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World Building (Science Fiction Writing)
 
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World Building (Science Fiction Writing) (Paperback)

~ Stephen Gillett (Author), (Author)
4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)

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  Hardcover, December 31, 1995 -- $8.45 $4.50
  Paperback, July 31, 2001 $15.29 $12.82 $12.42

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World Building (Science Fiction Writing) + How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy + Elements of Writing Fiction - Characters & Viewpoint (Elements of Fiction Writing)
Price For All Three: $35.67

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  • This item: World Building (Science Fiction Writing) by Stephen Gillett

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  • How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy by Orson Scott Card

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Another in Ben Bova's series on Science Fiction Writing, here geologist and SF scribe Stephen Gillett helps you construct star systems and planets from the atoms up. While it may take you a little more than the proverbial seven days (well, six with rest), when you're done, your knowledge of gravity, weather patterns, cosmic mass and stellar patterns--in this universe--will be greatly enhanced. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.


Product Description

This book is designed to give science fiction writers the solid grounding they need in real science to make their fictions read like fact. World Building is a blueprint in words, calculations, tables and diagrams to help writers transport readers from one world to another.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 198 pages
  • Publisher: Writer's Digest Books (August 2001)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 158297134X
  • ISBN-13: 978-1582971346
  • Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #160,102 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

    #8 in  Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Writing
    #29 in  Books > Reference > Writing > Genre Fiction

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Customer Reviews

24 Reviews
5 star:
 (19)
4 star:
 (3)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:    (0)
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Average Customer Review
4.7 out of 5 stars (24 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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54 of 55 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Helpful Guide to Constructing Star Systems and Planets, April 21, 2001
By Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)      
"World-Building" is the volume in the Science Fiction Writing Series edited by Ben Bova devoted to constructing star systems and life-supporting planets. Stephen L. Gillett has a doctorate in geology, was the science columnist at "Amazing Science Fiction" and has written SF under a pseudonym. My doctorate is in rhetorical studies, so I am starting at ground zero when it comes to understanding or at least appreciating the mathematical equations for escape velocity, scaling tidal forces or Roche's limit. While this book thoroughly convinced me that I have no aptitude for writing hard science, I can see how it would be extremely helpful to anyone interested in being on a strong scientific foundation when it comes to writing their own stories.

Gillett's volume has eight chapters: (1) Why World-Build? looks at the necessity of using real science to create the requisite sense of wonder in your science fiction writing; (2) The Astronomical Setting covers the important differences between planets and stars in general and gravity, orbits, seasons and tidal action in particular; (3) Making a Planet details how the formation of a planetary system impacts the resulting planets and the options for story writing; (4) The Earth looks at the interconnected aspects that make interesting variations possible with the home worlds you create because of plate tectonics, water and air, magnetic field, colors, etc.; (5) The Ancient Earth deals with avoiding the "Cenozoic Earth Syndrome" (creating an alien world by making a few slight changes on ancient earth) by better understanding our ancient past as an inspiration for creativity; (6) The Other Planet looks at the wealth of data we have accumulated from our deep space probes as another source of inspiration; (7) Stars and Suns looks at how such heavenly bodies can supporting interesting planets as well; and (8) Not as We Know It discusses differences in volatile content (e.g., wetworlds, nitroworlds, brimstone worlds) as a final means of providing major scope for variation in words.

Hopefully this will provide you enough information to decide if "World-Building" will help you in writing your own Science Fiction. I appreciate that for some people this book does not go far enough, but certainly for the vast majority of us it gives us enough information that we will not thoroughly embarrass ourselves when it comes to creating new worlds for our characters to inhabit and visit.

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22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Unique in its beauty, January 5, 2000
By Shadowfire (College Park, MD) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   
This is probably the best and only book that clearly states the current understanding of stars and formation/evolution of planets around them, in plain speech. The information is as extensive as it is scientifically accurate which is a great plus for an aspiring fiction writer who does not want to look over the countless pages of an Encyclopaedia Formulae on astrophysics. Besides the numerous formulas one needs to create a (scientifically) cohesive world, Gillett also gives many tidbits from the fiction writing over the course of time, allowing you to become familiar with the possibilities of several future technologies/discoveries. Also included are several studies of fictuous odd-ball worlds ( one is an ocean world filled with sulfuric acid). This book will likely be useful to the writer as well as the explorer within everyone.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Worth reading even if you're not a writer, June 14, 2000
By A Customer
Required reading if you're an aspiring SF Writer. This book provides the basic information needed to design an "authentic" planet that is scientifically consistant. Most of the equations are in sidebars so they can be easily located and entered in a spreadsheet making it easy to try out a variety of scenarios for your planet and its environment. The author has packed lots of information in a small book.

If you find this book useful you will also find "Energies: An Illustrated Guide to the Biosphere and Civilization" (available from Amazon) equally thought provoking and just as useful. While World-Building takes a look at planets in general it does focus on Earthlike planets in particular. Energies takes a wide-ranging look at Earth itself(its biomass, climate, animals and technology) with extensive charts, graphs and equations and fills in some areas where World-Building is thin. The books complement each other amazingly well. In addition, both list other references and resources for additional research.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for English Majors
Awesome book for figuring out all the science stuff I never learned or didn't pay attention to in school. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Garrett Winn

3.0 out of 5 stars Think Astronomy!
Polishing up my own work, I recently considered purchasing this book. I checked it out at my local library, who had it in stock! Read more
Published 16 months ago by Vernona E. Monteith

5.0 out of 5 stars A great if read - and reality check.
I'm finding this a facinating book to read if only in terms of looking at how the Earth actually works and all the little details which seem to need to be just right in order to... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Konrad Zielinski

4.0 out of 5 stars enjoyable read
Picked this book up as a reference for beginning my own SF book. Enjoyed it. Has some good info presented in a understandable manner.
Published 21 months ago by Moe

5.0 out of 5 stars I will be able to use a lot of this information in my next book
As both a author and reader of fiction I enjoyed World Building even though I was not able to use any of it in my first book. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Tommy Taylor

5.0 out of 5 stars Useful Book
This book explores and details assorted aspects of world-building, some that I hadn't considered previously. Read more
Published on August 31, 2007 by Lora Price

5.0 out of 5 stars Must-Have Reference Guide for Sci-fi Writers
I would most definitely recommend this book for anyone interested in writing science fiction! I originally borrowed the book from my local library, and I was so impressed I... Read more
Published on August 16, 2007 by C. Fowler

5.0 out of 5 stars readable, engaging, and techy in spots
I liked this as an addition to my reference library. It gives reasonably thorough overviews of some very complex physics and astronomy ideas, and equations for the detail-hungry... Read more
Published on February 16, 2007 by Goldencat

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent "how-to" on basic astronomy, geology, planetology
I agree with the bulk of the reviewers here; this book is jam-packed with excellent technical background for designing believable planetary systems consistent with the physics of... Read more
Published on March 18, 2006 by Richard A. Loftus

5.0 out of 5 stars Packed with information
I have been extremely pleased with this book. I bought it because I wanted to know how to invent a planet that would look plausible scientifically. Read more
Published on October 18, 2004 by D. Crouzet

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