Never Say You Can't Survive: How to Get Through Hard Times by Making Up Stories

by Charlie Jane Anders

WINNER OF THE 2022 HUGO AWARD FOR BEST RELATED WORKFrom Charlie Jane Anders, the award-winning author of novels such as All the Birds in the Sky and The City in the Middle of the Night, this is one of the most practical guides to storytelling that you will ever read.The world is on fire.So tell your story.Things are scary right now. We’re all being swept along by a tidal wave of history, and it’s easy to feel helpless. But we’re not we have minds, and imaginations, and the ability to visualize other worlds and valiant struggles. And writing can be an act of resistance that reminds us that other futures and other ways of living are possible.Full of memoir, personal anecdote, and insight about how to flourish during the present emergency, Never Say You Can’t Survive is the perfect manual for creativity in unprecedented times.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Genres: Nonfiction, Writing, Essays, Memoir, Self Help, Audiobook, Crafts

240 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 17, 2021

About the author

My latest book is Victories Greater Than Death. Coming in August: Never Say You Can't Survive: How to Get Through Hard Times By Making Up Stories.

Previously: All the Birds in the Sky, The City in the Middle of the Night, and a short story collection, Six Months, Three Days, Five Others.

Coming soon: An adult novel, and a short story collection called Even Greater Mistakes.

I used to write for a site called io9.com, and now I write for various places here and there.

I won the Emperor Norton Award, for “extraordinary invention and creativity unhindered by the constraints of paltry reason.” I've also won a Hugo Award, a Nebula Award, a William H. Crawford Award, a Theodore Sturgeon Award, a Locus Award and a Lambda Literary Award.

My stories, essays and journalism have appeared in Wired Magazine, the Boston Review, Conjunctions, Tin House, Slate, MIT Technology Review, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the San Francisco Chronicle, Tor.com, Lightspeed Magazine, McSweeney’s, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, ZYZZYVA, Strange Horizons, Apex Magazine, Uncanny Magazine, 3 AM Magazine, Flurb.net, Monkey Bicycle, Pindeldyboz, Instant City, Broken Pencil, and in tons and tons of anthologies.

I organize Writers With Drinks, which is a monthly reading series here in San Francisco that mashes up a ton of different genres. I co-host a Hugo Award-winning podcast, Our Opinions Are Correct, with Annalee Newitz.

Back in 2007, Annalee and I put out a book of first-person stories by female geeks called She’s Such a Geek: Women Write About Science, Technology and Other Nerdy Stuff. There was a lot of resistance to doing this book, because nobody believed there was a market for writing about female geeks. Also, Annalee and I put out a print magazine called other, which was about pop culture, politics and general weirdness, aimed at people who don’t fit into other categories. To raise money for other magazine, we put on events like a Ballerina Pie Fight – which is just what it sounds like – and a sexy show in a hair salon where people took off their clothes while getting their hair cut.

I used to live in a Buddhist nunnery, when I was a teenager. I love to do karaoke. I eat way too much spicy food. I hug trees and pat stone lions for luck. I talk to myself way too much when I’m working on a story.

Reviews

[Cindy Pham · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Not a life-changing book that would alter the way I write, but a good pep talk thanks to Anders' infectious passion for writing.

[Nina Harrington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never Say You Can't Survive is a lot more than a manual about writing and life – it is solid gold sprinkled with fairy dust.
I am a bestselling published author in three genres, and a totally story structure geek, and I can honestly say that this is the first book that I have read in a long time that made me stop in my tracks, think hard about the writing process, and come out the other side inspired and motivated.
I took five pages of detailed notes on everything from characterisation and the psychology of community support systems to the power of positive literature in a time of international crisis.
It is difficult to select specific examples from a book where every page seems to have a unique thought-provoking insight into story development, but I particularly enjoyed the chapters on using plot devices and turning points and how to leverage the ending to drive the revision process. Also, how to use the power or emotion and sensory description to add layers of interest to any scene. The chapter on worldbuilding was remarkable!
I would heartily recommend this book to any writer who wants to develop their story craft and build amazing works of fiction – and have fun doing it.

[Stitching Ghost · Rating 4 out of 5]

I expected this book to be more on the essay side and as it turns out it was more on the writing tip side, as someone who only writes fiction as way to process things but with no intention to ever publish anything I don't think I was quite the right audience. That being said, it was very readable and sweet.

[Spencer Orey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great combo of a pep talk and a craft book full of good writing advice. The writing section is a bit jack of all trades, so a nice pick for getting a big overview of how to write better. There were some sections (using anger as a way to write other emotions) that I wanted to be longer.

