Review of 'How to write science fiction and fantasy' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
I've had this on my to-read list since high school. Clearly my dedication to the craft is as hard as plasteel.
It's a quick read, not only because it's short but also because of Card's breezy and (somewhat) informal style. As promised in the introduction, he sticks mostly to genre-specific elements of writing, such as world building, creating rules for science/magic (or both...), and so forth. He skips or glosses over aspects that apply to all writing, and even fiction writing specifically.
As you might imagine, Card refers to a lot of works, both by himself and others, to illustrate the points he is making. The examples were generally well chosen, but it had the dubious effect of making me aware of more things I want to read.
For me, the best part of the book was the last chapter, which discusses the life and business of writing. Card slips …
I've had this on my to-read list since high school. Clearly my dedication to the craft is as hard as plasteel.
It's a quick read, not only because it's short but also because of Card's breezy and (somewhat) informal style. As promised in the introduction, he sticks mostly to genre-specific elements of writing, such as world building, creating rules for science/magic (or both...), and so forth. He skips or glosses over aspects that apply to all writing, and even fiction writing specifically.
As you might imagine, Card refers to a lot of works, both by himself and others, to illustrate the points he is making. The examples were generally well chosen, but it had the dubious effect of making me aware of more things I want to read.
For me, the best part of the book was the last chapter, which discusses the life and business of writing. Card slips a little in his intent here by giving more general advice, but that's not necessarily a bad thing, since it's good advice. In particular, he gives voice to the conflicting viewpoints that an author must take of his or her own work:
Writers have to simultaneously believe the following two things:
- The story I am now working on is the greatest work of genius ever written in English.
- The story I am working on is worthless drivel.
He goes on to explain how to handle these antipodal viewpoints without going mad ("but that, too," he says, "can be an asset to the writer").
It's not a life-changing book, but there's some good tips along with a fair amount of humor and "huh" moments. If you want to feel like you got to pick the brain of a premier science fiction author about his craft, then sit down and read this.
(For the record, I mean "pick the brain" in a metaphorical sense, not a literal, scientific one.)