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Reddit mentions of How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy
Sentiment score: 12
Reddit mentions: 22
We found 22 Reddit mentions of How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy. Here are the top ones.
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- Writer's Digest Books
Features:
Specs:
| Color | Burgundy/maroon |
| Height | 9 Inches |
| Length | 6 Inches |
| Number of items | 1 |
| Release date | September 2001 |
| Weight | 0.50926782522 pounds |
| Width | 0.4 Inches |
I recommend every one who is interested in writing Star Wars fanfic to read Orson Scott Card's How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy.
https://www.amazon.com/How-Write-Science-Fiction-Fantasy/dp/158297103X
I recommend every one who is interested in writing Star Wars fanfic to read Orson Scott Card's How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy.
https://www.amazon.com/How-Write-Science-Fiction-Fantasy/dp/158297103X
Hiya.
Some questions come to mind. Two factions, are they at war? Will your group get caught up in that? If so, why are they fighting? Will your group play an unexpected yet decisive role in the outcome of said war?
How does FTL (Faster Than Light) technology work in your universe? Warp, Hyperspace, Worm Holes, etc? Who owns the USS Funboat VII? Did they steal it, and if so, why wasn't it locked? Is that why they need to escape from the Republic? Will they be chased? Can they expect the Crystal Brotherhood to protect them?
You'll need to ask yourself lots of questions like these and starting getting more specifics figured out so that you can start figuring out your characters and plot.
Sounds like you're wanting to write Space Opera with either aBadass Crew or a Ragtag Bunch of Misfits.
If you want to get started writing Science Fiction I can think of nothing that would be more help than this book by Orson Scott Card, author of Ender's Game. Some people don't like his political and moral views but the man knows about writing. It has been invaluable to me.
Cheers
Thanks Jagabond, really appreciate that. I’m relatively new to hosting the show, having taken over in June, around episode 209. Shaun Farrell created the show and deserves all the credit. I was a huge fan and when I saw the distance between episodes spreading out, I offered to help provide interviews. Shortly after he offered me the job. I’ve tried to keep it close to the original feel.
That’s not your question though. As for the most important factor, I guess I’d say that while the industry is shifting, you never know if you’ll be successful until you try, and one of the most favorable factors to this industry is the abundance of resources to help you get started. Finishing a book should be your first goal, because that already puts you into the minority.
When you say “shifting industry” I assume you mean the effect of ebooks on pricing, revenues and whether we should self-publish or traditional publish. The good news—depending on how you look at it—is that none of this matters to someone getting started writing, because all you need to worry about is how to tell a good story, and that advice doesn’t change. Are you referring to getting started writing or getting started selling?
For someone getting started writing, a very important factor to be aware of is that you probably have a story worth telling. Writing resources can show you how to start a story. As much as I try, I’m an organic writer, so I don’t use any systems any more except for a notepad and pen and just start asking myself questions about the characters I want to be in the story, what kind of conflict they’ll encounter, how this conflict will cause them to grow or fail. If it’s science fiction, I start researching main technologies to the plot, far enough to make sure the concept is plausible. If it is Fantasy, I essentially just talk to myself about the magic system, how it started, what powers it has, what limitations (costs) using the magic has, etc.
Here are some resources I’ve enjoyed:
The Craft of Writing Science Fiction That Sells by Ben Bova – I loved how well this taught character arc. (Character arc is the emotional progress/failure that your character goes through from start to finish.) In the brainstorming stage, he says to find a character that has to choose between two emotions, such as love vs. hate. He gives a very helpful list of questions to ask yourself that essentially brainstormed my novel for me.
Characters and Viewpoint by Orson Scott Card – great breakdown of the types of story (M.I.C.E.) and I believe has a section on how to ask yourself questions to make the story unique from genre tropes (The One finds The Sword to save The Girl).
How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy by Orson Scott Card is also very helpful. I like how he says that you don’t have a story until you have at least two separate ideas, maybe three, and then you try to combine them.
Lane Diamond offers paid coaching. He’s the head guy at Evolved Publishing, which puts out some very well written books, no doubt a credit to his editing skills. He also edited the first 5k of my novel, so I know from experience he’s good.
Another couple editors I’ve worked with are C.L. Dyck and Joshua Essoe, if you’re at the stage of finding an editor. This could bring up the topic of when to search for beta readers (readers who read your story after you’ve cleaned it up) and when to hire an editor. My novel had such complicated technology weaving through the plot, that I didn’t know how to clean it up enough to give it to beta readers, so that’s why I hired C.L., and she helped me break down how the technology worked and where it didn’t. I suppose a good beta reader could do that, but I’ve not been fortunate enough to find ones that will stick around (i.e. finish reading and give me feedback).
Free resources:
The Snowflake Method by Randy Ingermanson – I’ve started this, but never finished. I’m just not an outliner. Plot evolves out of each progressing scene as I write them. He has a lot of writing tips on his site beyond just the Snowflake.
StoryFix by Larry Brooks – never used this, but hear great things about it.
