How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy
by Orson Scott Card
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Writer's Digest Books (Cincinnati, Ohio): August 1990. Hardcover: 140 pages. ISBN-10: 0-898794-16-1 Suggested retail price: $14.99 (US) Tags: characterization; manuscripts; Reference; Writing Tactical strength: [9/10] |
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Card addresses the skills and protocols that are unique to science fiction and fantasy (hereafter sf -- speculative fiction). He begins with an essay-like discussion of the various definitions of sf, developing several rules of thumb for determining if a story is sf and then if it is science fiction or fantasy. (For Card, sf includes any literature that does not take place in our universe as we understand it. Science fiction has rivets; fantasy, trees.)
His basic emphasis throughout the book: writers should think through the entire background and explanation for everything they will use in their stories. Not that all of this information will go into the manuscript, but having that backstory builds a fullness and richness of character and setting that the readers will feel. And, by understanding the rules of your world, you can expand the reality and believability of the entire work.
Card describes the characters that are best for sf (and for most fiction): characters who feel, who want to change, and who have the power to make changes. If the characters don't exhibit these qualities, the characters will seem flat. Granted, not all characters are like this, but these are the ones that are worth writing about, and the ones that are fun to write about. Card also reviews the specific protocols that sf readers bring. He warns against using metaphors: readers of sf take them quite literally.
Finally, he briefly reviews the market for short sf and the business of writing. His biggest emphasis: don't quit your day job. Writing sf is a shaky field at best, and until you are certain that you will be earning enough to live on, don't quit your job.
Card does for science fiction and fantasy what Rust Hills does for the short story as a form in Writing in General and the Short Story in Specific. Card has organized his personal musings about his craft into an in-depth analysis of the sf field. This work is valuable for anyone who writes sf. The beginner will get a feel for the field and what the readers expect; intermediate writers will find help honing their craft to a more professional level; and established writers will find a codification of many of the functions they have done naturally or just taken for granted. Not only is How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy worth reading, but it's worth rereading as you develop your writing skills to see where you can keep improving.
