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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Bildung
- Sprache: Englisch
- Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022
Take your shot at becoming the next Tolkien, Asimov, or King with this simple roadmap to transforming your fiction into works of art Writing Sci-Fi, Fantasy, & Horror For Dummies is your skeleton key to creating the kind of fiction that grips readers and compels them to keep turning pages (even if it's well past their bedtime!) You'll start with the basics of creative writing--including character, plot, and scene--and strategies for creating engaging stories in different forms, such as novels, short stories, scripts, and video games. After that, get beginner-friendly and straightforward advice on worldbuilding, before diving headfirst into genre-specific guidance for science fiction, horror, and fantasy writing. This book also offers: * Strategies for editing and revising your next work to get it into tip-top shape for your audience * Ways to seek out second opinions from editors, experts, and even sensitivity readers * Techniques for marketing and publication, working with agents, and advice for writers going the self-publishing route The perfect beginner's guide for aspiring writers with an interest in horror, fantasy, or science fiction, Writing Sci-Fi, Fantasy, & Horror For Dummies is the first and last resource you need before you start building your next story about faraway lands, aliens, and fantastic adventures.
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Writing Sci-Fi, Fantasy, & Horror For Dummies®
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Published simultaneously in Canada
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2021953552
ISBN: 978-1-119-83909-5 (pbk); ISBN: 978-1-119-84167-8 (ebk); ISBN: 978-1-119-83910-1 (ebk)
Writing Sci-Fi, Fantasy, & Horror For Dummies®
To view this book's Cheat Sheet, simply go to www.dummies.com and search for “Writing Sci-Fi, Fantasy, & Horror For Dummies Cheat Sheet” in the Search box.
Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Foreword
Introduction
About This Book
Foolish Assumptions
Icons Used in This Book
Beyond the Book
Where to Go from Here
Part 1: Getting Started: The Basics of Story
Chapter 1: Taking Journeys into the Imagination
Looking Closer at the Big Three Genres
Creating Characters
Pursuing Writerly Success
Making the Most of This Book
Chapter 2: Creating Characters
Focusing on Your Characters’ Wants
Introducing the Cast of Characters
From Whose Eyes? Choosing Point of View
Telling “Telling Details”
You Don’t Say? Using Dialogue
Chapter 3: Laying the Foundation — The Power of Plot
Engineering Great Drama
Building Story Structure
Examining Key Elements of Plot
Chapter 4: Crafting Many Worlds, Many Media
Writing Prose — An Oldie but a Goodie
Writing for Screens Both Big and Small — Scripts
Inviting Audiences to Co-create — Interactive Stories
Part 2: Worldbuilding: Journeys to Other Worlds
Chapter 5: Building a World Like No Other
Creating Worlds Worth Exploring
Building Worlds for Conflict
Focusing on What’s Important — The Iceberg Rule
Chapter 6: Letting Your Research and Imagination Run Wild
Start with Earth: Inspiration and Adaptation
Using Research to Balance Science and Fiction
Chapter 7: Showing the Explosion: Exposition That Thrills!
Showing Your World at Work
Relying on Narrative Exposition: Stories That Explain and Entrance
Trusting and Provoking Your Reader
Storytelling at Every Level of Engagement
Chapter 8: This Planet Will Eat You: Worlds Are Characters, Too
Recognizing That Worlds Want Something
Building Spaces and Places for Drama
Part 3: Science Fiction: Journeys into the Future
Chapter 9: Answering “What If?”
Asking Big Questions
Inventing the Big New Thing
Asking Key Questions about Your Sci-Fi Story
Chapter 10: A Spaceship for Every Occasion, an Occasion for Every Spaceship
Voyaging Far from Home: Vessels for Isolation and Adventure
The Physics and Drama of Space Travel
1, 2, 3, 4 — I Declare a Space War!
Chapter 11: Encountering Aliens That Audiences Want to Know, Love, and Fear
Making Sense of Alien Metaphors
Playing Their Part: Alien Dramatics
Creating Alien Emotions
Chapter 12: It’s Alive! Or Is It? — Imagining Robots and Artificial Intelligence
Creating Artificial Life
Treating Artificial Life as Characters
Building Your Own Beings
Chapter 13: Constructing Planetary Plots and Earth-Changing Stories
Exploring Other Earths
Making Everything Worse (or Better)
Part 4: Fantasy: Journeys into the Imagination
Chapter 14: Bringing Wonder to Your Story
Creating Wonder
Going High to Low with Fantasy
Choosing a Fantastical Point of View
Chapter 15: Worldbuilding on the Shoulders of Giants, Faeries, Dragons, and Hobbits
Adapting Myth and Legend
Start with Middle Earth? Not Exactly …
Understanding Tolkien and Dungeons & Dragons
Making Deep History in Record Time
Chapter 16: Conjuring Story Magic
Grasping the Role of Magic in Storytelling
Taking the Reader on a Magical Journey
Making Magic Dramatic (in Every Sense of the Word!)
