Saturday, 4 September 2010

WRITING ADVICE: Guide to Writing Fantasy and Science Fiction - Philip Athans

Release Date: 30/07/10

BOOK BLURB:

Ellison...Brooks...Stephenson. These are some of the top fantasy and science fiction authors writing today. Their books reach an audience of tens of thousands and explore imaginative new worlds. Now writers can learn the secret to crafting their own breakout fantasy or sci-fi novel as Philip Athans provides a step-by-step guide to: developing the best plot structure; creating believable, exciting characters; writing compelling combat scenes; presenting technology that sounds as if it ought to work; and, also writing a strong proposal and finding the right publisher. Complete with an introduction by R.A. Salvatore, one of the decade's most prolific fantasy writers, this guide holds the key to success for aspiring authors who want to fly to the stars, find treasure in the dragon's lair, defend Earth from an alien invasion - and publish a bestseller.


REVIEW:

If there’s any genre that’s guaranteed to have readers thinking “I can write that!!!!” it’s the sci-fi/fantasy genre. However the truth is, it’s harder than it looks. Firstly you have to build your world, people it, add flora and fauna and devise your magic/science system not including inventing names, establishing your culture and giving it a history.

However, help is at hand. This title not only helps you work on all of that, but also gives great advice and whilst a certain amount of the advice in the title may seem elementary, its amazing how often certain parts are overlooked leaving the author wondering where the hell their world collapsed. Add to the mix tips from established names in the genre, examples of advice backed up with excerpt examples and its pretty damn useful. A great tool and one that can be adapted for Urban Fantasy just as easily.

1 comment:

Pat Hollett said...

This sounds like a very informative book and one that I shall note on my 'to buy' list for the near future. Thanks for your insight Gareth! Great info. :)