Science Fiction Writer's Workshop-I: An Introduction to Fiction Mechanics

This is the best guide for beginning writers-and some professionals, for that matter-that I have ever seen. I have most of the well-known books, but this one works the best. It teaches the mechanics of good story construction through explanation, example, and exercises for the reader. For example, in one chapter the reader is challenged to create "backfill" using a variety of different methods. In several places, the reader must evaluate a flawed story opening, or whatever, and figure out what is wrong with it (yes, answers are provided). In another place, the aspiring writer has to "diagram the schematic of a complete story situation", quote unquote. There are many more examples I could give you, of many different types. Suffice it to say that this 150 page book will kick-start you to a higher level of technical competence. Buy it now.

Joel (_Guardians of the Flame_ series) Rosenberg turned me on to this book. In the afterword to his _Emile and the Dutchman,_ he said that anybody aspiring to write SF/fantasy should "either get a copy...or cop to not being serious." To put it into plain English, this is simply the best book available for would-be writers. Although a lot of the information is specifically aimed at SF/fantasy writers, the exercises presented would do a lot for anybody at all who seriously wants to write fiction. Longyear gives examples of what he's talking about that anybody can understand, and explains the whys and wherefores of fiction writing with uttermost clarity. There are other books for would-be SF/fantasy writers on the market, but this one is, in my own view, the very best. It would serve admirably well as a text for a "creative writing" course, or as such a course in and of itself