How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy (Genre Writing)

Orson Scott Card is a master story teller, quite possibly the best in his field. In this book he imparts expert wisdom and advise. It's a bit lacking concrete "how to" info, but that's the best part. A must read.

Card does an excellent job of doing exactly what he promises..teaching the reader how to write sf and fantasy. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to write in this field.

Card deftly uses his own experiences to show the reader how to create a universe. His throwaway paragraphs depicting sentence structure and other techniques show the reader how easy it is to create an interesting universe.

I picked this book up by chance, as I have been a long time fan of Mr. Card's work. This book has been exceptionally helpful in my own work. It covers concepts writers from all genres can appreciate, and was entertaining to boot. I strongly recommend this title.

I also must disagree with the criticism that Card must be dispensing worthless advice because he wouldn't give away his "secrets." The contrary is very clear to anyone who has actually read the book.

You have to keep in mind that most sci-fi writers are also sci-fi fans, and have been for longer than they've been writing professionally. There's a natural motivation to help new writers because some of the most satisfying reading will come from new writers.

This book is full of very clear and helpful techniques and strategies specific to science fiction that can help any writer improve his/her work. Not nebulous rules (you have to create suspense!!) but concrete advice on how to do this and other things.

I think this book can help any aspiring writer.

I found the book fun to read, but I must say that in retrospect it is not helpful. Most of it consists of anecdotes about his personal experiences and his personal life... interesting for fans, but not really helpful for the aspiring writer.