Writing Sci-Fi, Fantasy, & Horror for Dummies - by Rick Dakan & Ryan G Van Cleave (Paperback)

About the Book

"Aspiring writers of science fiction, fantasy, and horror look no further in your quest for a guide to help you transport your audience to faraway lands or alternate timelines. As you envision distant futures and write about new worlds, this handy guide is here to help you improve your technique. You'll find out how to see your work through the eyes of your audience (is that a magic power or a horror plotline?), so you can perfect your characters, build mystery, create conflict and resolution, write realistic space battles--and, of course, get published! Turn your wildest imaginings into captivating prose"--Back cover.

Book Synopsis

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.

From the Back Cover

Enthrall audiences with wondrous stories

Aspiring writers of science fiction, fantasy, and horror look no further in your quest for a guide to help you transport your audience to faraway lands or alternate timelines. As you envision distant futures and write about new worlds, this handy guide is here to help you improve your technique. You'll find out how to see your work through the eyes of your audience (is that a magic power or a horror plotline?), so you can perfect your characters, build mystery, create conflict and resolution, write realistic space battles--and, of course, get published! Turn your wildest imaginings into captivating prose.

Inside...

• Master the basics of plot, character, and setting
• Build believable worlds
• Put the science in sci-fi
• Conjure a mighty magic
• Write hair-raising horror
• Edit and polish your work
• Find a path to publication

About the Author

Rick Dakan and Ryan G. Van Cleave, PhD are professors at the prestigious Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida, where they teach such courses as Writing Science Fiction, Writing for Video Games, and Writing for Shared Worlds. Both of them have ended a D&D campaign with a single well-placed fireball.