Setting the Rules and Costs of Magic
Forging Enchanting Artifacts and Objects — Items Designed for Magic
Chapter 17: Forming Really Fantastic (and Fantastically Real) Monsters
Understanding What Monsters Are
Making Monsters
Part 5: Horror: Journeys into Fear
Chapter 18: Creating Dread, Fear, and Terror
Imagining the Worst about Everything
Feeling Fearful Feels
Identifying Sources of Horror
Chapter 19: Fashioning Fearful Plots and Sinister Scenes
Who Goes There? Characters Who Journey into Darkness
Plotting Your Host of Horrors
Creating Fear with Narrative Flow
Chapter 20: Shaping Your Scares — Menacing Monsters and Human Horrors
Mixing Up Your Monsters
Making Metaphors Monstrous
Interpreting the Classics
Hunting Down Homicidal Humans
Chapter 21: Lurking in Every Shadow: Where Horror Resides
Constructing Environments That Raise Dread
Assembling Haunted Houses and Other Lairs of Fear
Part 6: The Journey from Writing to Publication
Chapter 22: Revising and Editing Like a Pro
Creating a Revision Plan
Revising First, Editing Later
Focusing on Theme — It Isn’t Just for Eighth-Grade Book Reports
Buffing, Polishing, and Shining — The Final Edit
Chapter 23: Getting Second Opinions: Editors, Experts, and Sensitivity Readers
Receiving Good Story Feedback
Supporting Your Story with Expert Help
Chapter 24: The Three Ps: Publication, Pitching, and Promotion
Teaming Up: Agents, Editors, and Producers
Pitching Like a Pro
Going It Alone: A Self-Publishing Success Plan
Promoting You and Your Work — Making the Most of Marketing
Part 7: The Part of Tens
Chapter 25: Ten Ways to Jump-Start a Stalled Story
Extra, Extra — Reading Story Headlines
Taking a Ride on the PPE Story Machine
Writing to Free Up Your Blocks
Noodling in Notebooks
Taking a Field Trip
Figuring Out What the Story Is
Answering the Great “What If?”
Blending, Stirring, and Mixing
Beginning with an Idea
Using Someone Else’s Words
Chapter 26: Ten Common Pitfalls in Writing Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror
Putting Surface before Substance
Overrelying on Coincidence
Worldbuilding with Endless Details
Not Reading Enough
Reusing Aliens/Werewolves/Elves
Embracing a Richer Worldview
Following Trends Too Closely
Overusing Fantastic Language
Forgetting the Promise of the Genre
Utilizing Clichés
Chapter 27: Ten Popular Story Modes
Danger at Every Step — The Adventure Story
“It’s the End!” — The Apocalyptic Story
Gags, Sketches, and Snark — The Comedy Story
Capers, Cons, and Heists — The Crime Story
Doom and Gloom — The Dark Story
The Grandest of Scales — The Epic Story
The Power of the Past — The Historical Story
Fighting on the Frontlines — The Military Story
Sleuthing Out the Truth — The Mystery Story
The Heart of the Matter — The Romance Story
Index
About the Authors
Advertisement Page
Connect with Dummies
End User License Agreement
List of Tables
Chapter 25
TABLE 25-1 Generating Ideas with the PPE Story Machine
List of Illustrations
Chapter 3
FIGURE 3-1: Freytag’s Pyramid.
Chapter 8
FIGURE 8-1: Sequence of story spaces.
Guide
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Foreword
Table of Contents
Begin Reading
Index
About the Authors
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Foreword
You can discover many available books on the craft of writing, including specialty writing books that focus on works of science fiction, fantasy, and/or horror. Some of those books pick one of these genres, and many of these books are excellent. So why would anyone feel the need to buy and read yet another one? Well, let me tell you why. Writing Sci-Fi, Fantasy, & Horror For Dummies is different from all the rest in a few different ways:
Firstly, this book tackles all these genres at once. Oftentimes there is a crossover or melding of these genres, and so having a book that directly speaks to each of these genres individually as well as collectively can only benefit you, the writer.
Secondly, this book explores many other ways of creating beyond short stories and novels. Here you can find out more about writing a screenplay, collaborating on graphic novels, designing video games and/or tabletop games, and even creating a real physical haunted house. You can express science fiction, fantasy, and horror in many ways, and this book takes you on all these journeys.
Furthermore, this book provides brilliant examples in all these genres when exploring characterization, plotting, setting, and worldbuilding. Included are discussions on how to imagine monsters, aliens, other worlds and magic systems. Clear and precise examples help illustrate how you can do it effectively. Indeed, the examples are clever and imaginative and very entertaining!
You receive advice on seeking and receiving feedback and the editing process as well as the best use of subject experts and sensitivity readers. The book also offers information on the business of writing and creating, including how to submit your work, how to pitch a story idea, and the what the pros and cons of self-publishing are. Sections throughout deal with methods to overcome writer’s block and how to jump-start the creative process.
In addition, you have the benefit of all of the real-world experiences of Ryan Van Cleave and Rick Dakan, who have spent years helping writers navigate the waters of creativity. They also have plenty of writing credits, so they clearly know what they’re talking about.
I first became acquainted with Ryan and Rick when I was asked to speak at a Visiting Writers Forum virtual event with the creative writing department at Ringling College of Art and Design in Florida. I was honored to be asked and immediately said yes. This invitation came to me in 2020, when we were all staying home during the pandemic but still trying to move forward artistically and keep our sanity and sense of humor.