And of course, podcasts. I love hearing authors tell us their story of how they got started and found success. Their advice never gets old, and often I hear just what I need. For example, I have an upcoming interview with Ronald Malfi, where he says: "The characters and their problems come first. If you've got really good characters and really good problems with those characters from the get-go then the stories build themselves around them."
Did by “getting started,” you mean being at a point where you have a story ready to sell? I’ll answer that when I get back in a few hours, if that was your question.
How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy by Orson Scott Card.
https://www.amazon.com/How-Write-Science-Fiction-Fantasy/dp/158297103X
If you're looking for a book that's actually about writing science fiction, Orson Scott Card's is honestly pretty decent: https://www.amazon.com/How-Write-Science-Fiction-Fantasy/dp/158297103X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2X9WQG8RJGZU3&keywords=how+to+write+science+fiction+and+fantasy+by+orson+scott+card&qid=1563984476&s=gateway&sprefix=how+to+write+sci%2Caps%2C125&sr=8-1
He's also written a few others on writing in general, the "Elements of Fiction" series.
Orson Scott Card's book How to write Science Fiction & Fantasy is a great reference.
In terms of fantasy books, some of my favorites include:
I found Orson Scott Card's book on writing science fiction and fantasy to be illuminating.
http://www.amazon.com/How-Write-Science-Fiction-Fantasy/dp/158297103X
He has a chapter on world building and devotes a chapters to key aspects of writing within an established world. It's a quick read.
Three things:
of course this is assuming from your use of the word creatively you are looking to do genre fiction. There is two pieces advice that all three sources will repeat endlessly
Edit: Also see if your favorite author keeps a blog, as they will usually give writing advice in those as well. I know Card, Rothfus, Sanderson, and Wells all do.
A hint from Orson Scott Card on language, from his book "How to write science fiction and fantasy":
> If "megusabala" means "bread", type "bread"!
He goes on ranting about amateurs who create so many words because they think it's cool. He has a whole chapter on language, you should read it.
Anyway, one thing is to take language origins into account, another thing it's to use a language so foreign that it alienates your readers.
From my personal viewpoint, if you use a known language, you'll end up using the same words. For example, IIRC, Canaan means "home"; the Egyptian word for Nile is Iteru, which means "River". So there you have it, a country whose name is called " home", and another whose river is called "river". Bahamas comes from "The low seas". Geographic names are stupidly simple, but you get my point.
If you need to create a new language for every culture in your world, you'll end up requiring the reader to use a goddamn dictionary!
Spare the reader from the gory etymological details, and use invented words sparingly.
Two of my favorites, from two of the all-time best science fiction writers:
How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy by Orson Scott Card
World-Building by Stephen L. Gillett and Ben Bova
Both look at it from more of a writing standpoint, but they're great resources for RPGers or hobbyists too.
How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy by Orson Scott Card.
As someone that has much of this problem as well all I can say is reading books or following courses on writing fantasy.
Personally I really appreaciated the two books from Orson Scott Card (Ender's Game if anyone does not know him) which are: How to write science fiction and fantasy and Characters and viewpoint.
There are also uploaded on Youtube the lectures held by Brandon Sanderson (MIstborn) which are free to watch and great to get abearing on writing. Here's the most recent one.
It looks like a great start! :) Once your book is out you'll want some really clear information on a dedicated page describing what the book is about and how to buy it.
Check out the Amazon.com Associates program. Ever listen to a podcast and they ask you to visit their page and click through if you're going to shop Amazon.com? Well Amazon gives a small percentage of each sale when the shopper comes from a referral partner. Since some of your sales will come directly from your author platform, why not take advantage?
For example, I really liked How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy (referral link) by Orson Scott Card. I read it in college and it really gave me some insight on the topic, and I highly recommend it for new authors.
Now if you click on that link and buy the book, I get 3% of the sale price, and if you wander off in the same session and buy other stuff, I think I get 1%. I don't remember the details, since I haven't really used the referral link stuff. But that's how it works. You can read up on the program yourself.
I know he is not popular in some circles, but I have found How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy by Orson Scott Card to be extremely helpful not only with practical advice, but with avoiding common tropes, or putting my own spin on them.
I don't, sorry, but I'm talking about like actual anthropological or historical textbooks. I'd start by asking her about the world she wants to write about, whether it's your standard medieval European fantasy or something else, and what kind of story she wants to tell.
Like if she wants to tell a story about a rise to the throne it might help her to have the biography of a famous king or queen or ascended to the throne despite the odds being stacked against them.
But something that talks about the daily lives and customs of the people who lived during that time is usually a safe bet/interesting read too.
Of course, you could always fall back on actual writing books too.
Orson Scott Card's book on how to write science fiction and fanasy is the only actual book about writing/world building I've ever read. It was pretty good from what I remember, but I read it years ago.
Orson Scott Card's How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy.
