Comments on: 5 Books on Writing and Science Fiction That Made Me a Better Writer

By: Sicklinks

Sicklinks — Thu, 14 May 2009 01:30:41 +0000

[…] Tolbert shares the five books that made him a better science fiction writer. Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and […]

By: Grant Stone

Grant Stone — Sun, 10 May 2009 09:05:27 +0000

Second King’s On Writing. Great stuff. Don’t bother with Norman Mailer’s The Spooky art though.

Interesting that you rate McKee so highly. I’ve had it sitting on my bookshelf for years, but I’ve been put off reading it from people in film circles. But based on your recommendation I’ll start reading it this week.

By: The Great Geek Manual » Geek Media Round-Up: May 4, 2009

The Great Geek Manual » Geek Media Round-Up: May 4, 2009 — Tue, 05 May 2009 01:19:00 +0000

[…] Jeremiah Tolbert shares 5 Books on Writing and Science Fiction That Made Me a Better Writer. […]

By: Mike Brotherton

Mike Brotherton — Mon, 04 May 2009 09:30:51 +0000

Those are all good books, and I’ll second the recommendations of those and of Nancy Kress’s writing books, too.

By: Sharon E. Dreyer

Sharon E. Dreyer — Sat, 02 May 2009 18:34:35 +0000

You gotta have plot! Lots and lots of plots! Couldn’t resist that — my apologies! The plot needs to be well thought out and the characters must be well-defined, but not the determent of the story. The one tidbit of advice I’ve heard in more than once is that “if it doesn’t move the story forward, delete it!”

By: Jeremiah Tolbert

Jeremiah Tolbert — Sat, 02 May 2009 13:47:38 +0000

Congrats on your publication, David.

UM, I can’t recommend the McKee enough. I will have to check out King’s book now with all of these sterling recommendations.

By: Unfocused Me

Unfocused Me — Sat, 02 May 2009 13:34:22 +0000

Thanks for the recommendations. I haven’t read any of these yet, and I think I’ll start with the Knight and the McKee. FWIW, I agree that King’s On Writing is an excellent resource.

By: David Scholes

David Scholes — Sat, 02 May 2009 12:46:25 +0000

I’ve read three of the five and the other two look like mandatory reading.

I’ve recently been published in the US with my first science fiction book — the link is:

http://www.StrategicBookPublishing.com/ScienceFictionandAlternateHistory.html

However, and I’m no youngsterm I admit I still have a lot to learn.

Cheers

David Scholes

By: Jeremiah Tolbert

Jeremiah Tolbert — Fri, 01 May 2009 22:17:16 +0000

You know, I bet my wife has that book! I’m going to ask her when she gets home. She’s an actress and has loads of books on the subject.

By: Tom Crosshill

Tom Crosshill — Fri, 01 May 2009 22:01:47 +0000

Great list; I’ve only read 2 of the 5, and I’ll keep my eye out for the others.

One book that I’ve found to be absolutely astounding is “Audition” by Michael Shurtleff. It’s ostensibly about acting, but really it’s about building character, building scenes and building stories. As with McKee’s book, every read brings across another lesson.