How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy - Orson Scott Card

Good but not fantasy

Overall this is a good book. I bought it hopig to pick up a few tips and was pleased to do so. Orson Scott Card has obviously worked hard to make this readable and helpful.

The reason for losing two stars..

First fantasy isn't covered too well. It is mentioned, but only really to differentiate it from the science fiction - where 'hard science' or logical extension of this is the premise.

Second. Scott Card feels that he needs to criticise other works and concepts. The text here would have been successful without this, and I am not keen on knocking others work. Star Trek in particular gets a hammering!
When all said and done one of the most popular 'sci-fi' offerings of the past half century must be doing something right!

Overall worth reading, just screen the criticisms.

Very useful, but leaves a sour taste

This is an excellent reference to writing sci-fi and fantasy, with a huge amount of information and advice packed into a surprisingly concise and readable book.

It does have one problem, however. Now, I have a fairly objective approach to Star Trek; I enjoy watching it if it's on, but I usually can't be bothered. But Card seems to absolutely hate it - on the few occasions that Star Trek is even mentioned, he slathers on so much vitriol that it becomes quite distasteful to read. Even as someone with a little more than passing enjoyment of the series, I found myself putting the book down with a grimace after the raving on warp drive (which Card dismisses as "the silliest option for FTL travel").

I have yet to pick it up again.

Fantasy! What Fantasy?

I bought this book as i am currently trying to write a fantasy story and believed this book may help. It would have if my book was science fiction.

There are some good universal parts in the book, but if you are thinking of buying this book for the fantasy part, don't bother.

Exercises for the creative imagination

This is an excellent read and a stimulating package of advice for anyone interested in writing science fiction or fantasy. Orson Scott Card makes an immediate point: no one can teach you how to write in these genres. What he sets out to do is deliver a superb exposition of the process of creativity and how it infests the imagination. He delivers a vision of creativity as a process, one you can stimulate and use, rather than something you sit back and wait for. Inspiration might be creative, but creativity is not limited to inspiration. Here we have an analysis of how ideas emerge and how they take root.

Card questions what is science fiction, what is fantasy? He offers advice and generates a score of absorbing ideas. But his advice takes a vital, practical direction. If you wish to write, then read, read, read!

To succeed as a writer, there is no magic formula. You need to learn the skills of your trade, you need to learn to free your imagination, and then you need discipline and the determination to work hard and improve and hone your skills.

An excellent, stimulating read, well worth the money, and a book you will treasure.

Cas

This is a really good book for beginners, I've been writing for years, and I got this book out of interest. I would suggest buying it and reading it, but remembering this is their way of writing, and not essentially yours!

But it's worth the money. Lots of tips and some clever ideas, but they are all very basic and have the "done before" feel, which is not surprising when you consider the genre.

Cas