The Guide to Writing Fantasy and Science Fiction: 6 Steps to Writing and Publishing Your Bestseller! [Paperback]

Philip Athans (Author), R. A. Salvatore (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 18, 2010 | ISBN-10: 1440501459 | ISBN-13: 978-1440501456

Science fiction and fantasy is one of the most challenging--and rewarding!--genres in the bookstore. But with New York Times bestselling author Philip Athans and fantasy giant R. A. Salvatore at your side, you?ll create worlds that draw your readers in--and keep them reading!

Just as important, you?ll learn how to prepare your work for today?s market. Drawing on his years of experience as one of the most acclaimed professionals in publishing, Wizards of the Coast editor Athans explains how to set your novel apart--and break into this lucrative field. From devising clever plots and building complex characters to inventing original technologies and crafting alien civilizations, Athans gives you the techniques you need to write strong, saleable narratives.

Plus! Athans applies all of these critical lessons together in an unprecedented deconstruction of a never-before-published tale by the one and only R. A. Salvatore!

There are books on writing science fiction and fantasy, and then there?s this book--the only one you need to create strange, wonderful worlds for your own universe of readers!

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Philip Athans is managing editor of novels at Wizards of the Coast, the largest producer of fantasy hobby games in the world. He's worked with such authors as R. A. Salvatore, Margaret Weis, and Tracy Hickman. He's also published his own fantasy novels, including the New York Times bestseller Annihilation.

R. A. Salvatore is the New York Times bestselling author of numerous works of fantasy fiction, including the Dark Elf series featuring his signature character, Drizzt Do'Urden.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Adams Media (July 18, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1440501459
• ISBN-13: 978-1440501456
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.8 x 8.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #423,913 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #18 in Books > Education & Reference > Writing, Research & Publishing Guides > Writing > Science Fiction & Fantasy

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A bit vague, but great tips on world building July 27, 2010

By J. B. Pritchard

Format:Paperback

Pros: A good section on world building, some nice tips on the business side of writing, wisdom from different authors, a great short story by R.A. Salvatore.

Cons: Not in-depth enough in the sections on characters and plot, a little too much promotion.

I was pretty disappointed in the first couple of sections of this book. While the advice given was solid and it was presented in an authoritative, yet humble way, it wasn't nearly specific enough to actually tell me anything. If a topic is worth bringing up at all in a book, it is worth devoting more than a paragraph to it. And yet, many of the tips this book has to give on story and character are given barely a paragraph of very general information -- and that's after the author has quoted another writer and plugged R.A. Salvatore yet again (was it really necessary to promote this man's books on every other page?).

The book's tips on world building are much more specific and much more useful and since world building is the main way in which writing a fantasy/science fiction novel is different from writing any other type of novel, this is a good thing. The book gives excellent tips on all the different little things you'll have to think of when writing in the genre, some of which aren't immediately obvious, such as systems of weights and measures. The rest of the book was also strong, with some good information on the nuts and bolts of writing such as how to avoid anachronisms and some good information on the appropriate way to approach agents and editors.

As a side note, the short story at the end of this book, "Hugo Mann's Perfect Soul" by R.A. Salvatore is excellent -- one of the best pieces I've read by that author....

I should probably also mention that this book is geared slightly more toward the fantasy writer than the science fiction writer.

Even though it's a little short on information in places, this book still has some invaluable tips for fantasy writers, particularly concerning setting and world building. 4 stars. Read more ›

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for what it's meant to be January 10, 2011

By The Star

Format:Kindle Edition

I purchased this book, naturally, because I want to write a fantasy novel. I wanted a book to teach me how to write fantasy, not one that teaches me how to write a book (I already have a very excellent book for this: Writing Fiction For Dummies). This book does exactly that. If you're interested in writing sci-fi, just about everything I say in this review will still apply to you. The information is fairly balanced for both. Though there are a couple chapters that seem more heavily balanced toward fantasy writing, they are worth reading if you're writing sci-fi because concepts they deal with are the exact same as you will find in writing sci-fi.

So what's different about writing a novel and writing fantasy, and why do you need a book for this? Well, first of all, keep in mind this is written by Philip Athans, who is the Managing Editor for Wizards of the Coast, and he also writes his own fantasy. That's important to note because editors, in the writing world, are experts at finding what's wrong in your writing (such as anachronisms). They're going to be the ones who, in the end, tell you what you can and can't do. One biggest rules in writing is listen to your editor. Don't confuse this paragraph as meaning he's a bossy editor in this book, though. He's very modest about it.

This book is a high-level guide to writing fantasy and sci-fi. It deals a lot with the polishing over in your fantasy world and narrative.... Major strong points of the book are (but not limited to): how to deal with issues such as the use of archetypes, how to avoid anachronisms, identifying what kind of sci-fi or fantasy you're writing, ways to guide your research in topical matters, how much of the mundane (animals, weights and measures, units of time, foods, diseases, et cetera) you should create or leave alone, and how to approach an agent or publisher with your completed works. It is all presented in a very casual and easily read tone.

