The fantasy fiction formula

The fantasy fiction formula PDF Author: Deborah Chester
Publisher: Manchester University Press
ISBN: 178499605X
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 314

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Book Description
There's more to writing a successful fantasy story than building a unique world or inventing new magic. How exactly is a plot put together? How do you know if your idea will support an entire novel? How do you grab reader attention and keep it? How do you create dynamic, multi-dimensional characters? What is viewpoint and do you handle it differently in urban fantasy than in traditional epics? What should you do if you're lost in the middle? How do you make your plot end up where you intend it to go? From the writing of strong, action-packed scenes to the handling of emotions, let award-winning fantasy author Deborah Chester guide you through the process of putting a book together. Convinced there's no need to shroud the writing process under a veil of mystery, Chester supplies tips that are both practical and proven. They are exactly what she uses in writing her own novels and what she teaches in her writing courses at the University of Oklahoma. Along with explaining story construction step-by-step, Chester illustrates each technique with examples drawn from both traditional and urban fantasy. The technique chapters include exercises to assist novices in mastering the craft of writing fantasy as well as suggestions for avoiding or solving plot problems. More experienced writers will find tips for taking their work to the next level. With an introduction by author Jim Butcher, The fantasy fiction formula provides the information you need to gain skill and proficiency in writing fantasy like a pro.

The fantasy fiction formula

The fantasy fiction formula PDF Author: Deborah Chester
Publisher: Manchester University Press
ISBN: 178499605X
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 314

Get Book

Book Description
There's more to writing a successful fantasy story than building a unique world or inventing new magic. How exactly is a plot put together? How do you know if your idea will support an entire novel? How do you grab reader attention and keep it? How do you create dynamic, multi-dimensional characters? What is viewpoint and do you handle it differently in urban fantasy than in traditional epics? What should you do if you're lost in the middle? How do you make your plot end up where you intend it to go? From the writing of strong, action-packed scenes to the handling of emotions, let award-winning fantasy author Deborah Chester guide you through the process of putting a book together. Convinced there's no need to shroud the writing process under a veil of mystery, Chester supplies tips that are both practical and proven. They are exactly what she uses in writing her own novels and what she teaches in her writing courses at the University of Oklahoma. Along with explaining story construction step-by-step, Chester illustrates each technique with examples drawn from both traditional and urban fantasy. The technique chapters include exercises to assist novices in mastering the craft of writing fantasy as well as suggestions for avoiding or solving plot problems. More experienced writers will find tips for taking their work to the next level. With an introduction by author Jim Butcher, The fantasy fiction formula provides the information you need to gain skill and proficiency in writing fantasy like a pro.

The Fiction Formula

The Fiction Formula PDF Author: Johnny Truant
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781673030198
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 416

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Book Description
All you need to know to be a full-time storyteller is in these pages. Johnny Truant and Sean M. Platt -- owners of the Sterling & Stone Story Studio and authors of the how-to-publish cornerstone Write. Publish. Repeat. -- have spent the last eight years learning the ins and outs of professional storytelling. Between just the two of them, they've written 100 books. The studio as a whole, in 2020 alone, will publish nearly 200 more. To write and publish that much quality, reader-pleasing fiction, you can't just wing it. You need a formula to keep things streamlined and on-target. With a formula, you can be sure you're writing books that will sell. That you're enjoying writing them, and are doing so without writer's block. When you use the fiction formula, your success becomes predictable -- not a matter of luck. In their 2014 bestseller Write. Publish. Repeat. Platt & Truant showed a generation of indies the path to self-publishing success. In this long-awaited follow-up, they'll show you what they've learned since, plus all the fiction-specific stuff they didn't include the first time around: You'll learn: How to choose a genre that's commercial AND fulfilling The Sterling & Stone planning process that helps you write better books, faster. The complete start to finish path from idea to fully launched books and series Creating an author business that can withstand marketplace changes and last for years to come. The Fiction Formula will help you build a thriving indie publishing career no matter what type of writer you are ... so long as you're willing to do the work. If that's you, welcome aboard! The Formula could be your next step toward the author life you've only dreamed of before.