I had a blast during this event. Typically, these programs feature a writer, so as an editor, I was doubly honored to be asked. Presenting the editor’s point of view to up-and-coming writers was important because too often they haven’t had much experience with the editorial or publishing process. Ryan and Rick asked thoughtful and engaging questions, and I was struck by the depth of their knowledge, not just for my own books, but for the wide range of interest they have all over the writing spectrum. You can tell they have a pure love for all speculative genres, but more importantly, they’re knowledgeable about things outside of genre as well. And clearly, they’re passionate about sharing their knowledge and nurturing other writers. This only serves to improve the guidance they present in this book. More importantly, although the business of writing is serious, Ryan and Rick approach it from a more playful place, which makes this book such a pleasure to read and enjoy.
— Ann VanderMeer
Introduction
Writing a successful fantasy story is far more than just whipping up a regular story and dropping in an elf on page 13. It often requires comprehensive worldbuilding, cool magical beings, and other wonder-making efforts that, taken together, propel readers into an exciting realm that’s never been imagined before.
That’s true for science fiction and horror as well. Readers want stories that are informed by the time-honored conventions of those genres, but manage to avoid the boring tropes, stereotypical characters, and super-familiar plots.
If that sounds intimidating, it is … or at least it would be if you didn’t have a book like this in your hands!
About This Book
Writing Sci-Fi, Fantasy, & Horror For Dummies is equally about demystifying the writing process and revealing exactly what it takes to create successful genre stories. Everything we share in this book is informed by decades of college-level teaching, writing, editing, and — perhaps more important — reading.
Our goal with this book is to give you a strong foundation that prepares you to write genre stories that stand out from the crowd. And along the way, we share advice and tips on the publishing industry so you know what to do with those stories after they’re ready for audiences.
We envision that you’ll use the ideas and techniques in this book to deliver story in one of three main ways:
Prose (novels and short stories)
Scripts (film, TV, comics, and graphic novels)
Interactive (video games, roleplaying games, and other immersive experiences)
To keep things simple, we refer to the story’s “audience” throughout this book, but by that, we mean reader, viewer, gamer, and so on as the case may be for the medium you choose. Just remember: Each medium has its own inherent strengths, so when writing fiction, for example, really embrace the world of a character’s interiority. With a film script, forget dialogue tags and lovely descriptions and instead focus on external action, sound, and dialogue. With a video game, you need to build amazing worlds that are ripe for conflict so a character — the player! — can have agency over the story’s plot.
Here’s good news: At the center of these modes of experiencing stories is the same core set of fundamental principles and reader expectations. As soon as you familiarize yourself with those, you can apply them to any storymaking enterprise that you see fit.
Foolish Assumptions
With 30-plus combined years of college-level teaching and running workshops at writing conferences, we’ve found that students of all ages often believe one or more of the following:
You’re either born a writer, or you’re not.
Writing comes easily to everyone but me.
I should wait for inspiration to strike before writing.
Good writers don’t have to revise.
Writers need to work in solitude.
Getting published is more about who you know than what you write.
Editors will fix the “little stuff” (like spelling and grammar) for me.
I don’t have enough time to write a novel/film script/TV series.
Plain and simple, each of these is false. We won’t address why here because we cover all of these topics within the following chapters, but trust us to tell you the truth and make the appropriate arguments when it’s time.
We do our best to reward your trust on every page. We promise.
We confess that we’re making a few assumptions of our own about you as well, dear writing friend. In no particular order, they are as follows:
Whether you’re new to writing or a lifelong scribbler, you want to improve at writing.
You really like genre stories, especially science fiction, fantasy, and horror.
You want to write original stories that resonate with readers.
You want to be on the pathway to publication.
If any of these sound like you, then the information in this book is specifically designed for you.
One more thing: We don’t expect everyone to know every single story ever created or every author who ever wrote. We certainly don’t know them all! So, we avoid referencing specific stories and authors in general, yet from time to time, we couldn’t help ourselves. We’re teachers, after all.
If you don’t know a reference that we mention, that’s fine. Ogres aren’t going to bust down your door and pummel you with French dictionaries or anything. We swear. Just consider adding these stories and authors to your might-check-out-someday list because they have a lot to offer.
Icons Used in This Book
Books in the For Dummies series include helpful icons to ensure that key aspects, elements, and ideas get special attention. Without further ado, we use the following icons:
This icon notes the kind of thing that frequently produces an “Aha!” moments for writers. If you’re looking for actionable ways to improve your writing, put these to work right away.
This icon alerts you to something worthy of extra consideration. If you’re skimming, make sure to slow down and really dig in when you see this alert.
This icon highlights bonus in-depth things that you can skip and still be fine. But if you’re serious about writing, this insider information can help.
This icon helps you steer clear of problem areas. The last things we want are for you to waste time, get frustrated, or smash face-first into a dead end.
This icon points out hands-on activities you can try to spark your inspiration and start working on different elements of your written work.
Beyond the Book
For most readers, this book has all you need to succeed. But if you find yourself yearning for more ideas, insight, and inspiration, we have you covered!
Here are three additional resources beyond this book:
Cheat Sheet:
Go to
www.dummies.com
and search for “Writing Sci-Fi, Fantasy, & Horror For Dummies Cheat Sheet” to locate a handy reference guide for all three genres included in this book.
Double down with Dummies:
Couple this book with
Writing Fiction For Dummies
by Peter Economy and Randall Ingermanson and
Writing Young Adult Fiction For Dummies
by Deborah Halverson, or any other For Dummies title that grabs your interest. We won’t be offended! The tips, tricks, and advice from our writing colleagues who’ve created other For Dummies books can absolutely support your journey to writing success.
