46th out of 44 books
—
11 voters
The Guide to Writing Fantasy and Science Fiction: 6 Steps to Writing and Publishing Your Bestseller!
by
Philip Athans (Goodreads Author),
R.A. Salvatore
Science fiction and fantasy is one of the most challenging--and rewarding!--genres in the bookstore. 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!
Just as important, you?ll learn how to prepare your work for today's market. Drawing on his years...more
Just as important, you?ll learn how to prepare your work for today's market. Drawing on his years...more
Paperback, 244 pages
Published
July 18th 2010
by Adams Media Corporation
(first published 2010)
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This Guide is an easy, useful read that is accessible in language, rather than being convoluted. The examples are short, straightforward, and reminded me of what I've read since I was a kid - reading it felt partly nostalgic and partly "Hey! I totally get that!" It's also very open, fluid, and humourous, making me laugh every few chapters (really, it's difficult to get the question, "What Would Jackie Chan Do?" out of my head). It's also very modern, with in-the-now language and what's acceptabl...more
So I am not a wannabe fantasy writer nor do I have a manuscript collecting dust. But I do wannabe a better book reviewer. I read Ben Bacock's review on Goodreads about the fantasy book, Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson, and was inspired with the depth of the review. Not having access to many English books in Taiwan, I borrowed this eBook from a Minnesota Public Library and found it helpful in many ways. Not only does it show key elements in this genre, it also defines the subgenre...more
I have a soft spot for books on writing. There's something about reading how others describe the craft of writing that I find really appealing. Thankfully, after investing time and money into The Guide to Writing Fantasy and Science Fiction I came away feeling that I learned something new and fresh.
The Guide to Writing Fantasy and Science Fiction is a no-nonsense guide to writing in these two respective genres. Athans quickly gets to the point, and stays on point throughout the entire book. The...more
The Guide to Writing Fantasy and Science Fiction is a no-nonsense guide to writing in these two respective genres. Athans quickly gets to the point, and stays on point throughout the entire book. The...more
This book gives great insight to things to consider when writing your own sci-fi/fantasy novel. Although I majored in literature, I've never had much of an idea of what makes a book seem cliche or how to improve writing. Either I liked something or I didn't, but I couldn't quite pinpoint what was missing/needed. This book fills in the holes I was missing. It's explicit, honest, and perhaps most importantly, easy to read. I didn't feel like reading this was homework (I was browsing through books,...more
As writing books go, this one was good, but I wanted more organization. There was some good advice in it, but it came in two broad categories: overkill (the section on rewriting prose to be more descriptive was about 6 examples too long, maybe 5) or hidden so hard that I had to work for it.
For the most part, though, the advice fell in the "hidden" section. I would have liked some writing exercise to reinforce the point and some more concrete examples/howto advice. Most of the advice was "Make su...more
For the most part, though, the advice fell in the "hidden" section. I would have liked some writing exercise to reinforce the point and some more concrete examples/howto advice. Most of the advice was "Make su...more
Very well done! The cover's promise of "6 Steps to Writing and Publishing Your Bestseller!" might lead one to expect a more plug-and-crank-formulaic production than this is - it's not a cookbook. The "steps" are general, more "what" than "how", although there is plenty of useful information and guidance on aspects of story creation it would otherwise be easy to overlook, ways to make the story's world richer and more fascinating (often by examining the aspects of one's own culture/subculture and...more
I read a couple books about how to write novels and was really dying for a book that has specific advice about writing fantasy and science fiction novels. I found this one and I must say that I was not disappointed. I bought a Kindle version and read it over the span of a week. This is indeed a comprehensive guide to writing fantasies and sci-fi. It dives deep into the genre and talks about just anything you may think of that matters. It certainly has answered all of my basic questions. The book...more
This is a fantastic book that covers a huge amount of content for its relatively short length. Part of why I could breeze through this book as fast as I did and not have to reference back so much to other things is probably because I'm pretty well read in the genre and I feel like 95% of the people and books that were referenced as examples in here I have already read. Hell, I probably own most of them.
