THE ICE PICK

Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy, by Crawford Kilian. Bellingham, Wash. & North Vancouver, B.C., Self-Counsel Press, c1998. 165 p. (Self-Counsel Writing Series) $14.95. Includes: bibliography, recommended web sites, samples, checklists, and character worksheet. ISBN: 1-55180-189-2.

Mainly for the beginner who wants to write and isn’t sure how to start or who has written a lot of stories but needs help to go further, this book also has plenty of advice for any writer who would like some help.

Kilian begins with the basics of knowing your genre and your theme and moves on to the challenge of world-building, for it is not enough to simply imagine a strange place and use it as a backdrop for your story. In science fiction and fantasy the setting is part of the story. As he says, "The writer of science fiction or fantasy must keep answering one simple question: Why?" Your answers may involve the symbolism of the place or the natural and scientific details, or both.

In Part Two, Kilian discusses work habits, including using time effectively and keeping a journal, log, or project "bible" to help you. He talks about research and how to get your science or your magic right, so that your story makes sense and is believable.

"Elements of a Successful Story" covers introducing your main characters, establishing your setting and the scene of the conflict, showing what’s at stake and your characters under stress, developing your plot, creating suspense, setting the tone of the story, avoiding melodrama, etc.

He points out that, "The conflict should be understandable to us, but consistent with the different society you portray. A merchant in the 1780s wouldn’t understand the details of a hostile takeover in the 1980s . . . of a company specializing in satellite communications or biotechnology. But the merchant would understand that money and power were at stake on a grand scale."

There are separate chapters on characters, constructing scenes, plotting, viewpoint, dialogue, and symbolism.

I found the "character resume" worksheet awkward to use for fantasy characters, but thought-provoking nonetheless. ("Address and Phone Number"? Well, how would someone contact your hero?) And I especially liked his "storyboarding" idea for organizing a plot and his "style checklist" for revising the story.

Part Three is "Getting Published." This section includes a basic grammar, which answered a couple of questions I’ve had for a long time and couldn’t find in regular grammar books. Kilian discusses manuscript formatting, query letters, and synopses, and provides samples of each. In the chapters on publishers and agents and on publishing contracts, he includes information for Canadian authors as well as U.S. ones in marginal notes.

And he concludes with a short inspirational chapter for those writers who have become thoroughly demoralized by the time they get that far.

The book unfortunately lacks an index, but the Table of Contents is fairly good, and there are wide margins for jotting down notes.

"To conceive, write, revise, and publish any story are real achievements. When you achieve any of them, you have achieved something special." And this book may help you do that. I recommend it.

{Published in SF and Fantasy Workshop Newsletter, May 2004.}

THE ICE PICK

1,818 Ways to Write Better and Get Published, by Scott Edelstein. Updated edition of The Writer’s Book of Checklists. Cincinnati, Writer’s Digest Books, 1997. 213 p. $14.99. ISBN: 0-89879-778-0.

With something for beginning writers, as well as amateurs and professionals, this book is a gold mine of very specific and practical information on everything from how “to generate fresh ideas” to “how to fire your agent gracefully.”

The first two sections are aimed mostly at beginners and deal with getting started. The first part offers suggestions on responding to criticism and comments, spotting and ignoring bad advice, and living with rejection or success, plus setting up a workspace and finding the best time for you to write.

The second section helps with things like keeping a journal or notebook, rewriting and editing your work, beating writer’s block, and creating titles.

Like the rest of the book, both of these sections give very practical and detailed advice and information, from choosing the kind and color of your journal to using copyediting marks.

Next, there is one part dealing with fiction (characters, plotting, “how to show instead of tell,” description, dialogue, viewpoint, beginnings, endings, children’s stories, etc.) and another part dealing with nonfiction (research, interviews, etc.). Both parts cover preparing a proposal. Do you need to get to know your characters better or how to qualify an assumption you are making in an article? This is where you will find lists of questions to ask about your characters or advice on what things to bring to an interview.

Most of the book deals with the business end of writing: “Publishing opportunities,” “Finding Information and Support,” “Doing Business with Editors,” “Selling Yourself and Your Services,” “Dealing with Agents,” “Keeping Track of Business,” and “Legal Matters.”

Types of magazines and other markets are listed along with advice on whether they are easy or hard to break into and average pay scales. There are guidelines on how to make business contacts that will help you, how to prepare a manuscript, what to do if an editor is slow to respond, how to handle deadlines, ask for more money, compose a resume or an invoice, arrange a book signing or reading, deal with an agent, fill out IRS forms, alter a written agreement, etc.

The lack of an index is very annoying to me, but overall I have learned a lot from the book and have found it to be extremely useful.

Writers always have lots of questions. This book has lots of answers. I recommend it very highly.

{Published in SF and Fantasy Workshop Newsletter, Dec. 2003.}