Writing Science Fiction & Fantasy

Writing Science Fiction and Fantasybrings you expert advice on how to craft and market tales of the fantastic. Award-winning writers such as John Barnes, James Patrick Kelly, Norman Spinrad, Connie Willis, and Jane Yolen reveal some of their secrets of crafting believable stories, while Grand Masters Isaac Asimov and Robert A. Heinlein provide timeless advice for beginners and veterans alike. The editors also provide valuable insights into the process by which stories get published and they offer helpful hints on getting your story out of the slush pile and into print.

Contents

Seeing Your Way to Better Stories * essay by Stanley Schmidt

You and Your Characters * essay by James Patrick Kelly

Living the Future: You Are What You Eat * (1976) * essay by Gardner Dozois

Dialog * [Asimov's Editorials] * (1985) * essay by Isaac Asimov

Plotting * [Asimov's Editorials] * (1989) * essay by Isaac Asimov

On the Writing of Speculative Fiction * (1947) * essay by Robert A. Heinlein

Turtles All the Way Down * essay by Jane Yolen

Learning to Write Comedy or Why It's Impossible and How to Do It * essay by Connie Willis

Good Writing is Not Enough * essay by Stanley Schmidt

The Creation of Imaginary Worlds: The World Builder's Handbook and Pocket Companion * (1974) * essay by Poul Anderson

The Creation of Imaginary Beings * (1974) * essay by Hal Clement

How to Build a Future * (1990) * essay by John Barnes

Building a Starfaring Age * essay by Norman Spinrad

The Ideas That Wouldn't Die * essay by Stanley Schmidt

The Mechanics of Submission * essay by Sheila Williams

Revisions * [Asimov's Editorials] * (1982) * essay by Isaac Asimov

Writing for Young People * [Asimov's Editorials] * (1986) * essay by Isaac Asimov

New Writers * [Asimov's Editorials] * (1987) * essay by Isaac Asimov

Authors vs. Editors * essay by Stanley Schmidt

Market Listings * essay by Ian Randal Strock