Work with us:
Both of us teach, present at writing conferences, and do a bit of freelance writing, editing, and coaching. Visit us at
www.rickdakan.com
or
www.ryangvancleave.com
to see if any of those options work for you!
Where to Go from Here
If you’re totally new to writing, we suggest you begin with the basics of story construction (Part 1). Part 2 on worldbuilding contains valuable advice that informs all three genres — you’re more than welcome to go right into whichever specific genre or craft concerns that you most. Or if you’re not sure where to start, scan the Table of Contents or flip through the index, find a topic that piques your interest, and turn to that chapter.
Remember, Dummies books are modular, so you can read any chapter in any order. Ultimately, this book is set up to reward you whether you dive in at Chapter 1 and read straight through, or you skip around as you see fit. Treat this book like a reference. Use it when needed, but be open to putting it aside and doing what writers want to do most — write.
Part 1
Getting Started: The Basics of Story
IN THIS PART …
Build interesting, three-dimensional characters that genre-loving audiences will hope and fear for.
Select the best point of view to showcase the conflicts and themes in your story.
Plot your story with a focus on dramatic action and character arcs.
Create a seamless narrative by linking scenes through cause and effect.
Use high-powered story tension to keep audiences hooked.
Discover the best medium for your stories and use its inherent strengths to your advantage.
Chapter 1
Taking Journeys into the Imagination
IN THIS CHAPTER
Meeting the genres: Sci-fi, fantasy, and horror
Creating characters born for drama and story worlds built for conflict
Succeeding as a writer is about more than writing
This is a book designed to help writers tell stories better.
It’s as simple and as complex as that.
Teachers, librarians, parents, and other fans of sci-fi, fantasy, and horror may get a lot from this book, too, but our goal is first and foremost to help writers tell their stories. Our areas of focus are the craft aspects and foundational considerations that increase a writer’s ability to create sci-fi, fantasy, and horror stories that matter.
Because good stories matter — we firmly believe that.
Every well-told story is a wondrous journey into the human imagination. Stories are a shared enterprise that brings joy to authors and audiences. A symbiotic experience, we might suggest.
This chapter serves as your portal to the world of sci-fi, fantasy, and horror stories. If you want to create written works of these three genres, then you’ve come to the right place.
Looking Closer at the Big Three Genres
Three of the most popular creative writing classes we teach are Writing Science Fiction, Writing Fantasy, and Writing Horror. And in the other classes we offer, we frequently attract students who are looking to write and talk about stories with dark elf thieves, robot assassins, or hooded axe-wielding maniacs. Sometimes all in the same story!
Some people choose to group these three genres under one far larger umbrella called speculative fiction, which is a type of story that could’ve been generated from a “what if?” question because these stories include elements and aspects that don’t exist in consensus reality (the things people generally agree on about how the world works). That’s a fairly basic definition, but the term itself is slippery. Plenty of writers don’t fully agree on what it means, which is one reason we don’t use it in this book.
Even though other authors may be satisfied to lump sci-fi, fantasy, and horror together, we find it more useful to examine, understand, and appreciate the differences in each as a way to improve your ability to write effective stories. The lines between these genres do blur and overlap, but that’s okay — we handle them separately in this book to keep things clear for you.
And although the three genres do have clear distinctive characteristics, some of those characteristics can overlap in lots of interesting ways. Visit Chapter 27 for more ways to mix, match, and blend story elements to good effect.
One thing all these genres share is an emphasis on the art and craft of worldbuilding, which we cover in detail in Part 2. Chapter 5 explores the idea of creating a very specific world for your story. Chapter 6 combines research with imagination, and shares secret worldbuilding advice from Kenneth Hite, a top gamemaker. Chapter 7 helps you find ways to engage audiences on multiple levels versus sticking to a formula. Worlds can be so rich and robust that they’re practically a character, too. That’s the idea behind Chapter 8, which explains how worlds actively want something.
The following sections take a closer look at the three genres.
Imagining possible worlds — Sci-fi
Sci-fi stories offer audiences possible other worlds. It’s based in or at least inspired by scientific reality as people know it at the time of the writing. The genre goes beyond that, however, to ask “what if?” questions about the future, new technologies, and humanity’s place in the universe.
Before writing your sci-fi story, answer the following questions:
What’s the Big New Thing?
At the heart of a great sci-fi story is a science-based development that’s vital to the narrative (that’s your
Big New Thing
). What ideas do you have for a cool Big New Thing?
How would it change the story world?
Whether it’s new tech or a scientific breakthrough, the world should be affected by its creation or use. If not, your Big New Thing probably isn’t big enough to carry your story.
Who would care?
At least some people can’t ignore the Big New Thing. They should be in awe, be fearful, or have some other significant reactions that will drive them to action.
What conflicts emerge?
Someone wants to corner the market, change the world, oppress those who need oppressing, or just make a quick buck. If someone wants something, someone else is going to try to stop them from getting it, and the Big New Thing should be central to resolving that conflict.