The Guide to Writing Fantasy and Science Fiction

The Guide to Writing Fantasy and Science Fiction PDF Author: Philip Athans
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1440507295
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 239

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Book Description
Science fiction and fantasy is one of the most challenging--and rewarding!--genres in the bookstore. But with New York Times bestselling author Philip Athans and fantasy giant R. A. Salvatore at your side, you’ll create worlds that draw your readers in--and keep them reading! Just as important, you’ll learn how to prepare your work for today’s market. Drawing on his years of experience as one of the most acclaimed professionals in publishing, Wizards of the Coast editor Athans explains how to set your novel apart--and break into this lucrative field. From devising clever plots and building complex characters to inventing original technologies and crafting alien civilizations, Athans gives you the techniques you need to write strong, saleable narratives. Plus! Athans applies all of these critical lessons together in an unprecedented deconstruction of a never-before-published tale by the one and only R. A. Salvatore! There are books on writing science fiction and fantasy, and then there’s this book--the only one you need to create strange, wonderful worlds for your own universe of readers!

Writing Fantasy & Science Fiction

Writing Fantasy & Science Fiction PDF Author: Orson Scott Card
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1599631407
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 418

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Book Description
Do you envision celestial cities in distant, fantastic worlds? Do you dream of mythical beasts and gallant quests in exotic kingdoms? If you have ever wanted to write the next great fantasy or science fiction story, this all-in-one comprehensive book will show you how. Writing Fantasy & Science Fiction is full of advice from master authors offering definitive instructions on world building, character creation, and storytelling in the many styles and possibilities available to writers of speculative fiction. Combining two Writer's Digest classics, Orson Scott Card's How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy and The Writer's Complete Fantasy Reference, along with two new selections from award-winning science fiction and fantasy authors Philip Athans and Jay Lake, this new book provides the best of all worlds. You'll discover: • How to build, populate, and dramatize fantastic new worlds. • How to develop dynamic and meaningful themes that will expand the cannon of sci-fi and fantasy storytelling. • Exciting subgenres such as steampunk, as well as new developments in the sci-fi and fantasy genres. • How to imbue your tales with historically accurate information about world cultures, legends, folklore, and religions. • Detailed descriptions of magic rituals, fantastic weapons of war, clothing and armor, and otherworldly beasts such as orcs, giants, elves, and more. • How societies, villages, and castles were constructed and operate on a day-to-day basis. • Astounding methods of interstellar travel, the rules of starflight, and the realities and myths of scientific exploration. • How to generate new ideas and graft them to the most popular themes and plot devices in sci-fi and fantasy writing. The boundaries of your imagination are infinite, but to create credible and thrilling fiction, you must ground your stories in rules, facts, and accurate ideas. Writing Fantasy & Science Fiction will guide you through the complex and compelling universe of fantasy and science fiction writing and help you unleash your stories on the next generation of readers and fans.

Writing Sci-Fi, Fantasy, & Horror For Dummies

Writing Sci-Fi, Fantasy, & Horror For Dummies PDF Author: Rick Dakan
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1119839092
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 436

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Book Description
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.

