Exploring the Craft: Reading for better writing

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I am an affiliate for Bookshop.org and Bookshop links are affiliate links. That said, these are books I’ve read and will attest to being genuinely helpful to me.

Can you read your way to better writing through craft books?

I’m a bit of a writing craft junkie. I started collecting books about writing a few decades ago when I was first interested in becoming an author. Natalie Goldberg and John Gardner were my go-tos. But life got in the way, and for several years I wrote little and read less about writing.

Booklife: Strategies and Survival Tips for the 21^st Century Writer

That changed when I picked up Jeff VanderMeer’s Booklife: Strategies and Survival Tips for the 21st Century Writer. Published in 2009, it was quite prescient and covers all the avenues of publishing available today. But it wasn’t the advice on publishing that grabbed me as much as the advice on writing a novel. Much of it was both a kick in the pants and a pep-talk into adopting the mindset of a professional author.

I was concerned much of it might be outdated for 2021. However, reading through it again for this article, most of it still applies. Booklife is not so much a craft book as it is a how-to-manual for being a professional writer. It inspired me like no other book on writing and still does.

Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft

Another book, more craft focused but also covers all aspects of writing fiction, is Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft by Janet Burroway, Elizabeth Stuckey-French, and Ned Stuckey-French. Not only is it comprehensive, but it’s deep. There are real examples taken from all forms of fiction to illustrate the authors’ points. I refer to this book with every book I write, and I always seem to find something new that sticks with me.

The Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction

A terrific book, especially for beginners, is also by Jeff VanderMeer. It’s called The Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction. Aimed at Speculative and Fantasy writers, this is a rich book with explanations, illustrations, essays by prominent writers in the field, and exercises. I recommend the print edition as the illustrations don’t work as well in ebook form. If you are relatively new to the SFF field, this book is a wellspring. Even if you’ve been writing SFF for a while, it’s an outstanding reference book. I know SFF writing workshops that make this book required reading.

Writing the Other: A Practical Approach

My last suggestion this week is a book for any writer, but especially those who are white and cis-gendered. Writing the Other: A Practical Approach [ebook only Amazon link] by Nisi Shawl and Cynthia Ward. It’s the best resource for understanding how to write characters who differ from you without causing harm to those communities, and how to handle yourself if you do.

I understand from Nisi a revised edition will be released soon, but you can’t go wrong with the current edition. The book shares the experiences of both authors, one black and queer, the other white and cis. It answers if you can write identities other than your own, and spoiler: yes you can. There are ways to do it well, and ways to do it poorly. Cynthia and Nisi delve into all of it.

I recommend this for SFF writers because too often we think we’re just making up worlds and don’t need to worry about diverse identities. But nothing could be more mistaken. The worlds we create project our own real-world views intentionally or not. We should be intentional and aware of the roots of the identities we create even in secondary worlds.

My list

I can’t say these are the best books for you, I just know they helped and are still helping me. Find books you can refer to again and again, and those that inspire you. Find one that covers the craft and process of writing from beginning to end. Then find books that cover something you’re weak at. If Dialogue or Description are your weak points, find books specifically on those topics.

I’ve curated a recommended list of books. I own them all so feel free to ask me questions about any of them. I’ll discuss more books and add them to the list as the series continues. Comment below to share your favorite craft books.

In the next installment, I’ll tackle ideas, where to find them and how to develop them into stories. I’ll ask, how weird is too weird?

Kevin Fellows

I’m a poet and author of fantasy and speculative fiction. My debut novel At the End of the World is available now. You can find my poetry in the Star*Line Summer 2020 issue, and at Free Verse Revolution.

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Exploring the Craft: Writing Speculative and Fantasy Fiction

A series on the craft of writing SFF, plus one action we can take right now to make ourselves better writers.

I write a lot of notes. I keep them with me at all times so I can jot things down as they occur and I don’t have to remember them. I also keep a journal for each of my writing projects. For example, in my current novel there is a document, entitled Journal, and I write a summary of what I did today in that project. I also record my thoughts on how it’s going, or not going. Thoughts on structure, characters, or plot. I do a lot of writing about my writing.

So I conceived of this series to share the questions and dilemmas of craft I face as I’m writing. If I’m going to write about it, I might as well share it with other writers.

I mean this series as an exploration of fiction writing craft in general, with specifics to Speculative and Fantasy. It will not be prescriptive but an investigation into the things stories need, that readers need. I’ll explore the ways writers can fulfill those needs.