To blast straight into writing sci-fi, visit Part 3, which explores the other possible worlds of science fiction. From the huge “what if?” at the center of every sci-fi story (see Chapter 9) to spaceships and space travel (refer to Chapter 10) to aliens and every type of artificial life (flip to Chapters 11 and 12), it’s all here. We even investigate ways to create other planets in general and other Earths in particular — that’s Chapter 13. We also get into the idea of dystopias and utopias, two possible futures that audiences like to see come alive through stories.
Imagining wondrous worlds — Fantasy
Fantasy stories give audiences impossible other worlds. In the wondrous worlds of fantasy, consensus reality is shattered to exciting and entertaining ends, which makes room for magic spells, ancient artifacts, and fantastic creatures.
Here we explore a few questions to help you write fantastic fantasy stories:
What’s the impossible thing?
One of the things that makes your story fantasy is the inclusion of something that’s impossible for the real world. Unicorns exist. Lightning bolts can be triggered from wands. All brown-eyed people can read minds. Start with one impossible thing and build from there.
What rules does it break and follow?
Thanks to being impossible, it can break all sorts of real-world rules, like physics or the need for sleep. But it can and should have its own rules. What cost does casting a spell require? What weak spot does the otherwise invulnerable dragon have? Limits make the impossible more interesting and dramatic.
How does your main character encounter it?
How the impossible thing manifests needs to matter. Does your character move from a mundane world into one rich with wonder? Is the wondrous all around from page one? Or does the wonder come barreling into the character’s normal world, which really mucks things up?
How does the impossible thing relate to your antagonist?
If it’s powerful, an antagonist surely wants it. Or maybe it’s something that was simply theirs, and they want it back. In any event, wonderous, impossible things should only be included if they have meaning to characters and the story world. They shouldn’t just be flavor text or props.
To transport audiences to carefully built worlds populated with rich characters and potential conflicts, fly on over to Part 4 where we peer into the wondrous world of fantasy. How do you get to the fantastic? Portals, intrusions, and immersions (see Chapter 14). How the @!#$! do you create a magic system? Think in terms of rules and costs (go to Chapter 15). Those fantasy worlds are intimidating, so how do you create a good one? The key is to think of what makes a story-rich world (refer to Chapter 16). What about those wild monsters and creatures they have? We cover those brutes in Chapter 17.
Imagining fearful worlds — Horror
Horror stories offer audiences terrifying worlds. Sometimes the scary stuff in a horror story could indeed happen (serial killers, plagues, cults, and ruthless corporations), whereas in some horror stories, it couldn’t (demons, ghosts, zombies, and witches). Regardless of the pathway to terror a writer chooses, a quality horror story will make audiences quake with fear and plead to keep the lights on at night. Just in case.
Here are some questions to get you thinking about a prevalent horror story type — the discovery plot:
What’s the mystery that launches the story?
The key discovery of this mystery (a missing child? a murder? a stolen artifact?) launches the characters into a larger story where they need to confront and survive a horrible truth they’ve uncovered.
How does the mystery connect to your character’s core want?
An easy way to do this is to make it personal — the missing child is their niece. Or the murder happened on their property. Or the artifact is their family heirloom. Regardless of your specific choices, the character should only be able to ignore it at great personal cost.
How do clues and discoveries create a sense of dread?
The deeper your characters go into the story, the more foreboding and menace they should encounter. Really amp up the fear. Audiences know the protagonists have no choice but to plunge ahead (thanks to that core want driving them along).
What terrible thing happens?
It’s a horror story, after all, so audiences expect something terrible. A death cult wreaks havoc on a seaside community. A demon is summoned from beneath the museum of antiquities. What do your characters do in response?
To find out more about crafting hair-raising stories, we dare you to step into Part 5 that introduces you to the world of horror. We start with core audience reactions — dread, fear, and terror (see Chapter 18). We then focus on the emotional sources of fear, which includes a look at the cathartic effect of being scared (refer to Chapter 19). We face menacing monsters and equally menacing human horrors (head to Chapter 20). We investigate the many environments where unsuspecting folks may encounter horror, from haunted houses to vampire lairs to abandoned moon colonies to Himalayan mountain caves to the weird house three down from yours in Chapter 21.
Creating Characters
What people tend to remember most about stories are the characters they love. Chapter 2 reveals all you need to know to create characters worthy of great stories. Minor spoiler: Characters need to have a goal they’re willing to work hard for, and they need to be flawed. No one’s that interested in reading about perfect people who’ve got their act together.
What audiences want is to follow along with a character who’s relatable and who’s doing things that matter. They want engaging characters they can hope and fear for all the way to the end. That only happens when characters are interesting. Chapter 2 also offers advice on picking the best point of view, using telling details, and crafting strong dialogue. It’s a one-stop shop for all your character-making needs.
Great characters need great conflicts. And conflicts are the engine of story — making those is what Chapter 3 is all about. We examine the DNA of story conflict, showcase effective pre-existing story structures, and make an argument for the importance of character arcs. We also share our best tips for pacing, explain the various types of scenes, and look at beginnings, middles, and ends (and how to create them, of course).
Pursuing Writerly Success
We want more for you than just helping you become far more knowledgeable about sci-fi, fantasy, and horror. That’s worthwhile, of course, but to be a successful writer means you regularly do things that professional writers do. That’s where Part 6 of this book comes into play.
These sections give you an overview of what you can do to be a better writer.
Revising your words
No one’s perfect, and you shouldn’t have that level of expectation for yourself on a first or even an early draft. But when it’s time to get those words under control, we recommend that you do the following:
Read your work aloud.
