posted
Here's a topic that I hope will generate a lot of posts...
Whenever I participate in the discussions here on the message board, or privately with my crit group, I often find myself citing various books or articles where I picked up odd or obscure facts.
So here's my question: "What ONE book or resource do you feel has helped your writing the most? Why?"
Hopefully, we can all improve our writing by exploring resources others have found useful!
I'll go first:
John Mauldin, Prospects for Interstellar Travel
Mauldin explores almost every aspect of what would be required to travel to another star system: technological, biological, economical, political, psychological. A true tour de force of the underpinnings any spacefaring SF story should have.
[This message has been edited by chad_parish (edited February 04, 2002).]
posted
Not to kiss up or anything, but right now it'd have to be OSC's Character and Viewpoint.
It's a great book for anyone who is very concerned with relating a story and developing real characters. It doesn't deal a lot with elements of genre, nor does it serve as a springboard for new plot ideas or concepts. But it does give some really good insight into how to structure a story, build believable characters, and generally give a story more cohesiveness as a whole (rather than a story just being a framework build to support a new scientific concept or gadget).
I might also be biased because he reinforced a lot of the ideas and techniques with many more examples at boot camp - so maybe I attribute more to the book than is actually between the two covers. (but what *is* between the covers is still very good)
posted
On Writing, by Stephen King. If you don't care to know about his life, skip the first half and go straight to the juicy part where he strives to equip us newbies with the "tools of the trade."
posted
I'd have to echo SilliGurl with the On Writing suggestion, except I'd say that his biographical part also has a lot to say about the life of writing that can be a real inspiration/eye-opener to aspiring writers. I would suggest not skipping it if you're at all interested.
posted
I read OSC's Characters and Viewpoint a few months ago and I did find it very valuable. It has encouraged me to ask myself difficult questions and do extra homework that I otherwise would not have done. The quality of my work will definitely benefit.
I just started reading King's On Writing yesterday. I started the autobiographical part, then skipped to the "tools of the trade" part, but now I am back to the autobiographical part. The reason is not because I am fascinated by King's life; his life is actually a bit dull. I am reading that section because it is loaded with examples of his excellent storytelling.
I am currently fascinated by the way King eliminates unnecessary words. Despite encouragement from my writiers group, this type of trimming is something that my current novel needs.
posted
Keeping more in the spirit of Chad's thread, I do often refer to my college physics text, as well as the CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics.
Pioneering the Space Frontier: The Report of the National Commission on Space was a strong influence on me, but I remember the concepts wel enough that I seldom need to return to it.
In the first chapter of my current book, I made extensive use of Military Aircraft of the World, but I doubt I will turn to it so much in the future.
[This message has been edited by Doc Brown (edited February 06, 2002).]
posted
one book? I would say Writer's Digest Magazine---though not a book. The Feb. 2001 issue rocketed my writing way ahead. As to books I have list of those Iuse almost daily, and certainly with every story I write.
English Grammar for Dummies The Merriam-Webster Dictionary Rogert’s Thesaurus in Dictionary Form The Writer’s Market 2002 Edition 2002 Guide to Literary Agents Formatting and Submitting your Manuscript Random House Word Menu Building Believable Characters The Complete Guide to Editing Your Fiction And a subscription to Writer’s Digest Magazine.
No one book has done it for me----other than that feb issue.
This is an example of a "Cycling Spaceship." It is a theoretical form of interplanetary travel. The ship has a highly eliptical orbit around the sun. When it reachess perigee it is near Earth, and when it reaches apogee it is near Mars. This could be a very inexpensive way to make such trips.
posted
I'm a little bit surprised that none of the Jane's guides have been mentioned, since they have a really high "coolness" factor and deal pretty much entirely with actual extent technology.
The cycler idea isn't magic, you still have to pay full fuel costs for the actual mass in people and goods shipped along its orbit, but it does save you the cost of accelerating and decelerating the recycling, lifesupport, and shielding that are needed to safely transport humans to Mars. While this is by no means a trivial savings, it does remain to be seen whether the lifespan of such a vehicle can be sufficient to justify the greater initial cost, though my gut instinct is that it should be.