I quote Orson Scott Card on this matter "[writers] imagine their poor reader won't be able to understand what's going on if they don't begin with a prologue showing the 'world situation.' Alas, these prologues always fail." This is from the book [How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy] (http://www.amazon.com/How-Write-Science-Fiction-Fantasy/dp/158297103X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1382479922&sr=8-1&keywords=how+to+write+science+fiction+%26+fantasy+by+orson+scott+card). It's a book I'd suggest you read, if you haven't.
I have some but depends on what you want
About planets:
http://www.amazon.com/Planet-Construction-Kit-Mark-Rosenfelder/dp/0984470034/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1286906911&sr=1-2
About languages:
http://www.amazon.com/Language-Construction-Kit-Mark-Rosenfelder/dp/098447000X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1268637297&sr=1-1
i dont know about it too much but heard its good:
http://www.amazon.com/Maps-Imagination-The-Writer-Cartographer/dp/1595340416
This is THE deal:
http://www.amazon.com/How-Write-Science-Fiction-Fantasy/dp/158297103X
Another helpfull thingy:
http://www.amazon.com/Strata-Terry-Pratchett-ebook/dp/B003NX6Y6U/
There were three indispensable tools for me as a DM:
Dungon Master for Dummies -- Seriously, this is a fantastic book. It was written for 3rd Edition, but most of the book's advice is relevant for any RPG. Both authors have a long pedigree in designing and writing for D&D.
Sly Flourish's The Lazy Dungeon Master -- This book is now on its second edition ("The Return of...") and is amazing. It basically distills a lot of conventional wisdom related to running your game with the least amount of effort. That sounds bad, but when you get into DM'ing you will find yourself burning out quickly if you don't find a way to reduce the amount of boilerplate planning you have to do.
How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy -- By Orson Scott Card. This book is recommended because of its world-building chapters. The way he thinks about and approaches world-building has influenced many other amazing writers, such as Brandon Sanderson, his protege and successor as creative writing professor at BYU. This is worth reading, again and again.
--EDIT: I hit "Post Reply" instead of "Insert Link". Whoops.
Here are some other bits of advice that I hope are helpful:
Know the rules
Seriously; read the PHB, know the PHB, love the PHB. 90% of you disagreements with players will be covered by the PHB. Do your due diligence so you can make trustworthy and authoritative rulings. If they players know they can trust your rulings, they will question you less.
As a newbie DM, I failed to do this, and the result was that my players did not trust me or my story. Engagement is hard to come by in that situation.
Also, read your DMG cover-to-cover. But I do find myself referencing that book quite infrequently (I make my own magic items, so I don't really consult the loot table, either). What the DMG has, and is worth reading for, is its advice on running games. This is also true of the 4E DMG, which is worth a read even if you never run that system (no one will ever ask you to).
Embrace Rule Zero
If you know the rules, and the players trust you, you are ready to employ Rule Zero: "The DM is always right." This is absolutely necessary. Many a time I've had a player attempt to use the RAW to create situational advantages that did not square with what I believed was common sense. The rules aren't running your game: you are.
Now, having said that...
Always Say "Yes"^H^H^H^H^H"But"
In 4E, the designers of D&D distilled a common and effective "design pattern" of DM'ing, and called it, "Just Say Yes." The idea was that you could maximize player buy-in and investment (and therefore, engagement) by giving them the most possible creative control over your story. Taken to its extreme, however, this proves disastrous; players are not uniformly interested in advancing your story, and I have some players that often need to be constrained a bit from taking every license possible.
The modern incarnation of this philosophy is "Always Say 'But'." "Yes, but..." and "no, but..." are incredible tools that help you keep control of the narrative while mitigating player frustration.
"Yes, you can run up to the BBEG in the middle of his monologue and bunch him in the face... (hidden bogus roll a couple times) ...but with a casual wave of his hand, you are thrown back 30 feet." (aside: this scenario requires maximum player trust, as well as Rule Zero4)
"No, you cannot by any means use deception to convince the king that he's a potted plant, but you can convince that dimwitted guard over there."
In short, be lenient, but don't be too lenient.
A word on voice acting: DM's that are good at it are amazing; the best DM I know is a veteran stage actor and drama teacher. It helps that he is a great storyteller. But it is absolutely not necessary to have an immersive, compelling game. In fact, done badly, it can be awful. I ran a 1E Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil game, and I wanted to play up the village of Hommlet by giving them all Irish accents. After two hours my players asked me to stop. Faking a voice that is wildly different than your own here and there is fine, but if you absolutely cannot pull it off (through no fault of your own), your game is best served by not trying. Speak in your own voice, and add adverbs like a book would. Don't try to lower your voice; describe his voice before you speak for him, and then speak naturally.
Caveat: joke characters or comedic relief situations you should totally ham up voices.
Sure anytime
Try checking this book out it has some great tips
https://www.amazon.com/How-Write-Science-Fiction-Fantasy/dp/158297103X
Okay, so I'm not home so these are the few off the top of my head that I can remember I've read and loved.
I hope one of these can help out!