The Complete Guide to Writing Science Fiction
Volume I – First Contact

by David A. Law and Darin Park

This helpful writers’ guide won’t teach non-writers how to write or sci-fi novices how to produce outstanding science fiction stories. Instead, The Complete Guide to Writing Science Fiction is intended to instruct writers of all levels who already enjoy writing/reading/watching science fiction how to craft exciting, original stories from start to finish that will satisfy their readers. The book is divided into five parts: defining the genre, building worlds, crafting stories, specializing for targeted readership, and the final section, publishing and beyond.

One of the book’s chapters is titled, “Science First, Fiction Second: That’s Science Fiction.” This seems to be a working premise throughout the book, as the authors remind us that sci-fi readers are intelligent, detail-oriented folks who feel cheated when science fiction is based on inaccurate assumptions or faulty scientific research. Getting the initial facts right before extrapolating is essential to building a new sci-fi world that readers will appreciate time and time again.

An impressive list of authors (in addition to the two editors/authors) contributed to this collection: Jeanne Allen, Bob Nailor, Kim Richards, Wil McCarthy, Michael McRae, Milena Benini, Tina Morgan, Orson Scott Card, Bud Sparhawk, Carol Hightshoe, Simon Rose, Michele Acker, Ian Irvine, and Piers Anthony. Sections and chapters vary greatly in terms of size, and cover nearly every aspect of science fiction imaginable, with a slight emphasis on all things outer space.

Although the book covers a broad area for a variety of different styles and subjects, four chapters in particular stand out as especially useful for all serious writers hoping to enter this field: Richards’s “World Building,” Anthony’s “The Writing Life,” and two chapters by Benini, “Attack of the Monster Plot: Ideas, Settings, and Plots” and “I Don’t Know That Bug-Eyed Monster From Adam: Cliches in SF.” All aspiring and newly-established science fiction writers should read The Complete Guide to Writing Science Fiction before sending out their manuscripts.