How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy (Genre Writing)

This book is a fantastic resource! Written by award-winning sci-fi and fantasy author Orson Scott Card, this book contains many wonderful hints on writing in those genres. Mr. Card covers everything from building a world to writing well and getting published.

What struck me the most in this book is the Mr. Card gives on collecting your ideas (who doesn't have loads of disconnected story ideas?) and developing them, and possibly combining the disparate ideas into a whole story. In fact, he uses his own history to show just how this can be done. But, this is not just an off the cuff, this has happened to me type book. The author uses the works of many different authors to show you how you can write, and how you can write well.

If you are at all interested in writing in the field of "speculative fiction," then you must read this book. It is one of the best books in the field that I have ever seen.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book, and in fact found more tips on plot in this book than I did in another book I have that is devoted to plot mechanism itself. It contains many practical ideas and examples to illustrate Card's various points, and is also written in an easy-to-read, easy-to-understand style. Card's MICE quotient theory is also one of the best I've ever seen when it comes to story structure.

Card has admitted in several of his essays that he got into writing almost by accident, and made many classic mistakes along the way. In this book he does so again, and offers advice and ideas for avoiding the pitfalls he encountered. He also pays attention to the fact that the audience for science fiction is unique indeed and spends some time exploring the differences between the sf audiences and general reading audiences.

There are also many helpful ideas in here for the aspiring writer whose resources are a bit limited and who may not really have an in-depth understanding of the writing field. I particularly found a list of good places to try "breaking in" to be very helpful.

While it's probably a little too elementary for an experienced writer, and can sometimes come across as a bit preachy, I'd recommend this book for any aspiring sf writer's library; get the hardcover if you can manage it. You'll find yourself turning to it again and again and valuing the practical advice.

All of my sci-fi stories used to merely present, what I thought to be, great ideas for stories. During my reading of this book, some of my old stories took on new dimensions, (through painful rewrites). I created new stories and even new worlds that I would have never attempted to create otherwise. Admitedly, I only wrote "idea" stories. I never considered creating a "place", a "character", or an "event" for the sake of a story. My focus was on entertaining myself and my readers with unusual concepts. One of those short story concepts may well end up as a short novel... with two sequels.
While I write as a hobby I still found the "business" aspects of writing helpful in the event I should ever seek becoming a published writer.
This book can help an idea become an entire new world or indroduce a character who can effectively present the idea.
I also appreciate that I didn't feel like I was being told how to write my story, but rather, how to include elements to make it more readable and more enjoyable.
This is a definite keep-on-the-shelf reference.

This is a great book for both beginning and experienced sf&f writers. Orson Scott Card focuses on Science fiction mostly, but showes distinct differences between the TWO genres. I would have liked a separate book for fantasy, instead of both tegether, but Card does not add Fantasy as an afterthought. He explains both in detail, and shows how to write well for both audiences. He uses a small assortment of books as examples, including J.R.R. Tolkein's "The Lord of the Rings", and Octavia Butler's "Wild Seed." Over all I would definitely recommend this book to writers of either genre.

I'm trying to turn myself into a writer. I have eight 'how to write' books on my desk. This is the one I refer to most often for practical advice and information. Card's other 'How to' book on characters and viewpoint is also excellent.