One of my favorite aspects of this book is that Athans uses article references and quotes of other authors in the fantasy and sci-fi genre, presenting a broader scope than his own. This is something I look for in any "guide" or "how to" book because many who claim to know the special secret and only their method works are trying to scam you.

Also remember, because this book is a high level view of writing fantasy, it's short. I consider that a good thing because I don't want to be sifting through pages and pages about creating languages, diseases, magic systems, or other things that are research topics when trying to find answers to very simple questions about writing my fantasy world.

Overall, I recommend picking this book up if you plan on writing sci-fi or fantasy. It's a great supplement to add to your personal writing library. After reading through it, it's improved my confidence in my ability to world build and reviewing my own writing. Also, excellent short story by R. A. Salvatore included at the end! Read more ›

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid, a good read, but would've liked more detail May 8, 2011

By treeoflife

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Overall a decent read... I ate it up in a couple of days. There are certainly some solid pieces of advise on a variety of things, and the author has a good sense of humour (I guess you'd have to trying to make a living in this genre).

It does in my opinion weigh a bit more to the Fantasy side of things, than the Sci-fi side, but that didn't bother me personally.

What I didn't like is that it's fairly vague on some major issues. The section on publishing was very high-level, what one would expect in a "Publishing for Dummies" book. The guy is (was) an insider, so I wanted a few more juicy tidbits and secrets. He only hinted at some brutal realities in the industry, so I wonder if the editor held him back there. Regardless, I started reading his blog, which is a bit more bold and answers more questions.

A solid 4 stars.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars One of the best... January 11, 2012

By Robert Matheny

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

One of the best books on fantasy writing to come out. Packed with excellent tips and techniques for writing, editing, and publishing. The chapters are brief and concise and cover a wide variety of important topics. This book is a MUST HAVE for any author looking toward of goal of getting published.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Don't Let the Cover Fool You, This is a Serious Book on Writing Spec Fic February 29, 2012

By Hank Peace

Format:Paperback

Longtime Wizards of the Coast editor and fantasy author Philip Athans is certainly qualified to write a guide to writing Fantasy and Sci Fi. He has gone through the entire process as an author but, more importantly, he has seen what works--and what doesn't--from behind an editor's desk. He puts his experience to good effect, recruiting R.A. Salvatore to provide both the introduction and an original short story, telling frequent war stories, interviewing industry contacts, regularly alluding to his favorite genre works, and engaging in ongoing brainstorming efforts to show us how each piece is done. In resistance to the current trend to focus on the business side of getting a book published, Athans devotes about 8x more space to the actual craft (hard to sell a book that isn't very good). Which makes the guide much more interesting to someone who, like me, is more interested in reading about the writing of fantasy and Sci Fi than actually writing it.

Genre and sub-genre definitions are likely as not to produce 4 opinions from 3 geeks, but Athans manages to put together a genre and sub-genre guide that I find myself returning to far more often than the rest of the book. He starts with a few basic definitions: "fantasy is fiction that depends on magical or supernatural elements not specifically meant to scare you--if it scares you, at least as its primary goal, it's horror. If the magical elements are replaced with imagined technologies, it's science fiction." Fantasy gets divided into Epic Fantasy, High Fantasy, Sword & Sorcery, Dark Fantasy, Contemporary Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, and Erotic Fantasy. Sci Fi is divided into Hard Science Fiction, Military Science Fiction, Space Opera, Slipstream, Cyberpunk, Steampunk, and Alternate History.... Each is given a short description with examples.

From there, Athans divides the process into six steps: Storytelling, Characters, The World, Details, Nuts and Bolts, and Finishing Touches. Each step is comprised of several chapters. As I stated earlier, Athans takes a variety of approaches to demonstrate each point. He's nothing if not thorough, expansively discussing each element of a spec fic novel. I found the world-building section and Athans's personal brainstorming to be particularly enlightening. He is sometimes a little too insistent on bright-line rules without either pointing out that there can be exceptions or giving the general principle that the rule is an imperfect proxy for. E.g., Athans insists you must write in third person limited. This is Robert Jordan's and George R.R. Martin's world and we just live in it so I can understand the dominance of third person limited rotating POVs, but it can hardly be said to be a requirement of good spec fic--it didn't seem to hold Tolkien or Mieville back.

Athans includes an original short story by R.A. Salvatore. It's not great (one can understand why it was originally rejected for publication), but it's certainly good. What makes it much more interesting are the musings on it by Salvatore that are included.

Athans runs a blog updated on a weekly basis as a supplement to his guide, featuring deleted portions, annotations, full-length interviews with authors, etc. Read more ›