The Craft of Writing Science Fiction That Sells (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Ben Nova, best-selling novelist and former editor of Analog and Omni magazines, guides you through the major elements of science-fiction storytelling: character, background, conflict, and plot. Bova has received the Hugo Award for Best Professional Editor six times.

Product Description

Bestselling novelist and former editor of Analog Science Fact/Science Fiction and Omni Ben Bova teaches science fiction writers not only how to create and run a universe, but also how to write by the rules that will get a book published.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Writers Digest Books; 1st edition (February 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0898796008
• ISBN-13: 978-0898796001
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #980,663 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good advice on the craft of writing, June 8, 1998

By A Customer

Though I admit I'm not so keen on Bova's writing style in itself, he offers good advice on the actual mechanics of building a story: character, plot, conflict, etc. He rightfully recognizes that most budding writers have the talent but are rejected because of poor *craft*, which he says can be taught. The book goes a long way in doing so.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars good though not exhaustive advice for sci-fi writers, September 12, 2005

By	George Bendo (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a short non-fiction book focusing on story development and short story / novel writing in genre fiction, especially in the science fiction field.

For anyone interested in writing science fiction or any kind of genre fiction, this book can provide a useful insight, a valid viewpoint by a famous practioner of the field. Full of great advice, helpful tips and revealing good practice developed during decades of writing and editing it offers a window to see a successful writer at work.

Though it is a nice journey into a writer's mind and environment, the chapters do not create a well organised collection, the reader doesn't receive a complete, exhaustive overview of the craft of a writer. Bova stresses that he will not concentrate on grammar or elementary writing style but he does leave out many other important aspects or writing.

There are better or at least more detailed books on how to structure stories, how to write fiction, what the elements of good science fiction are (e.g. Cory Doctorow - Karl Schroeder: Complete Idiot's Guide to Publishing Science Fiction, Robert McKee - Story, etc.). I only recommend Bova's book to budding science fiction writers after reading 4-5 other books on story creation and another 4-5 on writing.

The book focuses on stories and writing as opposed to examining the specific nuts and bolts of good science fiction (e.g. world building, internal consistency of a sci-fi creation, etc). This is not bad as any decent writer with an appropriate degree of curiosity and playfulness should be able to write science fiction.

There are 4 of Bova's own short stories included in their entirety. Bova promises to point out both the positive and negative aspects of them, but we usually only hear about what makes the stories tick. These stories are not that good, they take up too much room and Bova could have provided a deeper analysis pointing out his own mistakes. It is also a bit annoying when he suggests to read this or that one of his novels for further examples. I think he could have used other writers as a reference more often.

I have to admit that I do not know any of Bova's novels or his other short stories despite being a voracious reader and a science fiction aficionado. His writing style seems a little bit pedestrian and occasionally boring. He tries to defend himself by saying he wants to construct straightforward sentences to let the readers focus on the story itself - no problemo, I love simple sentences or paragraphs but I do find his prose somewhat dry.

All in all, I have enjoyed reading an instructive book about a science fiction writer but I wouldn't use it as an important reference work.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read this if you're serious about writing Science Fiction, May 13, 2004

By A Customer

I have read the negative reviews on this site. I'd like to say that those reviewers don't know what they are talking about. Perhaps they are hack writers who think the label "Science Fiction" means there are no rules to follow. If so, they are wrong. There are tons of bad science fiction stories written by people who don't take their craft seriously. Unfortunately, some of the bad stuff winds up getting published. However, if you seriously want to write quality science fiction then you need to read this book.

This book is an excellent guide in how to create stories. It somewhat focuses on short stories, but also has chapters on novels. Ben Bova does cover the special requirements of science fiction and ways to work with them.

This book discusses what good writing actually requires. And Ben Bova is someone who ought to know, given his career. Good writing is good writing, no matter the genre. Ben Bova spells out what is good and what is not. I think this might have bothered some of the other reviewers.

Another review mentioned Orson Scott Card's book on writing Science Fiction, and I suggest reading that one as well. But, Card's book focuses on the special requirements of Science Fiction and Fantasy and does not cover the basics of how to write something that people will actually pay their hard earned money to get a chance to read. Ben Bova's book does cover that.