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fraeyalise's review against another edition
This is a really cool and interesting book, but I don't think I'm a writer anymore. Or at least, not right now. I'd love to have my own copy to peruse at my leisure, but I got this one from an Interlibrary Loan.
nickfourtimes's review against another edition
inspiring
medium-paced
3.0
1) [From "What Is/What If: The Beauty of Mystery, by Karen Lord]
"Fiction is both process and mystery, knowledge and imagination. It lies somewhere on a spectrum that begins with poetry and ends with statistics. It is art. It takes the forms and shapes of the real world and re-views them with new perception: the shade, texture, and weight of the subconscious and the unreal."
2) "All of these approaches are valid, depending on context, and each can achieve interesting artistic effects."
3) "As indicated, each of these approaches can work, as long as they don't represent a failure of control or thought. So much depends on the proper execution of your intent."
4) [George RR Martin on magic]
"[If] you're going to have magic in your story, you have to keep it magical, so to speak. This is a supernatural element. It doesn't follow the laws of nature. It doesn't follow any laws we understand. There's something frightening about it. This is the unknowable. I think magic should be handled that way. Magic should always remain a little mysterious and a little dangerous.
[...] Don't just make it fake science."
"Fiction is both process and mystery, knowledge and imagination. It lies somewhere on a spectrum that begins with poetry and ends with statistics. It is art. It takes the forms and shapes of the real world and re-views them with new perception: the shade, texture, and weight of the subconscious and the unreal."
2) "All of these approaches are valid, depending on context, and each can achieve interesting artistic effects."
3) "As indicated, each of these approaches can work, as long as they don't represent a failure of control or thought. So much depends on the proper execution of your intent."
4) [George RR Martin on magic]
"[If] you're going to have magic in your story, you have to keep it magical, so to speak. This is a supernatural element. It doesn't follow the laws of nature. It doesn't follow any laws we understand. There's something frightening about it. This is the unknowable. I think magic should be handled that way. Magic should always remain a little mysterious and a little dangerous.
[...] Don't just make it fake science."
davechua's review against another edition
4.0
Excellent guide on writing speculative fiction, as well as a beautifully produced book. Recommended for advanced writers.
thisstoryaintover's review against another edition
Great guide for writing imaginative fiction.
leonard_gaya's review against another edition
3.0
Wonderbook, at first glance, looks like a nice coffee table volume about fantasy and science-fiction, heavily illustrated with weird and nightmarish pictures. It is in fact a rather thorough handbook on creative writing, essentially aimed at would-be fantasy or SF writers. [a:Jeff VanderMeer|33919|Jeff VanderMeer|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1522640540p2/33919.jpg], who is an award-winning novelist in these genres and a creative writing teacher, covers quite a few topics, such as: inspiration, descriptions, dialogues, voice, POV, plot and structure, beginnings, middles and endings, characterization, world-building, revisions, etc.
Apart from being a graphic work in nature and layout, this book also includes a lot of illustrations and diagrams. I like the pictures representing stories as diversely formed fishes or dinosaurs. An image I like in particular is the blobby “History of Science Fiction” (you can try to find you favorite books or authors on there!).
There are also quite a few essays by guest writers (some are GR authors) such as [a:Lev Grossman|142270|Lev Grossman|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1386343699p2/142270.jpg], [a:Karen Lord|3124999|Karen Lord|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1585034442p2/3124999.jpg], [a:David Anthony Durham|214232|David Anthony Durham|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1352938944p2/214232.jpg], [a:Joe Abercrombie|276660|Joe Abercrombie|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1421267339p2/276660.jpg], and, last but not least, [a:Ursula K. Le Guin|874602|Ursula K. Le Guin|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1244291425p2/874602.jpg] and [a:George R.R. Martin|346732|George R.R. Martin|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1563055799p2/346732.jpg] who gives a lengthy interview on his writing process at the end of the volume.
I have been sipping the chapters of this book for a few months. In fact, it is a rather hard one to read from cover to cover in one go, not only because of the sheer volume of it, but mainly because the many illustrations, essays, workshops and exercises are very interrupt-driven (there is also a companion website). In the end, I found it to be a very entertaining book to read or flip through; not so much actionnable, though, when it comes to working on a specific writing project.
To conclude, here is a short video presentation.
Apart from being a graphic work in nature and layout, this book also includes a lot of illustrations and diagrams. I like the pictures representing stories as diversely formed fishes or dinosaurs. An image I like in particular is the blobby “History of Science Fiction” (you can try to find you favorite books or authors on there!).
There are also quite a few essays by guest writers (some are GR authors) such as [a:Lev Grossman|142270|Lev Grossman|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1386343699p2/142270.jpg], [a:Karen Lord|3124999|Karen Lord|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1585034442p2/3124999.jpg], [a:David Anthony Durham|214232|David Anthony Durham|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1352938944p2/214232.jpg], [a:Joe Abercrombie|276660|Joe Abercrombie|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1421267339p2/276660.jpg], and, last but not least, [a:Ursula K. Le Guin|874602|Ursula K. Le Guin|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1244291425p2/874602.jpg] and [a:George R.R. Martin|346732|George R.R. Martin|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1563055799p2/346732.jpg] who gives a lengthy interview on his writing process at the end of the volume.
I have been sipping the chapters of this book for a few months. In fact, it is a rather hard one to read from cover to cover in one go, not only because of the sheer volume of it, but mainly because the many illustrations, essays, workshops and exercises are very interrupt-driven (there is also a companion website). In the end, I found it to be a very entertaining book to read or flip through; not so much actionnable, though, when it comes to working on a specific writing project.
To conclude, here is a short video presentation.
karenstensgaard's review against another edition
4.0
This is the most imaginative & creative book on how to be a better writer that I've ever seen. Filled not just with colorful art but great idea nuggets. Will be very useful for the writing of book 2. Thanks!
tealedfleet's review against another edition
4.0
A writing book that is more close to the fantastical and imaginative properties of writing. Beautifully illustrated, with tons of writing exercises and advice from all sorts of authors. Sometimes it gets a little bit surreal and dives too deep into abstract, flowery explanations - but you can dig through it and get some genuine writing advice out of it.
I recommend buying a physical copy, however. I read it as an e-book and many of the illustrations/exercises/diagrams are not legible in a digital format.
I recommend buying a physical copy, however. I read it as an e-book and many of the illustrations/exercises/diagrams are not legible in a digital format.
thetempestreads's review against another edition
4.0
This book was assigned for a fiction writing course I'm taking and while it's a pretty heavy read - definitely one I needed to take a single chapter at a time with solid breaks before moving to the next - it was very well-stocked with useful advice, methods and ideas. I appreciate that there is such a whimsical and strange vibe to the illustrations, but yes, like others have said, it does feel like interruptions. Definitely feels worth keeping to continue pulling from though.