Whether you’re doing the reading or someone else is, your ears will catch things your eyes somehow miss.
Take notes.
When rereading your work, make a to-do list of things to work on later versus fixing issues as you find them. Trying to fix it all as you go is too overwhelming.
Track themes.
Use highlighters, sticky notes, or a color-coded spreadsheet to keep track of your themes. Do they really say what you intended to? Are there places for them to be elevated and enhanced?
Revisit characterization.
Make sure that every character is consistent and believable. Are the descriptions effective? Do they have their own way of speaking, acting, and thinking?
Know when to stop revising.
There’s a point where you’ve done all you can, and further work isn’t making things better — just different.
Chapter 22 shows you how to revise and edit like a pro. Doing that is a must if you want your work to be published or presented to an audience. We discuss revision plans, revising for theme, editing your scenes, sentences, and words, and much more.
Turning to pros for help
Although doing everything on your own may seem important or even glamorous, that’s not how most stories are made. Writers are definitely expected to do a lot, yes, but they should know when it’s appropriate to bring in outside help.
Here are just some of the types of pros they turn to for expert guidance and input:
Developmental editor:
These story gurus specialize in improving the structure and content of your story. They also have marketplace insight and use that to ensure you’re able to make the best story possible.
Proofreader:
These folks go way beyond your software’s spellcheck features and ensure your writing is free of typographical, grammatical, spelling, syntax, and formatting errors.
Sensitivity reader:
If you’re writing about members of any marginalized group, a sensitivity reader can scrutinize your story for insensitive, incorrect, offensive, or out-of-date portrayals. Even if you’re a member of that group, a fresh perspective can still be quite useful.
Subject-area experts:
These people do and know things few others can appreciate … until you need that information for a story. Think NASA astrobiologists, forensic anthropologists, and prosthetists.
University researchers:
Even though these experts may not be in the field, they know as much — or more! — than those doing so. And they love to talk about what they’re researching, teaching, and writing about.
Getting quality outside assistance and guidance is often invaluable in helping you get your work to its highest level. Turn to Chapter 23 for more details.
Focusing on the three Ps
The three Ps are important parts of your writing journey. In no particular order, they are as follows:
Pitching:
A
pitch
is the bite-sized, most compelling version of your story in verbal or written form. It’s often called an
elevator pitch
because you should be able to deliver it in 30 seconds or less (about the duration of a normal elevator ride).
Publication:
This is your goal with writing stories, whether publication is book form, live performance, audio production, or any of the other main delivery options to get your work before audiences.
Promotion:
Selling yourself as a writer and your work as worthwhile is a skill all on its own. Those who develop this gift really reap the rewards.
Chapter 24 explains the three Ps in much greater detail. We’re really getting into industry stuff here, which is something you don’t need to worry about much until you’ve got a complete draft of a manuscript that you’re extremely proud of, and you want to get it out in the world. Until then, agents and publishing house editors aren’t something in which you should invest much time.
Setting the right goals for you
Your success as a writer is going to be different than that of another writer. You may share a few common goals with others, but some specific goals are uniquely theirs. Set your own goals and figure out what you want to do with your stories. To help get a handle on your relationship with writing, consider the following questions:
Why do you want to write?
What can you write that nobody else can?
What type of writing do you find most rewarding?
Does it matter who — or how many people — connect with your writing?
Is writing a hobby, a part-time thing, or something you want to do as a full-time career?
If people read your stories, does it matter if your writing makes money?
One mistake we see students and early-career writers make is solely thinking about big picture success, like writing a blockbuster movie, penning a bestselling book, or creating the next Netflix hit series. We hope those outcomes are in your future, but for most, they’re still a long way off. If that’s your benchmark of success, you may feel like a failure because you may feel as if you’re making little to no progress because the target remains so far away.
Instead, we suggest you create a series of goals that are organized by the amount of time and energy they require, such as:
Short-term goals:
Finish reading this book. Practice 30 minutes of morning journaling for a week. Come up with five story ideas. Select one idea and create an outline for the entire story. For five days straight, write 300 words of that story each day.
Medium-term goals:
Revise, deepen, and enhance the story outline. Write 300 words of that story each day for a month. Repeat for the next month. And the next. And then the next one after that.
Long-term goals:
Complete the entire first draft. Enlist two smart readers to give thoughtful feedback on your story. Revise the story draft in response to their comments, with the goal of cutting 10 percent of the total word count.
Having a series of measurable goals like these — that you celebrate when you achieve! — helps you avoid burnout, create accountability, and track your progress. Add in your own motivation and passion, and you should be well on your way toward making writing stories a meaningful part of your life, whatever that looks like.
THREE TYPES OF SUCCESSFUL STORIES
The incredibly prolific children’s author Jane Yolen — who also writes a lot of science fiction and fantasy stories — talks about the three different types of books she writes:
Head books: She creatively chews on a problem or idea that interests her.Heart books: She engages with something she’s deeply passionate about.Pocket books: These are books she knows will be highly commercial.If you wrote a head story but made little or no money on it, would that be okay? What if a heart story also brought you little or no money? Is there a way for you to write a head or heart story and have it be a pocket story?
