Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #41082 in Books
• Published on: 2001-10-26
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 140 pages

Synopsis
This award-winning classic on the art and craft of writing science fiction and fantasy provides invaluable advice for every science fiction and fantasy writer interested in constructing stories about people, worlds and events that stretch the boundaries of the possible - and the magical. They'll learn:. What is and isn't science fiction and fantasy, and where their story fits in the mix. How to build, populate, and dramatize a credible, inviting world readers will want to explore. Where the markets are, how to reach them and get published There's no better source of information for writers working in these genres.

Customer Reviews

Very useful, but leaves a sour taste
This is an excellent reference to writing sci-fi and fantasy, with a huge amount of information and advice packed into a surprisingly concise and readable book.

It does have one problem, however. Now, I have a fairly objective approach to Star Trek; I enjoy watching it if it's on, but I usually can't be bothered. But Card seems to absolutely hate it - on the few occasions that Star Trek is even mentioned, he slathers on so much vitriol that it becomes quite distasteful to read. Even as someone with a little more than passing enjoyment of the series, I found myself putting the book down with a grimace after the raving on warp drive (which Card dismisses as "the silliest option for FTL travel").

I have yet to pick it up again.

Fantasy! What Fantasy?
I bought this book as i am currently trying to write a fantasy story and believed this book may help. It would have if my book was science fiction.

There are some good universal parts in the book, but if you are thinking of buying this book for the fantasy part, don't bother.

Exercises for the creative imagination
This is an excellent read and a stimulating package of advice for anyone interested in writing science fiction or fantasy. Orson Scott Card makes an immediate point: no one can teach you how to write in these genres. What he sets out to do is deliver a superb exposition of the process of creativity and how it infests the imagination. He delivers a vision of creativity as a process, one you can stimulate and use, rather than something you sit back and wait for. Inspiration might be creative, but creativity is not limited to inspiration. Here we have an analysis of how ideas emerge and how they take root.

Card questions what is science fiction, what is fantasy? He offers advice and generates a score of absorbing ideas. But his advice takes a vital, practical direction. If you wish to write, then read, read, read!

To succeed as a writer, there is no magic formula. You need to learn the skills of your trade, you need to learn to free your imagination, and then you need discipline and the determination to work hard and improve and hone your skills.

An excellent, stimulating read, well worth the money, and a book you will treasure.