How To Write Tales Of Horror, Science Fiction And Fantasy Download Free (EPUB, PDF)
A guide to the writing of horror, fantasy and science fiction for aspirant writers written by an award-winning fantasy and horror writer. It also includes lists compiled by Stephen King, Orson Scott Card, Harlan Ellison and Jane Yolen. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
Hardcover: 242 pages
Publisher: Writer's Digest Books (June 29, 1989)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0898792703
ISBN-13: 978-0898792706
Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #2,065,840 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #83 in Books > Reference > Writing, Research & Publishing Guides > Writing > Science Fiction & Fantasy #8358 in Books > Reference > Writing, Research & Publishing Guides > Writing > Fiction #163883 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy
This wonderful book is easily the most helpful thing I've ever read for the horror author. In essence, it is a collection of essays from various writers about writing speculative fiction and dark fantasy, with chapters by the likes of Ray Bradbury, Robert Bloch and Charles Grant. Much of the lessons do apply to Sci-Fi/Fantasy as well, although if that's your concentration I would recommend Orson Scott Card's "How to Write Science Fiction" before this.The book is a brisk read right up until the chapter on the psychology of horror fiction which, frankly, reads like it was written by a psychologist. It was boring, tedious and felt very out of place among so many good essays.The only other problem is the chapter at the end that supposedly helps you get published. While I'm sure it was quite helpful at the time it was written (in the mid-1980s), many of the publications it lists are now defunct and many of the practices have changed. It's not a bad section, it is simply past its time.Regardless, for those who want to learn how to write horror from those who have done it, this book is well worth reading.
THE book on genre writing. Filled with pertinent and insightful information. Features writing advice from the likes of Robert Bloch, Ray Bradbury, Dean Koontz, Marion Zimmerman Bradley and Charles L. Grant. Buy it with Mort Castle's "Writing Horror" and Stanley Wiater's "Dark Thoughts On Writing". An inspirational book. Buy it you won't be sorry.
The book is the edited work of 26 writers, teachers and editors. The chapters are small, the details slim, the subjects bounce all over the place, and many of the rules and advice could be used by mystery or military writers. It was just too weak, telling me nothing that I couldn't guess at. If you want a solid piece of work about sci-fi/fantasy get the how-to-write books by Orson Scott Card. If you want just fantasy there are world building books by Gary Gygax. And if you want to learn about horror go to Stephen King. Go with the books that have the vision of one author, from the first page to the last.
The premise for this book sounded great! The whole idea is, gather a bunch of published science fiction and fantasy authors and get them to give their advice. Unfortunately, the advice varied a lot, with only one or two of the essays being particularly useful. (And some were totally useless - market conditions in 1987 just aren't the same as those in the present day, and half the magazines they mentioned are gone.) Some of the world building ideas were interesting, but in general, authors seemed to go on and on about what worked for them, rather than what might work for a modern author. (And some of the tips were really dated. Like, one of the suggestions was that "female characters don't need to be damsels in distress"? Yeah, anyway, I think that most modern writers know that. Moving on...)It also bothered me that it was structured as "two pages of article, ten pages of short story". (Especially as most of the short stories weren't all the great, IMHO, and most didn't really illustrate the point that the essay prior to them was trying to make.) I felt suckered in by "how to write", when the book was, to be honest, more of a short story collection than a book on writing.Probably the only bit I'd highly recommend (which might be worth a library check out) is the chapter by J. N. Williamson (who I've never heard of, but who edited the book) on "Plotting as your Power Source". He offered some really good advice on how to plot out novels, which was worth reading. But I'm not sure that I'd pay money for one article that I liked.
If you wish you could sit with the masters of speculative fiction (precursor to scifi and fantasy, and horror) then this is the IT book for you. Exceptional advice and the authors give you their favorite books to read which can only expand your imagination and lands not seen by man. Something wicked walks this way and I want it to have tea with me. Think of Karl Kolshack and Dark Shadows the original. A good primer if you want to tell scary stories around the camp fire.AVC
This is a collection of essays written by experts in their field. Most of the book deals with how to write, but there is at least one essay by an agent. There is a wealth of excellent information in this book.
My guess is that the editor (or possibly the publisher) had the idea for this book and then asked a lot of F/SF/horror writers to write "something" for it. Only a few of the authors appear to actually have anything to say about writing. Many reminisce about their own first sales, way back in the day. In some cases they give examples of their own work that, by today's standards, seem embarrassingly bad. (Tastes change.) But anyway, this golden-age advice was probably outdated even when the book was first published in 1987.There may be a few tidbits here for the inexperienced writer who hasn't already read them elsewhere or figured them out for him/herself. But it's a lot of slogging to find them.
Lost my original copy years ago, was thrilled to find it on . Great perspectives from so many accomplished authors.Wish they had a Kindle version!
How to Write Tales of Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy The Craft of Science Fiction: A Symposium on Writing Science Fiction and Science Fantasy Northern Dreamers: Interviews with Famous Canadian Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Writers (Out of This World) Writing Monsters: How to Craft Believably Terrifying Creatures to Enhance Your Horror, Fantasy, and Science Fiction How To Write A Book In Less Than 24 Hours (How To Write A Kindle Book, How To Write A Novel, Book Writing, Writing A Novel, Write For Kindle) Worlds of Wonder: How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy Fantasy Fairy Tales: 20 Unique, Creative Patterns to Dive into the World of Cartoon, Tales and Fantasy (Stress-Relief & Relaxation) Zombie Coloring Book: Bring the Walking Dead to Life with 40 Horror and Halloween Style Zombie Designs for Adults (Horror and Halloween Coloring Books) (Volume 1) Haunted Horror Pre-Code Cover Coloring Book Volume 1 (The Chilling Archives of Horror Comics!) Horowitz Horror: Horowitz Horror The Secret of the Ballet Book: (Kids Fantasy Books, Ballerina Fiction) (Kids Mystery, Girls Books Ages 9-12, Ballet Stories, Dance Books, Kids Books, Kids Fantasy Books Ages 9-12) How to Write the Perfect Personal Statement: Write powerful essays for law, business, medical, or graduate school application (Peterson's How to Write the Perfect Personal Statement) Write to Market: Deliver a Book that Sells (Write Faster, Write Smarter 3) How to Write a Non-Fiction Kindle eBook in 15 Days: Your Step-by-Step Guide to Writing a Non-Fiction eBook that Sells! Modern Mythmakers: 35 Interviews with Horror & Science Fiction Writers and Filmmakers Science Fiction 101: Where to Start Reading and Writing Science Fiction Using Medicine in Science Fiction: The SF Writer's Guide to Human Biology (Science and Fiction) Better Than Fiction: True Travel Tales from Great Fiction Writers The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror 2016 Edition Encyclopedia Cthulhiana: A Guide to Lovecraftian Horror (Call of Cthulhu Fiction Series)
