Science Fiction Writer's Workshop-I: An Introduction to Fiction Mechanics (Paperback)

~ Barry Longyear (Author)
Key Phrases: parallel running scenes, story dump, third person omniscient narrative, Enemy Mine, Project Fear, The Chief (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

About a year after (my stories began being published), magazine editor George Scithers, suggested to me that since I was so new at being published, I must be very close to what I had to learn to move from fooling around with writing to actually producing professional stories. There are a lot of aspiring writers out there who would like to know just that. Write that book.

SFWW-I is that book. It's the book I was looking for when I first started writing fiction. -- Barry B. Longyear

About the Author

Hugo, Nebula, and Campbell Award winner, Barry Longyear is author of "Enemy Mine", made into a major motion picture by Fox. Recent works include The Enemy Papers and Yesterday's Tomorrow. Having completed training as a private investigator, he has entered the world of mystery writing with The Hangman's Son. He lives with his wife, Jean, in New Sharon, Maine.

Product Details

• Paperback: 170 pages
• Publisher: IUniverse (April 26, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595225535
• ISBN-13: 978-0595225538
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,155,687 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book, September 18, 2003

By	ldswoman "ldswoman" (Elk Grove, CA USA) - See all my reviews

I bought this book back when it was first published and anxiously awaited the promised sequel, which as far as I know never came. But this book is worth it, it's outstanding, and the best book on writing I've ever read. This is where I learned point of view and backfill ideas.

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Book on Science Fiction Writing I've Seen, October 28, 2009

By	Scott T. Barnes - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

I met Barry Longyear at Odyssey 2008 and was so impressed with him as a writer and teacher that I bought this book. Although I consider myself a semi-pro writer, I have learned a tremendous amount from what he calls an "introduction." It is straightforward and contains numerous examples from Longyear's own award winning stories. He includes rejected versions and the subsequent revised stories which did sell, along with critiques. I am now reading this book for a second time and doing the exercises (the first time I read straight through). I am also reading one short story from his book It Came From Schenectady to see how he applied the lessons. At least one other science fiction writer I know considers this his "go-to" book.

As far as the sequel, Barry said that he did write it. I believe it is a pdf book which you can order through his personal website for around $33. I plan to do that next year.