Worlds of Wonder: How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy [Paperback]

David Gerrold (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2001

Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author Gerrold charms and challenges readers with his detailed instruction for creating compelling tales of fantasy and science fiction.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

While both science fiction and fantasy evoke "a sense of wonder in the audience," says David Gerrold in Worlds of Wonder, science fiction "is about what's possible," while "fantasy is about what's not." Writing for both these genres is a lot like "playing with a set of Lego bricks," Gerrold says: you're creating your own world, but you have to work within a logical framework. Like other forms of storytelling, says Gerrold (best known for his "Trouble with Tribbles" Star Trek episode), science fiction and fantasy rely on mysterious first sentences, effective exits, and surprises in every sentence in between. The difference is that your characters inhabit whole worlds of your own making, worlds that may be "marvelous and surprising to the reader," but must remain ordinary to the story's characters. To carry this off, says Gerrold, "you have to write each moment"--no matter how improbable--"as if you lived it yourself."

From Library Journal

Hugo and Nebula Award-winning novelist and screenwriter Gerrold passionately discusses the challenges and excitement of writing sf. Creating believable new worlds in which to tell universal stories of conflict, growth, and transformation requires not only imagination but also the discipline to ask and answer tough questions. As in writing other genres of fiction, careful attention to setting, plot, character, and dialog must be observed, along with the mechanics of grammar, tense, sentence structure, and paragraph transition. But writing successful sf and fantasy, Gerrold contends, demands an even greater commitment to the integrity of language to create and define reality. In a chatty, informal, and even humorous style, he provides numerous exercises and questions, challenging the would-be writer to imagine the answers. Examples from films, novels, stories, and television supply practical evidence of his suggested techniques. Gerrold is a first-rate writer, best-known for his Star Trek writings. Given the rising popularity of sf, this book would be a welcome addition to any public library. Denise S. Sticha, Murrysville Community Lib., PA
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 246 pages
• Publisher: Writer's Digest Books; 1st edition (February 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1582970076
• ISBN-13: 978-1582970073
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 4.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #870,224 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

David Gerrold is a figment of his own imagination.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Useful if sometimes self-indulgent, January 31, 2002

By 

Kevin W. Parker (Greenbelt, MD) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Worlds of Wonder: How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy (Paperback)

Gerrold is a noted science fiction writer, best known for bursting on the scene with his Star Trek script, "The Trouble With Tribbles," still the favorite classic Trek episode.

Here he distills his ideas on good writing and good storytelling into short, punchy chapters, briefly addressing just about every topic one could imagine on the subject, from style, theme, and story to first lines and last lines to love scenes and sex scenes to not using "is" in one's writing.

Sometimes a little self-indulgent and overly clever: he writes short sentences on the virtues of short sentences and long sentences on the virtues of long sentences, and too many of the exemplars come from his own efforts.

Still, he knows whereof he speaks, and this is definitely a useful book.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring!, February 8, 2003

By 

Paladin08 (Folsom, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Worlds of Wonder: How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy (Paperback)

1) PRO: Nice small chapters. Clearly demonstrates the points to be made and uses Sci-fi/fantasy stories as examples.

2) CON: Most of the examples used are from the authors own writings. A few times I wanted to shout, "Marketing ploy", but he was honest enough in his sharing that the irritation was short-lived.

3) PRO: This is the book to the art of Writing, that drafting a mission statement is to running a business. You get the insipriation, the vision, for where the writing needs to go in many areas without the speicific checklist on how the logistics need to flow. The logistics is what he encourages me as a writer to discover for myself...as I write. I left this book feeling "empowered" to write. I have my mission statement.

4)PRO: One of the most eye-opening chapters were, Memes and To Be Or Naught To Be. I walked away enlightened to the greater universe of possiblities that are at my fingertips as a writer.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Revives classic science fiction writing. Very useful!, November 17, 2002

By 

AMC "scifiali" (Atlanta, Ga) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Worlds of Wonder: How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy (Paperback)

Worlds of Wonder starts out like a lot of other books of this type, but after the first few chapters you'll find some really useful and specific advice. My favorite sections are those on writing in E-prime (shunning the passive verb "to be"), writing in the discomfort zone, making critical distinctions and creating powerful paragraphs. Gerrod has two long chapters on fantasy and alien world building which I found useful even though I'm not a fan of fantasy worlds.

I like Gerrold's style. It's easy to follow and entertaining. Yes, it seems self indulgent when he uses his own examples in every chapter but he's also a big fan of classic science fiction and uses Robert Heinlein, Theodore Sturgeon and others for balance.

This is a really superb book. Writers outside of science fiction could benefit from the advice, but I'm glad to see it focusing on science fiction.

Gerrold offers writers a great deal of insight and enthusiam. My favorite line comes near the end, "If you haven't written a million words, it's all practice."