost disheartening, but my feeling is, being prepared is better than being surprised. Knowing about the pitfalls can help you avoid them.
I could go on and on about how helpful this book is, but I have a future bestseller calling to me, demanding that I plug a few holes and flesh out some of those pesky middle parts. So get this book if you like to write sci-fi or fantasy and your intuition is being a bit non-specific. It's good, plain and simple. - This book is good, but heavily weighted toward sci-fi and light on fantasy. He only mentions character and viewpoint, then refers you to another book. If you are a sci-fi writer, the technical side of his discussions will be enlightening, but not so much for fantasy or speculative writers.
- While I find this book to be very helpful in structuring science fiction stories, I have to agree with the two individuals who complained about the examples given in the chapter on sex scenes. I found the examples to be poorly written. They were replete with awkward, incomplete sentences while being scant on sexual imagery. I must say that I was surprised by this initially, but when I read what Mr. Gerrold had to say about writing sex scenes, it made sense to me. He starts this particular chapter by saying that sex scenes are embarrassing to write, to read and to publish. There is no way that a writer can ever create a strong sex scene with such a poor attitude. Why even attempt them?
- This must be the kindest, funniest, most no-nonsense book on craft I've ever read, and I've read a lot of good ones. It's honest and thoughtful, and promises no quick fixes while delivering a massive dose of can-do.
- A good introduction to the world of writing science fiction by one of the world's premier science fiction writers. I learned several useful tidbits that I will carry with me for the rest of my time as a writer. Read it and you will find some as well.
I rated this four stars only because there are other, better, writing self-help books out there, like Techniques of a Selling Writer by Dwight V Swain.
This is a good supplement to any writer's craft.