What is far more valuable about these cyclers--to my mind, at any rate--is that they will doubtlessly do double duty as spacestations, and will be able to carry out all manner of research that would not be possible in Earth orbit (as well as long term studies that would be crowded out of the more accessible stations in Earth orbit). While the inverse is also quite true, namely that short term experiments do better in Earth orbit as well as certain experiments that require the greater uniformity of a stationary orbit or other near Earth advantages, I think that getting double use for your money is always a good idea.
I actually do refer to Jane's books. I have Jane's Weapons Systems and Janes Surface Skimmers in my library at home, and I sometimes refer to Jane's Ships of the World and Jane's All the World's Aircraft.
However, I am more likely to refer to these books when reading than writing. I would not classify any of these as "the ONE book or resource that has helped my writing the most."
My feeling is that we do not yet have the technology to make a cycling spaceship cost effective. As you said, the main issue is service life. A cycling spaceship needs to last a very long time with very little maintenance. It must leak very little air and store energy very efficiently.
BTW I read some more of Stephen King's book last night. It is beginning to have an effect on me, and it may turn out to be a great help with my writing style.
posted
I've found OSC's How to Write Science-Fiction and Fantasy to be a great asset, helping me to get over some of the obstacles and preconcieved notions I'd previously held. It helped me to better develop the story, even the minor parts that I otherwised would not even have included. After all, I used to think, what's the point of including it if it doesn't go anywhere? OSC taught me, among other things, that the little parts matter.
Also, I checked out King's On Writing, and found it to be a brilliant piece of work with many good points about writing, but I wasn't able to finish it. I was, for lack of a better word, weaned off of his style of writing and now I bear to read his kind of work. (By that I mean stories riddled with out-of-context bad words and depressing characters). Other than that, it's a good book.
Also, Scott Edelstein's 100 Things every Writer Needs to Know makes a few valuable points, in my opinion.
posted
I don't think it is ONE single book that helped me most. There are many books. Usually other writers' works I've read.
Yes I've also read some books about writing, but I usually find them too formulaic and "you-must-do-that-or-else", so I, frankly, think they are cheat. The only one I think is good is OSCs Characters and Viewpoint. (Note, I haven't read King's On Writing.)
posted
My wife got me Hawking's The Universe in a Nutshell for Christmas and I just started reading it. It is a much quicker and easier read than his earlier A Brief History of Time. I ought to be able to devour Nutshell in about two hours
I recommend it very highly for anyone writing (or reading) science fiction.
posted
Honestly? It was a book that is not published yet, written by a friend of mine. I really liked it, and I am still of the opinion that it should be published, but I did find flaws in it. All at once I thought, "If he can do this, so can I!"
Other helpful works: How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy; Characters and Viewpoint, both by OSC, of course; a plethora of short stories I rejected for the university publication I volunteer for; and a conversation with Uncle Orson himself, in which he gave me some invaluable advice. The short stories taught me why different viewpoints and perspectives work for different stories, how to pace a story, why strong characterization is so important, what not to do with dialogue, scenery, and minor characters, etc. I have read many horrible stories and many excellent stories for this publication, and after a while, it become very clear why some stories work and why others simply don't.
As a side note, I found On Writing completely useless, except for the nice bit about agents and publication smarts in the end. The first section was interesting and motivational, but not life-changing.
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Brimstone, I think On Writing is probably very useful . . . if you want to write exactly like Stephen King! His advice is perfect if you want all your characters to be 20th century Americans, who are mostly undereducated and crude. He gives great tips for keeping a fast pace and developing a "lowest common denominator" writing style that a sixth grader can read.
BTW I am now halfway through Hawking's The Universe in a Nutshell. I absolutely love it and can't wait for a few minutes to read more. What kind of nerd reads about relativity and quantum mechanics for fun?
posted
The kinds of things I found useful in On Writing were not the how to's. Yes, a good part of the book was crude---King uses crude language.
So do I on occasion--like when working on a car or a computer. But I found some of his answers very close to mine---Where do you get your ideas? I don't know. Also, I write with little or no preplanning--does that mean that I write on a sixth grade level? I don't think so.
Writing books can be good simply because they made you feel like you are not the only one that thinks and feels a certain way about your writing.
Looking at King’s background----a person can take heart and say----if he can, I can too.
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The most useful book on writing I've ever found is Telling Lies for Fun and Profit by . . . . I don't remember at the moment. It was very encouraging and kept me from giving up on writing altogether. It also helped me to recognize some of the pitfalls I was repeatedly falling victim to.