Immersion

The one need every reader has is immersion. A story truly only works when the reader is, at least for a few moments, immersed. All aspects of craft really come down to how you build immersion. I’ll be looking at tools and techniques we can use to create that experience.

I’ll share what I know and what I’m still learning. I’m no MFA-wielding literary guru. I’m simply a writer trying to tell the best SFF stories I can.

Topics

I don’t know all the places this adventure will take us, but I do know we’ll investigate:

Idea generation
Characterization
Plot
World building
Point of View
Dialogue
Structure
Prose
Showing and Telling

Some of them more than once because there are multiple ways to approach the topic. If there’s a specific area you’d like to see me explore, let me know in the comments below.

One action we can take to make ourselves better writers

I use the word craft intentionally. Like practitioners of any craft, writers study and practice their craft. Mastering craft is a never-ending process. But today I want to leave you with a single simple action you can take, which I found made me a better writer in just three months. I’m a slow reader, so for some, you might see results in a month or even a week.

The 3x3x3 plan.

For the next three months:

Read 3 books in the genre you write in. They don’t have to be in the precise sub-genre you write in, like Urban Fantasy, but they must be in the broader genre, like Fantasy, AND published within the last TWO years.
Also read 3 fiction books outside your genre. Literary, historical, thriller, etc. These don’t have to be recently published. The classics are good here. Though I would suggest at least one title published within the last decade.
Finally, read 3 non-fiction books on any subject that interests you.

If you don’t like a book, put it away and start another of the same type.

Do this in whatever order works for you. I like to have one of each going simultaneously, but that won’t work for everyone.

Through reading widely and deeply, I think you’ll be surprised at how much you absorb, and how much your writing will improve. I find more and better ideas. I learn how stories in the various genres are structured, and I learn techniques from all genres and forms that I can use in my work.

What do you have to lose? Even if you don’t feel like a better writer, I’m betting those first readers and beta readers will notice a difference. The worst that can happen is that you’ve read nine books.

In the next installment, I’ll share some of my favorite craft resources, many of which I’ll refer to throughout the series.

Kevin Fellows

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Magic System or Just Magic?

Choosing the right form of magic for your novel

The debate is not new, and I’m not looking to reignite it, or even consider it a debate. Both are legitimate approaches to writing magic. But selecting how magic works in your story should be a deliberate choice not a subconscious default.

Magic in fantasy often comes through detailed written rules and conjured through incantation or ritual, like recipes in a cookbook. Complex rules contained within arcane spell books have appeared in the most popular fantasy novels—think Harry Potter. But many novels use muted, less defined magic. The works of Guy Gavriel Kay come to mind as does Tolkien’s. Patricia McKillip often uses what you might call natural magic where the magic is not conjured but simply exists in the world and inside its inhabitants. No one knows the full capabilities or limitations of the magic.

Which Form of Magic is Best?

Which should you choose for your novel? Or should you do a mixture? Like all things in writing, the answer is, it depends.

Many authors choose whichever form they prefer as a reader. If your readers share your tastes, this may be an acceptable choice. Just know that readers who don’t share your taste may be less interested in your books.

An alternative is to write to your expected reader’s preferences or the sub-genre’s accepted tropes. Literary and Low Fantasy often use subtle or natural magic. Epic and High Fantasy lean toward complex magic systems. Going against tropes and expectations might also limit your readers. You might see where I’m heading with this.

You Can’t Please Everyone

If your personal preference turns some readers off and breaking a sub-genre expectation also turns away a portion of the audience, what should you do?

There’s a third option. Each story has a type organic to it. Perhaps your epic fantasy world has magic living in the trees. This could be a case where going against typical epic tropes might serve the story better. Rather than a complicated codex of spells for tree magic, allowing the characters in the story (along with the readers) to discover what the magic is and can do, may make a more satisfying story but still within an epic setting. After all, the goal is to write an immersive, complete, and satisfying story.

To make these choices, the author must know their story deeply. Take time to examine your world and how it works. Understand how your characters connect to the world and each other. Once you have a deep understanding of magic’s relationship and role in your world, the form of magic that fits your story best is the one you should use.

Even if what fits the story goes against sub-genre expectations, if the story is strong and the magic works on a level that connects characters to their situation and each other, readers will be less likely to care about the magic’s form. They will enjoy a deeply imagined story because you made a deliberate choice in presenting magic that was organic and unique to the story.

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