The only good answers are the honest ones you tell yourself. Make sure you create a bull’s-eye that’s right for you as a writer. Then keep it in sight as you work on your craft and write the best stories you can. If your goals ever change, that’s fine. Adjust as needed, and then keep writing. It’s also smart to review your goals at least twice a year, if not more.
There are many ways to be successful, and we want you to pursue the ones that make sense for you and you alone. That’s the correct route to take.
When creating goals, think about the acronym SMART: Each goal should be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely. Do that, and you’re well on your way of generating ideas, writing stories, and hitting deadlines.
Making the Most of This Book
We spent a lot of time contemplating how to ensure this book is useful from the first to the final page. Our goal was to create a fluff-less writing how-to book. We think this is it.
One way to engage with this book is to read it cover to cover, from start to finish. We’d be more than pleased if you did exactly that. There’s a lot packed into here that can help new, intermediate, and advanced writers. In one big bite or many smaller meals, devour it all if you will.
But we also realize you may wish to focus on certain things first. That’s a fine option, as well. Feel free to review the table of contents and plunge into the parts you need on a case-by-case basis.
You can also mix and match parts of this book to tailor-make a learning situation to suit a specific goal. For example, if you want to write your own urban fantasy (a story where supernatural/magical elements occur in a real-world city setting), you can build a reading list like this:
Chapter
2
:
How do you create a main character who goes where she shouldn’t and engages in activities others quite reasonably avoid? Give her a powerful reason to seek an audience with a fairy criminal underboss.
Chapter
7
:
What’s the best way to show how dangerous these fairies are? Put them in some kind of violent altercation so the main character — and the audience — can witness it and say, “Wow, those fairies are bad*ss!”
Chapter
10
:
What type of society do the fairies have? Let the interpersonal dynamic options of a spaceship’s crew offer suggestions for how fairies might interact in close quarters with each other as they stay out of sight of normal humans.
Chapter
16
:
How does fairy magic work in a modern world? For a story where magic is quite rare, develop a magic system that has dramatic, interesting costs that justifies why magic isn’t more prevalent.
Chapter
20
:
How can the fairy court be as unnerving as possible? Let them personify and fully embody a societal flaw.
If you’re more inclined to try your hand at creating an untraditional haunted house story, such as an abandoned spaceship recently discovered in orbit around the third moon of Saturn, the following is an ideal reading agenda:
Chapter
2
:
No one travels way out in space alone, so who should accompany the main character? Provide companions to support, protect, and serve as confidantes as things get weird way out there in space.
Chapter
6
:
How can the derelict ship itself be uniquely interesting? Make it like every other spaceship that audiences know of, yet change one big thing that fits the mood and themes of this story.
Chapter
10
:
In what way can the ship be inhospitable and unwelcoming? Take away the comforts most ships offer, such as artificial gravity and a functioning life support system.
Chapter
17
:
What role might the monsters — whatever they are — play on this abandoned ship? The monsters may serve as obstacles to answering the larger more deadly question of what happened to the crew.
Chapter
21
:
How may the ship itself be a fear-generating environment? Use shifting structures to keep the main character (and whomever is still alive at this point) unsettled.
Our intention is for this book to have what you need for you to write great sci-fi, fantasy, and horror stories. Taken as a whole, the book is a comprehensive take on exactly that, but the individual parts are versatile and can work together to troubleshoot a specific problem or create a particular type of story or story effect.
Chapter 2
Creating Characters
IN THIS CHAPTER
Allowing desire to drive the story
Casting the right characters for the job
Making point of view matter
Crafting a character detail by detail
Cooking up red-hot dialogue
If you think about your favorite movies and books, chances are that although you may be fuzzy on some of the specific details about what happened, the main characters remain crystal clear. That’s not a surprise. Characters are what make stories linger in your head because audiences connect with them. They worry about them. They root for them. They imagine what it’s like to live in their shoes … or space boots … or winged sandals!
Compelling characters are the reason people reread books and rewatch movies. Audiences want to spend more time with characters they’ve come to care about. Those audiences don’t believe or care about? There’s simply no need to revisit their lives.
On the one hand, audiences know that fiction is a form of make-believe. As much as they may wish it to be otherwise, the heroes from a beloved space opera or fantasy epic aren’t real. But on the other hand, audiences enter a new story like people on a first date. They’re hopeful. They’re eager. They want to make a meaningful connection.
As a writer, your goal is to make that literary love happen by creating characters who are worthy of your audience’s time and attention. This chapter gives you the basics on how to do exactly that.
Characters are meant to look, feel, act, talk, and even smell real. That means you can do a lot of firsthand research all on your own by carefully paying attention to your own life and the lives of those around you. Pro writers do this all time. Jot down things you notice and consider incorporating some of those real-world details to make your characters appear more believable.
Focusing on Your Characters’ Wants
Human beings want things: A pair of shoes. A college degree in marketing. A chance to meet their birth mother. To be the first person to step foot on Mars. To win a reality TV contest.
Some desires are far less important to a story than others. Getting hold of a new spiked club, for example, doesn’t mean much to a barroom brawler who already has an entire arsenal in the attic above the bar that they call home. But for a homeless elf who dreams of finding a way to stop the town bullies from stealing his food?
In the first case, no one cares that much whether that brawler gets their 20th lethal weapon or not. Honestly, the brawler likely doesn’t care much either. But that poor elf is yearning for something meaningful. Getting a sword so he can finally defend himself might mean the difference between survival and starvation.