Science-Fiction Handbook

Science-Fiction Handbook PDF Author: L. Sprague deCamp
Publisher: Hachette UK
ISBN: 0575103612
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
Copy from the 1975 Owlswick Press print edition: L. Sprague de Camp's original Science-Fiction Handbook, published in 1953 and long out of print, has been favourably remembered by a whole generation of science fiction readers and aspiring writers. Over the years, at convention after convention, fans have urged its reissue. Teachers of courses on imaginative fiction have begged for the book; one planned to reproduce the manual for his creative writing course until he learned that the material was under copyright Because of this enduring interest, the present book came into being. Completely rewritten by de Camp and his wife Catherine, Science Fiction Handbook, Revised serves two purposes. It introduces the general reader to the fascinating field of imaginative fiction. The first two chapters describe the growth of science fiction from Aristophanes to Asimov and give the history of its parent literature, fantasy, which is as old as cavemen and as young as tomorrow. The rest of the book affords the apprentice writer an overview of the pleasures and problems of writing imaginative fiction an teachers him the many and varied skills such writing requires. There are chapters on setting the scene, plotting the story and writing dialogue. Other chapters are devoted to showing the creative writer how to sore his literary works, keep records for tax purposes, market a story, deal with editors and agents, read the fine print in contracts and bargain with publishers. Finally, there are helpful hints for the successful writer about relating to his community, handling publicity and melding the needs of the creative artists with those of a successful human being and family member. In short, here is a wealth of information on the techniques of writing fiction. Here, too, is the wisdom distilled by the de Camps in the course of their long writing careers. And, for those who have no desire to write, here is a chance to see what the writer's world is really like and to learn something about the remarkable literature that we call science fiction and fantasy.

American Nightmares

American Nightmares PDF Author: Dale Bailey
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Pres
ISBN: 029926873X
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 157

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Book Description
When Edgar Allan Poe set down the tale of the accursed House of Usher in 1839, he also laid the foundation for a literary tradition that has assumed a lasting role in American culture. “The House of Usher” and its literary progeny have not lacked for tenants in the century and a half since: writers from Nathaniel Hawthorne to Stephen King have taken rooms in the haunted houses of American fiction. Dale Bailey traces the haunted house tale from its origins in English gothic fiction to the paperback potboilers of the present, highlighting the unique significance of the house in the domestic, economic, and social ideologies of our nation. The author concludes that the haunted house has become a powerful and profoundly subversive symbol of everything that has gone nightmarishly awry in the American Dream.

Adventure, Mystery, and Romance

Adventure, Mystery, and Romance PDF Author: John G. Cawelti
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022614870X
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 344

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Book Description
In this first general theory for the analysis of popular literary formulas, John G. Cawelti reveals the artistry that underlies the best in formulaic literature. Cawelti discusses such seemingly diverse works as Mario Puzo's The Godfather, Dorothy Sayers's The Nine Tailors, and Owen Wister's The Virginian in the light of his hypotheses about the cultural function of formula literature. He describes the most important artistic characteristics of popular formula stories and the differences between this literature and that commonly labeled "high" or "serious" literature. He also defines the archetypal patterns of adventure, mystery, romance, melodrama, and fantasy, and offers a tentative account of their basis in human psychology.

The Sword

The Sword PDF Author: Deborah Chester
Publisher: Ace
ISBN: 9780441007028
Category : Fantasy fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
In this first book of a new romantic fantasy trilogy, the great king watches and waits. He sees the half-elven boy Dain earn his place at the court of the Crown Prince Gavril. He sees the girl Alexeika rally the followers of her father when the old rebel leader dies on the battlefield. He sees the evil drawing near his kingdom. And he knows that only Dain and Alexeika can fulfill the prophecy to save the land.

The Never Hero

The Never Hero PDF Author: T. Ellery Hodges
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780990774600
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
What if when you died, no one would ever know you were all that stood between man and the enemy?When Jonathan Tibbs awakes in a puddle of his own blood, there isn't a scratch on him to explain it. In the weeks to follow, he comes to find he's been drafted for a war with a violent otherworldly species. A war that only he can remember. Now, the man Jonathan imagined himself becoming is no longer the man who can endure his future. The first installment in this science fiction action adventure series, The Never Hero is a gritty and honest look at the psychological journey of a man forced to forge himself into a weapon. Abandoned with little guidance, and at the mercy of a bargain struck far outside his reach, Jonathan races to unlock the means to surmount the odds, and understand the mystery behind a conflict raging outside of time and memory.In the end, the real question is what Jonathan is willing to become to save a planet that will never see his sacrifice.