Writing the Future: Essays on Crafting Science Fiction

by Dan Coxon (Editor), Richard V. Hirst (Editor)

For as long as humans have existed, they have asked: What if?

Science fiction was a defining genre of the postwar era, and its current boom across books, film and TV shows no sign of slowing. Space ships, time travel, aliens and artificial intelligence continue to obsess us, and dreams of the apocalypse haunt our own post-pandemic age. But what is it that compels writers to imagine the future?

Writing the Future gathers some of the best contemporary writers of science fiction, speculative fiction, dystopia and eco-fiction to explain their craft and explore the many worlds upon which our imaginations might land. Authors such as Toby Litt, Nina Allan, Adam Roberts and Una McCormack reveal how to balance scientific research with creative freedom, examine the different forms the written text might evolve into, and offer practical advice on giving life to your own vision of the future.

Whether you’re a reader, a seasoned writer looking to hone your skills, or a beginner who’s just starting out, Writing the Future provides valuable insights into the craft of imagining the worlds of tomorrow.

Featuring contributions from: Nina Allan, Rachelle Atalla, Anne Charnock, Tendai Huchu, Oliver Langmead, Toby Litt, Adam Marek, Una McCormack, Maura McHugh, James Miller, Adam Roberts, Aliya Whiteley, Marian Womack.

Genres: Essays, Nonfiction, Writing

265 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2023

About the author

Dan Coxon is an award-winning editor and writer based in London. His non-fiction anthology Writing The Uncanny (co-edited with Richard V. Hirst) won the British Fantasy Award for Best Non-Fiction 2022, while his short story collection Only The Broken Remain (Black Shuck Books) was shortlisted for two British Fantasy Awards in 2021 (Best Collection, Best Newcomer). In 2018 his anthology of British folk-horror, This Dreaming Isle (Unsung Stories), was shortlisted for a British Fantasy Award and a Shirley Jackson Award. His short stories have appeared in various anthologies, including Nox Pareidolia, Beyond the Veil, Mother: Tales of Love and Terror and Fiends in the Furrows III. His latest anthology - Isolation - was published by Titan Books in September 2022.

Reviews

[Ailsa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a brilliant book, with 13 essays by different writers on the subject of sci-fi, past works of sci-fi, and how to write it. A lot of the insights in this book were really useful, and I'll take them forward in my own work. I particularly enjoyed Aliya Whiteley's description of how research works when writing fiction, Una McCormack's comparison of historical fiction and sci-fi, and Toby Litt's piece on how to describe things that are truly alien and unfamiliar to us. Some essays I didn't enjoy as much as others, mainly the 'spotlight' ones - I think it's a great idea to have spotlight essays on certain authors' work in such a book, I just haven't read much Atwood, Wells, or Ballard, so I was a bit at sea! The level of difficulty in the writing varied between essays. Sometimes I felt like I was reading a blog post, while other times I was being given flashbacks to my attempt to read Fredric Jameson's Archaeologies of the Future for fun. I don't say this as a criticism - I think it's great that there's differing levels of theoretical engagement between different essays - but there were certainly points that I was struggling. Overall, a very strong collection of different essays. I will be rereading many of them in the future.

[Runalong · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating collection of essays on elements of SF with three spotlights on Wells, Atwood and Ballard. Some in agreement and others not plus some interesting technical discussions on how to make the future appear on the page.

Full review - https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/bl...

[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5