Writing Fantasy & Science Fiction, and Getting Published (Teach Yourself (McGraw-Hill)) [Paperback]

Brian Stableford (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: NTC/Contemporary Publishing Company (April 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0844200204
• ISBN-13: 978-0844200200
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,391,046 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent guide for an aspiring author, August 3, 1999

By 

MJS "DrNilesCrane" (MI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Writing Fantasy & Science Fiction, and Getting Published (Teach Yourself (McGraw-Hill)) (Paperback)

I'm new to writing novels and found excellent advice on nearly every page. The book was easy to read and had very frank, practical suggestions to improve my own writing and what to do to make what I write more likely to be published and sell. Some of the advice is "common sense" but Stableford did not dwell for long on these areas and kept the pace of the book moving along--I tend to find myself skipping around when reading "how to write" books, but this was the first I've read cover to cover (and in one evening).

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sometimes difficult to read, July 28, 2001

By 

K. Stewart (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Writing Fantasy & Science Fiction, and Getting Published (Teach Yourself (McGraw-Hill)) (Paperback)

Teach Yourself Writing Fantasy & Science Fiction is more focused on the philosophies of writing instead of the actual act of writing. It depends on what a person is looking for.

Mr. Stableford's own artistic science fiction/fantasy writing style seems to saturate the book, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. It just makes the book as a non-fiction a little bit difficult to follow sometimes.

I enjoyed his occasional touching on the subject of themes (or uses of certain themes) that have been over used in the history of Fantasy and Science Fiction. I also liked his discussions on how even though Fantasy and SF can take places in worlds very different from our own, there has to be some amount of reality or plausibility in them for a reader to understand and feel comfortable reading about it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dry, academic and strangely useful, March 17, 2001

By 

Peter Diplaros (Toronto, ON (Canada)) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Writing Fantasy & Science Fiction, and Getting Published (Teach Yourself (McGraw-Hill)) (Paperback)

This is a good book for the price. However, don't expect too much, especially if you're used to seeing practical examples in your how-to books. The advice contained in the book is solid, well-written and to the point, but I found that there was little content devoted to SF/F-specific subjects. Overall, the tone is very academic -- which may actually appeal to some readers -- but I find that a more hands-on or inspirational style that I've seen in other books is more helpful to me. If you are serious about writing and are well-versed in writing techniques you might benefit from this book in one fashion: It contains hidden gems (few and in between) about the approach to the story!