If there was one important lesson that I took away from this book personally it would be that...more
If there was one important lesson that I took away from this book personally it would be that...more
Longtime Wizards of the Coast editor and fantasy author Philip Athans is certainly qualified to write a guide to writing Fantasy and Sci Fi. He has gone through the entire process as an author but, more importantly, he has seen what works—and what doesn’t—from behind an editor’s desk. He puts his experience to good effect, recruiting R.A. Salvatore to provide both the introduction and an original short story, telling frequent war stories, interviewing industry contacts, regularly alluding to his...more
Philip Athans' The Guide to Writing Fantasy and Science Fiction: 6 Steps To Writing and Publishing Your Best Seller is hilarious. It's filled with great advice that I think can be applied to writing any story, not just science fiction and fantasy. A lot of what Athans said, I knew, but it was nice to be reminded.
This is the first "How-To" book on writing I've ever read. It was a gift and I was happy to receive it. The steps are six, but they are not simple. They are broken down and then broken...more
This is the first "How-To" book on writing I've ever read. It was a gift and I was happy to receive it. The steps are six, but they are not simple. They are broken down and then broken...more
Of all the "How to write SF/F" books I've read recently, this was far and away the best. It not only presented the core elements of writing, it presented them in terms of science fiction and fantasy (the first of the books to really, solidly do that), but at the same time it gave me things to think about (like addressing units of measurement in a fictional world).
The author blogs at Fantasy Author's Handbook, which is well worth adding to your feed reader.
The author blogs at Fantasy Author's Handbook, which is well worth adding to your feed reader.
This book was full of some very helpful pointers for anyone wanting to delve into the sci-fi or fantasy writing genre. I wouldn't say it was THE guide, but it gave me some decent instruction. What I liked most were the examples (even if they were a bit silly) that really brought the tips to life. There is also a superb short story by R.A. Salvatore at the end--what a treat! I'd recommend this to anyone for adding to their "how to write" bookshelf.
I got this for a Christmas gift, and I highly enjoyed this book. It's a LOT better than a couple of other 'How to write' books on Fantasy and Sci-Fi, and definatly is a LOT easier to read. It covers most of the things that most well written how to books suggest, and also uses excellent examples on the advice it presents. Overall I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in writing any of these genres.
As an aspiring Speculative Fiction author, I'm very interested in books on the craft of writing, especially when they're specific for the genres that I love. This was an informative book on how to write Sci/Fi & Fantasy books. My only complaint was it was short. I wish there was more information, examples perhaps, but for the price I paid I felt this was well worth the read.
I actually really liked this one. It's not so much of a 'teaching you new things about the craft' book as it is a 'Let's go through the creative process and look at all the different things that you should be thinking about' book. Which was very helpful. Sometimes there are things you just forget that you shouldn't forget.
Sep 04, 2012
Erin
is currently reading it
This is newest of the three how-to-write-spec-fiction books that I own. Pretty Basic. I'm not sure about it yet...will get back with you on this one....
Don't let the cover art fool you into thinking this is a rotten book - it's actually a very well written book on the art and craft of writing fantasy and science fiction. I've been taking notes, and revising my novel, and this book is helping me immensely. Originally I almost didn't buy it because of the cover, but then I opened it up, and was hooked immediately.
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dragons, dragons ...: Writing Fantasy and Science Fiction | 10 | 16 | Oct 22, 2012 01:52am |
Philip Athans is the New York Times best-selling author of Annihilation and more than a dozen other fantasy and horror books including The Guide to Writing Fantasy & Science Fiction, Completely Broken, Arron of the Black Forest, Book I: The Haunting of Dragon's Cliff (with Mel Odom), Tales From The Fathomless Abyss and How to Start Your Own Religion.
Born in Rochester, New York he grew up in su...more
More about Philip Athans...
Born in Rochester, New York he grew up in su...more
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