After you know what your characters really want, figuring out how they’re going to respond to story events is much easier. The following sections on goals, needs, and desires reveal a lot about your character’s key wants.
People are complex; they often have conflicting desires that battle within themselves. For example, an undead hunter’s No. 1 guiding principle may be to slay vampires. In certain cases, though — perhaps as this character develops and grows throughout the course of a story — she may be in situation where saving the life of the innkeeper’s shrewish wife is more important than ramming a stake through the cold, black heart of a fanged monster that’s been decimating the town’s vital sheep population.
Give your characters room to experience inner turmoil. Put them in a tough spot and see how they reveal their true inner character. Situations and context can also have a profound effect on what a character ultimately chooses to do, as well.
Here’s another fun wrinkle related to desire. What a character wants doesn’t always make them happy. Sometimes people want something that’s downright bad for them, like another drink or more dark magic. Consider how that idea manifests in real life, and then see how much mileage you can get out of this concept in your story. Another way of saying this is that old chestnut: “Beware what you wish for — you just might get it!”
Looking outside — External goals
The most obvious kind of story desire is purely external. External goals are things your character want from the world. These are popular choices for writers to include because it’s just so clear to audiences what the prize is and how close the character is — or isn’t! — to getting it.
External goals should be clear and specific. They should have intrinsic value, too, even if it’s only valuable to the main character, like one’s sentimentality for a broken shotgun given to them by their grandfather. Getting that back may be as important to this specific character as stopping the zombie apocalypse, or nearly so.
Here are a few examples of external goals:
I want to retrieve the Sword of Zyzzyz from the goblin king’s hoard.
I want to earn enough space bucks to buy a C-581 deep-space mining ship.
I want to stop the zombie apocalypse plaguing Ecuador.
Reflecting inward — Internal needs
Internal needs may well be less obvious than external ones, but that doesn’t mean they don’t matter. Internal needs are basically a character’s hopes, dreams, and fears. They may be less tangible than outdueling a former teacher or a pilfering from a lich’s treasure mound, but they can be extremely potent motivators that push your character into action.
To give characters depth, make sure they have one or more external and internal goals. This prevents them from being too one-note, which helps keep your audience engaged. No one likes boring, obvious people.
Consider these examples:
What might a fallen priest do in order to reclaim their once-sterling reputation?
How far will a swordswoman go to prove her worth in her disapproving adventurer boyfriend’s eyes?
Looking a bit deeper — Hidden desires
Even though a character has external goals that are clear to the audience and internal needs that are perhaps less overt, many of the most interesting characters have a desire or drive that’s hidden to everyone, including themselves. Hidden desires are the type of things most characters wouldn’t know about themselves without $20,000 of therapy … or a story like yours to force them to these key realizations.
For example, perhaps a tough childhood left the city’s exorcist with a terrible sense of self-worth. The little voice in her head constantly whispers, “You’re not good enough, you’ll never be good enough.” So, she dates losers and drinks to excess no matter how much she insists to the few people left in her life that she truly just wants to be happy.
That poor exorcist can’t figure out what their problem is. She likely blames others or bad luck. Yet the truth is buried behind layers of psychological angst, denial, and misdirection. But the story happenings will reveal it to them, often in or around the story’s climax. Chapter 3 on plot gives you what you need to make your story’s climax memorable.
Introducing the Cast of Characters
With characters in stories, your audience gets to know some far more intimately than others, and that’s okay. In fact, that’s almost always the best way to go. By design, not all characters are created equal.
The word “create” is key here. You’re not ordering them out of some wholesale writer catalogue or using a mystic summoning circle to whisk them from the Land of 10,000 Dreams. You’re building them, top to bottom, through a series of creative choices that you’re deliberately making.
Tailor-making them to be exactly who you need for the story you want to tell only makes sense. Think about major conflicts and scenes in your story, and, if you know them, the climax and story ending. What type of character is required to make those story moments work? Well, that’s who you should create. Don’t settle for anything else, no matter how cool or interesting those others seem. Save them for another story — or a different story role — best suited for them.
You may not know enough plot details yet to engineer the perfect character. That’s okay. Until the story is published, it’s a work in progress. Let the revision process — we cover it in Chapter 22 — help you revise your character to ensure they’re the right person for the job.
In the following sections we explore the key character roles in stories, including the seemingly less-vital ones that often elevate a story from the mundane into something truly special.
Leading the way — Protagonists
Whether you call them the leads, heroes, main characters, principals, central figures, or protagonists, they’re pretty much same thing — they’re the stars of your story. The story revolves around them. It’s their actions that drive the plot forward. Just like how some real-world celebrities feel the world revolves around them, the world of the story does revolve to a large extent around your protagonist.
The idea of a true hero doesn’t feel believable today in the same way that it did decades or centuries ago. One manifestation of this is how so many of today’s superhero stories feature gritty, flawed figures who are markedly different than the larger-than-life, shiny, perfect superheroes of the past. That’s not necessarily a bad thing — it certainly makes the character more fleshed out!
Here we examine what makes a protagonist really work on the page.
Sharing what makes your protagonist tick
Because audiences spend more time with your main characters than any other person in the story, audiences need to connect with them at the highest level. Plenty of writers believe that audiences get to know protagonists even better than they know their dearest friends.