I'd recommend it to everybody who wants to write fiction.
posted
I think TELLING LIES FOR FUN AND PROFIT is by Lawrence Block who used to write a column on fiction writing for WRITER'S DIGEST.
I don't manage to finish very many how-to-write books, but I keep a lot of them around. The reason? Almost every time I start reading a how-to-write book, I start thinking about how I could use this suggestion or that idea in something I'm writing, and I end up putting the how-to-write book down so I can go write.
They work very well for me as block-busters.
(I did manage to read King's ON WRITING all the way through, though.)
posted
As to the book that I found most helpful, it would be OSC’s Charater and Viewpoint by far. Somehow whenever I pick that book up I start coming up with all sorts of ideas. The actual information presented was extremely valuable as well . It really made me think about why books I've enjoyed work for me and how I can incorporate that into my own work. Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy by OSC would be my second pick for similar reasons.
A book I did find enjoyable as well as Creating Short Fiction, by Damon Knight. I found it generally informative, although the information given was in no way limited to short fiction (there was actually little distinction given to work length in the book). But his section on “Fred,” that unconscious force that pops up with ideas for your writing really spoke to me and was fun as well. Nice to give a name to that thing that keeps speaking to you well after you should have gone to bed (Fred I’ve noticed tends to keep some inconvenient hours J ).
Perhaps the technique book I liked the least was Dialog, from the Writer’s Digest series (I don’t remember the author now). The whole thing was written as a Socrates conversation between the author and a character, which made for a fuzzy illustration of the points being presented.
I haven’t read King’s On Writing, but I’m not a fan of King’s writing so…
GZ
[This message has been edited by GZ (edited March 01, 2002).]
"BTW I am now halfway through Hawking's The Universe in a Nutshell. I absolutely love it and can't wait for a few minutes to read more. What kind of nerd reads about relativity and quantum mechanics for fun?"
Can I claim to be a similar kind of nerd? I'm excited to read it now, after what you've said about it.
There are other cool books out there for such nerds--the guy who wrote THE PHYSICS OF STAR TREK--Lawrence M. Krause--wrote a book I read last summer that you might enjoy: FEAR OF PHYSICS. He starts by thinking of a cow as a sphere.
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Lawrence Krauss is my research advisor. I haven't read any of his books though. Here is a picture of his puppy.
The spherical cow is an old joke. A farmer wanted to increase milk production and overall farm efficiency. He hired in vain a biologist, chemist, businessman and what not. But then he hired a physicist who started out his plan with, "First assume each cow is a sphere..."
What's funny about the joke is that it hits real close to the mark.
posted
My goodness, did I forget to mention Lawrence Krauss in this thread? I'm sure I mentioned him in an earlier thread.
I found The Physics of Star Trek to be very interesting and useful. Dr. Krauss spawned an entire genre with that book. NoFear, I realize that as a college student you don't get much spare reading time, but if you want to borrow mt copy of The Physics of Star Trek let me know. I live nearby. I'm that kook who drives the really shiny car through University Circle all the time.
Much of the information is now available online in the Shuttle Reference Manual. If you need to know the shuttle's speed at touchdown, the dimensions of its cargo bay, or how to operate the robot arm, this website ought to do it:
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Doc, does it say anything about a double sonic boom?
I was at Cape Canaveral a few years ago when the shuttle came in (it came in from the north, so only a few people actually happened to be looking in the right direction at the right instant and got to see it--I wasn't one of them). I heard the sonic boom, but it was a double ("boom-boom") sound, and I've wondered ever since why it would have made a double sound instead of the single boom I expected.
That's because the nose's and tail's leading edges are far enough apart that the shockwaves can be heard seperately from them. My understanding is that a smaller aircraft simply blends the two together.
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Yes, the Concord is much more streamlined than the Shuttle. One has to remember that the primary function of the shape of the Shuttle is decelerating from orbital velocity, and only secondarily to allow controlled flight.
Posts: 8322 | Registered: Aug 1999
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More streamlined aircraft like Concorde make less intense booms. A faster aircraft make a louder boom, but not by much. A blunter aircraft make a louder boom by a lot more.
[This message has been edited by Doc Brown (edited March 13, 2002).]
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