Muy bueno. Me será muy útil.

Reread of this book.

Solid book. The MICE quotient is the big takeaway.

Not a fan of Card in general, but the advice in this is useful, especially if you're starting out writing SF and F.

First of all, despite the title, you can't learn how to write science fiction and fantasy by reading this book. While there are some sections about elements of prose, there is no real basic instruction. What it does instead is explore some facets of what is and is not science fiction and fantasy, and goes through a few though experiments e.g. some different ways that a particular magic system might manifest. The focus here is rather on how to improve your chances of being published as sci-fi or fantasy, as well as the perks and downfalls of accomplishing this.

Second, this book is extremely outdated, so in fact regarding publishing sci-fi and fantasy it is no help at all. The author (Orson Scott Card - heard of him?) acknowledges this at the outset as a likely outcome as time passes since the year of publication (which was pre-internet), being prescient as he is.

I did not read this out of any interest in writing (okay, maybe a slight fever dream, something to try decades from now once I am retired from work), but rather in the hopes of gaining some insight into the history of fantasy publishing. In this, Card delivers. He provides a light but educated overview of the genres, dating back to times before such publishing labels existed, and gives a reasoned critique of modern publishing silos, pointing out both the advantages and limitations. I got a laugh out of his contrast of publishing then-and-now, with the example of James Hilton's Lost Horizon, if it were published today:

"Indeed, he will be pressed to write a whole series, which will be promoted as "The Shangri-la Trilogy" until a fourth book is published, then as "The Shangri-la Saga" until the author is dead."

This perfectly captures my own routine complaint that no one can put out just 'a good book' anymore, they all have be a 'franchise' (in the Fantasy realm, at least).

The book finishes off with advice to writers of any genre, pulled from Card's own literary and life experience and what he seen in other writers. This includes: don't quit your day job just yet, don't get addicted to drugs, put in the work, etc. He gives a lot of advice on making workshops, particularly small group ones, work for you, and goes into some writing training resources that are probably also very outdated but possibly still useful.

Last, the best use of this book overall, is to fans of Orson Scott Card as a man/writer. It is largely autobiographical, so if you are keen to learn about Card's history as a writer and see a little more of him as a person, this is worth a read. But otherwise, it is simultaneously a little help to new/aspiring writer in terms of life advice, while also virtually no help at all regarding actual writing, and while his take on sci-fi/fantasy publishing is interesting and probably accurate, it is also now woefully outdated.

Really helped to frame all the essential areas of a book and how to piece them together to create a place for your readers to dwell in.

Un interesante libro que analiza lo que dice el título, con trucos y reflexiones interesantes de un autor con una carrera ya tocha como es Scott Card. Al final, encontramos unas no menos sustanciosas entrevistas a varios autores y autoras del ámbito nacional e internacional, que complementan e incluso rebaten las propias doctrinas del libro. Para pirados de estas movidas de manuales como yo, especialmente para quienes quieran ahondar en las técnicas de escritura de lo que dice el título.

How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy provides a brief yet informative education on what tools can be utilized to construct compelling speculative fiction.

This book is dedicated specifically to the information writers of speculative fiction need to know: world creation, alien societies, rules of magic, and imagining possible futures (readers who wish to learn about characterization, point of view, plotting, style, or dialogue are referred by the author to his other published works on writing).

Though the book identifies itself as a writing guide for science fiction and fantasy, much of the book is dedicated to exploring science fiction, examining various methods for writing about time travel and space exploration. Nonetheless, this book is a valuable resource for writers of fantasy.

Excellent advice is given in the form of the author's beliefs:

I believe, when it comes to storytelling - and making up maps of imaginary lands is a kid of storytelling - that mistakes are often the beginning of the best ideas.

I firmly believe a good storyteller's education never ends, because to tell stories perfectly you have to know everything about everything. Naturally, none of us actually achieves such complete knowledge - but we should live as if we were trying to do so.

The book closes with a chapter on the business of writing, highlighting the same stark prospects of being published as nearly every writing guidebook does, but the author ends on a positive note and encourages writers to get back to work. [Note: this book was first published in 1990, so some of the information in this chapter is a bit dated.]

Storytelling is important. You really do have an effect on the world, and it matters that you write your tales and have them published.

Un buen libro de autoayuda

Orson Scott Card's fiction is incredible, and Ender's Game is one of the classic scifi novels. Card manages to do a very good job of teaching the craft, with a very specific emphasis on speculative fiction. I wasn't expecting it to be this good, and I'm sure it will be a daily go-to reference.

Want to write scifi or fantasy? Buy this book, study it.

Sparse and outdated in places, by dazzlingly pertinent otherwise.

A good book, but not a great book. Mostly filled with okay advice, some good stories, some very outdated chapters, and a few golden nuggets (MICE in particular is excellent, as is most of Chapter 3: Story Construction). It’s a little clunky to read sometimes, especially when compared to the ultra-silky non-fiction of Stephen King’s On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, but never impossible to read. I would think this book would best be used a reference book on the occasion that you find yourself in a science fiction/fantasy writing conundrum.

Most likely will be most useful to writers who have already spent some time hacking away at a novel. But if you’re a brand new writer, then hold off on this one, and go find a different how-to book to get you started and pumped up. My favorite how-to write book is still, by far, On Writing.

Excellent, practical guide for writers in general, but especially for folks working in the genre. Particularly his stuff on worldbuilding and assumptions about the details of prose.