Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy [With CDROM]

By Crawford Kilian

Book Overview

Whether you are new to the genre or looking for inspiration, this book provides the tools you need to succeed. Develop believable fantasy worlds Challenge your readers' imaginations Practical techniques you can apply today Written by a successful author of SF and fantasy novels Master the craft of magical worlds Are you struggling to get started on your science fiction or fantasy novel? Stuck at chapter two or need a fresh approach? Find new direction and inspiration with this unique guide to creating original and convincing stories. Written by a successful author of more than ten science fiction and fantasy novels, Writing Science and Fantasy takes an in-depth look at these two best-selling genres. Kilian delves into the origins and conventions of science fiction and fantasy and goes over the many subgenres, including nanotechnology, space opera, and sword and sorcery. He forces you to ask yourself crucial questions about your own novel, and also offers practical advice on how to prepare and market your manuscript to publishers, editors, and agents. With this book as a guide, both novice and experienced writers can learn how to make their work both a literary and financial success. Learn about: Constructing a scene Showing versus telling Avoiding clich s Developing good writing and research habits Creating plausible fantasy worlds Using symbolism and imagery effectively Highlights of the CD: Ten steps for pre-editing Exercises on character and dialogue Scores of links to relevant websites

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1551807858
• ISBN13: 9781551807850
• Release Date: February 2007
• Publisher: Self-Counsel Press
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.9" x 8.8"

Customer Reviews

Reading to write

I use this book constantly when trying to write my fantasy stories. It's full of suggestions, hints, flat-out explanations, and a fun read. I recommend it highly.

One of the best books for aspiring genre writers

I've read several books aimed at writers of science fiction and fantasy. This one has proven to be the most useful to me.Kilian covers a lot of information in his book--beginning with the elementary teachings of the Knowing Your Genre section--without going into tedious detail. The parts at the end of the book on actually getting published were fine, although this information can be found in countless other books and on many websites.The part of the book I found the most helpful and illuminating was the middle part, entitled The Craft of Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy. It includes the following sections:Developing Efficient Work HabitsResearch and Soul SearchElements of a Successful StoryDeveloping CharactersPlottingConstructing a SceneNarrative VoiceExposition and DialogueSymbolism and All ThatI found the last section on symbolism and the hero's quest especially interesting.If you want to write sci-fi or fantasy but aren't really sure where you should begin, this would be a great book to pick up. I highly recommend it.

Details of the industry; breaks subgenres down; great

Killian starts out by telling readers how hard it is to make a living at writing novels. I emailed with Tad Williams (fantasy author) and he told me that something like only 1% of fiction writers make six figure salaries or greater.Truth is, if you want to learn how to make money while you write, read something like RICH DAD, POOR DAD. Banking on your writing to turn you into a bestseller has low odds and can be painful if you don't fall into that number. Be sure to enjoy it, too. Yes, silly but you'd be surprised how many peopleAnyway, here's the highlights of his book:(1) realize the genres of fantasy and sci if; (2) understand the types of general readers attracted to the genres; (3) create your fictional world; (4) get good writing habits; (5) work on your story; (6) learn plotting; thicken the plot; (7) narrative voice; (8) symbolism; (9) know your publishers; query letters; manuscript form; (10) royalties; residuals; understand the contracts.After you've read this, check out HOLLYLISLE.COM . . . a fantasy author who freely gives out advice and makes her living at it fulltime.Best of luck!

Sets Excellent Guidelines

This book is much better than some people may think. Crawford Kilian organizes ideas in a very coherent manner that is easy to read and understand. In fact, most of the tips/steps in this book don't necessarily follow the sci-fi or fantasy genre and can be applied to any type of book genre... This includes storyboarding, outlining, and the character resume. If you're writing any kind of fiction, this book has content that can help you and I highly reccommend it.

Informative, entertaining and delightful to read!

This book is laced with humor and wisdom. Kilian is experienced in fantasy, hard science fiction, education and children's literature. He explores the mythological basis of fantasy novels, explaining the importance of Greek, Roman, Celtic, Norse, Egyptian--world mythology, as well as acquiring a strong knowledge of history and philosophies of the world. Equally important to success is a fascination with the genre in which you write. Gaining the information may seem to be an intimidating task; it is necessary.Kilian includes exercises to help generate writing. I followed these exercises, and wrote with the excitement I had greatly missed. He also explains each step of the creative process from the ideas to the finished product with a brief grammar refresher that is easy to read. The examples are humorous. The importance of proper grammar cannot be overstated if you want your book published. Kilian expresses a sense of anger, but when tempered by the humor throughout the book, this becomes righteous indignation directed toward those who try to write in the genre without the seriousness to make it believable. Ultimately his anger