The Guide to Writing Fantasy and Science Fiction

Author: Philip Athans
Publisher: Adams Media
ISBN: 1440501459
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 256

Book Description
Science fiction and fantasy is one of the most challenging—and rewarding—genres to write. But with New York Times bestselling author Philip Athans and fantasy giant R. A. Salvatore at your side, you’ll create worlds that draw your readers in—and keep them reading! Drawing on his years of experience as one of the most acclaimed professionals in publishing, Wizards of the Coast editor Athans explains how to set your novel apart and break into this lucrative field. From devising clever plots and building complex characters to inventing original technologies and crafting alien civilizations, Athans gives you the techniques you need to write strong, saleable narratives. Athans applies all of these critical lessons together in an unprecedented deconstruction of a never-before-published tale by the one and only R. A. Salvatore! There are books on writing science fiction and fantasy, and then there’s this book—the only one you need to create strange, wonderful worlds for your own universe of readers.

How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy

Author: Orson Scott Card
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 158297103X
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 145

Book Description
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.

Elements of Fiction Writing - Characters & Viewpoint

Author: Orson Scott Card
Publisher: Writer's Digest Books
ISBN: 9780898799279
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 196

Book Description
Vivid and memorable characters aren't born: they have to be made. &break;&break;This book is a set of tools: literary crowbars, chisels, mallets, pliers and tongs. Use them to pry, chip, yank and sift good characters out of the place where they live in your memory, your imagination and your soul. &break;&break;Award-winning author Orson Scott Card explains in depth the techniques of inventing, developing and presenting characters, plus handling viewpoint in novels and short stories. With specific examples, he spells out your narrative options–the choices you'll make in creating fictional people so "real" that readers will feel they know them like members of their own families. &break;&break;You'll learn how to: &break; draw the characters from a variety of sources, including a story's basic idea, real life–even a character's social circumstances&break; make characters show who they are by the things they do and say, and by their individual "style"&break; develop characters readers will love–or love to hate&break; distinguish among major characters, minor characters and walk-ons, and develop each one appropriately&break; choose the most effective viewpoint to reveal the characters and move the storytelling&break; decide how deeply you should explore your characters' thoughts, emotions and attitudes

Writing Fantasy and Science Fiction

Author: Lisa Tuttle
Publisher: A & C Black
ISBN: 9780713672442
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 185

Book Description
Lisa Tuttle begins by looking at the different kinds of novels in the science and fantasy fiction genres. She then moves on to look at ideas, word-building, language, structure, writing for children, co-authoring, short stories, and finding an agent. This edition advises on self-publishing and on-line publishing.

Writing Sci-Fi, Fantasy, & Horror For Dummies

Author: Rick Dakan
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1119839092
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 436

Book Description
Take your shot at becoming the next Tolkien, Asimov, or King with this simple roadmap to transforming your fiction into works of art Writing Sci-Fi, Fantasy, & Horror For Dummies is your skeleton key to creating the kind of fiction that grips readers and compels them to keep turning pages (even if it's well past their bedtime!) You'll start with the basics of creative writing—including character, plot, and scene—and strategies for creating engaging stories in different forms, such as novels, short stories, scripts, and video games. After that, get beginner-friendly and straightforward advice on worldbuilding, before diving headfirst into genre-specific guidance for science fiction, horror, and fantasy writing. This book also offers: Strategies for editing and revising your next work to get it into tip-top shape for your audience Ways to seek out second opinions from editors, experts, and even sensitivity readers Techniques for marketing and publication, working with agents, and advice for writers going the self-publishing route The perfect beginner's guide for aspiring writers with an interest in horror, fantasy, or science fiction, Writing Sci-Fi, Fantasy, & Horror For Dummies is the first and last resource you need before you start building your next story about faraway lands, aliens, and fantastic adventures.

A Writer's Guide to Speculative Fiction: Science Fiction and Fantasy

Author: Crawford Kilian
Publisher: Self-Counsel Press
ISBN: 1770405062
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 181

Book Description
You can create believable science fiction and fantasy worlds Speculative fiction is an umbrella genre enveloping the ever-expanding genres of science fiction and fantasy, and best-selling science fiction and fantasy authors Crawford Kilian and Silvia Moreno-Garcia come together in this book to show writers how to craft believable worlds and plausible characters, and ultimately, how to craft good stories. Their hands-on, practical, put-the-book-down-and-start-writing advice speaks to new and emerging authors of science fiction and fantasy. They offer more than pep talks and success stories; they explain genres and how to bend and blend them, and give concrete suggestions on how to overcome the inevitable problems writers face, such as self editing, writing plausible characters, and building a plot without writing formula fiction. With a combined nearly 50 years of experience, Kilian and Moreno-Garcia save writers time, energy, and grief by showing them how to master the craft of storytelling and how to market their stories as successfully as possible. Their invaluable advice persuades readers to go beyond their, and others’, expectations of market and genre, pushing them to be better writers, and to add their own unique storytelling voices into the growing speculative fiction arena.

The Writer's Guide to Creating a Science Fiction Universe

Author: George Ochoa
Publisher: Writer's Digest Books
ISBN: 9780898795363
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 324

Book Description
To hold the interest of knowledgeable sci-fi readers, a writer the genre must stay within certain fuzzy boundaries of scientific belief. This volume provides some of the scientific detail that will make a writer's adventures compelling and consistent with current views of the universe. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Tremontaine

Author: Ellen Kushner
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 148148558X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 688

Book Description
"A duchess's beauty matched only by her cunning; her husband's dangerous affair with a handsome scholar; a foreigner in a playground of swordplay and secrets; and a mathematical genius on the brink of revolution. Suddenly long-buried lies threaten to come to light and betrayal and treachery run rampant in this story of sparkling wit and political intrigue."--Amazon.com.

Writing Monsters

Author: Philip Athans
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1599638088
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 226

Book Description
Monsters are more than things that go bump in the night... Monsters are lurking in the woods, beneath the waves, and within our favorite books, films, and games--and there are good reasons why they appear so often. Monsters are manifestations of our fears and symbols of our society--not to mention they're a lot of fun--but each should serve a purpose and enhance the themes and tension in your fiction. In Writing Monsters, best-selling author Philip Athans uses classic examples from books, films, and the world around us to explore what makes monsters memorable--and terrifying. You'll learn what monsters can (and should) represent in your story and how to create monsters from the ground up. Writing Monsters includes: • In-depth discussions of where monsters come from, what they symbolize, and how to best portray them in fiction • Informative overviews of famous monsters, archetypes, and legendary creatures • A Monster Creation Form to help you create your monster from scratch • An annotated version of H.P. Lovecraft's chilling story "The Unnamable" Whether you write fantasy, science fiction, or horror, your vampires, ghouls, aliens, and trolls need to be both compelling and meaningful. With Writing Monsters, you can craft creatures that will wreak havoc in your stories and haunt your readers' imaginations--and nightmares.

Worlds of Wonder

Author: David Gerrold
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 264

Book Description
Offers advice for would-be science fiction writers, covering such topics as setting, plot, character, and dialogue, as well as the mechanics of grammar, tense, sentence structure, and paragraph transition.