[Alan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charlie Jane Anders' book Never Say You Can't Survive is not just a memoir. Nor is it just a writing guide. Never Say You Can't Survive is a manifesto, and all the better for it—it's a polemic, and a pep talk, too, with practical advice for the aspiring writer as well as for readers of their works. And it's polished—the "Uncorrected Proof" I received as a Goodreads giveaway seemed just about ready for publication anyway. I found nothing to nitpick about—which is rarely the case for me, even for published works.

Visualizing a happier, more just world is a direct assault on the forces that are trying to break your heart. As Le Guin says elsewhere, the most powerful thing you can do is imagine how things could be different... What if?
—Introduction, p.2-3

Never Say You Can't Survive is fierce, and funny, and fascinating, and foolish in places. Take the title of Chapter 6, for example:

Don't Be Afraid to Go on Lots of First Dates with Story Ideas
—p.53

Heh...

From later in that same chapter, this more serious observation:

Part of the fun of writing science fiction and fantasy is that there are almost no limits. If you're writing a murder mystery, you start out with the idea that someone is getting murdered, and the murderer will (probably) get caught. If you're writing a romance, two or more people are probably going to fall in love. SF and fantasy contain hundreds of subgenres, in which certain things are probably inevitable, like a steampunk story probably needs to blow off some steam. But still, when you start writing a piece of speculative fiction, that blank page can turn into almost anything you want.
—pp.55-56

Anders' advice is colloquial, breezy, and straightforward...

There's only one thing more intimidating than a blank first page, and that's a blank tenth page. At least when you're starting a new piece of writing from scratch, anything is possible. But once you've started weaving a bunch of narrative threads, you'll have a much harder time unweaving them.
—p.60

So I've changed how I think about productivity. A good writing session can consist of all kinds of things, including rethinking, brainstorming, editing, and even just staring into space. I used to obsess about my word count—the raw number of new words I had added to the project—until I realized that some of my best writing experiences were ones in which almost no new words of story were added, but I had a clearer sense in my head of what shape the story should take.
—pp.132-133

Just about the only thing I can complain about is having to flip back and forth to read all the sidebars. But that's an exceedingly minor quibble.

Find the logic in logorrhea. Nonsense has a way of redshifting into sense, if you keep going far and fast enough. Especially when there are recognizable human beings in the middle of it, which we'll talk about in a moment. Spend enough time spinning out non sequiturs, and eventually you'll find yourself making connections and associations between them, because that's just how brains work. We find patterns in anything, and all that loopitude suddenly makes a higher kind of sense.
—p.172-173

And sometimes subtle...

If someone else is experiencing success or acclaim writing stories where the only punctuation is semicolons, it's easy to feel as if you need to copy them. That's silly; semicolons are their thing; find your own thing.
—p.222

Heh...

Anders' perspective is very much of the moment—her references to the COVID-19 pandemic, doomscrolling, and the former, very much unlamented 45th President of the United States make that clear. But what Anders talks about in Never Say You Can't Survive are significantly more universal topics: what to write, and how to write about what you want to write—and so I believe her guide is going to have lasting value beyond any current crises.

Annalee Newitz dedicated her novel The Future of Another Timeline to Anders, but reading these two back to back was—I swear!—just a happy coincidence. I received Charlie Jane Anders' book Never Say You Can't Survive as a Goodreads giveaway—and I'm very glad I did. I loved this book, wholeheartedly, and... I think you might just love it too.

[Emmalita · Rating 4 out of 5]

I felt a little guilty when I was notified that I had been granted an advance reader copy of Charlie Jane Ander’s essay collection, Never Say You Can’t Survive. I am not a writer and I have no aspirations to be a writer. I have no qualifications for judging this book. However, I have never let a lack of qualifications get in my way of judging things. The short version is, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to any creative person.

I have always enjoyed listening to people talk about their creative process, and Never Say You Can’t Survive is that – a writer talking about the craft of writing. Anders frames her essays around using writing to survive hard times. As a non writer, this was the piece that was the most interesting to me. Through the chapters of the book, she melds the elements of the storytelling with surviving a harsh world with your soul intact. Do you feel out of control in the world you live in? As an author, you are the god of your own world. Are you being swamped with rage at injustice? Channel that rage into a story. The joy of the book is when she gets into the details of the why and the how to construct that soul saving story. Anders uses examples from her own books, and other works to illustrate her points. I feel like Never Say You Can’t Survive is going to make me a better reader and reviewer.

The essays are dense and rich. If I had a physical copy, which I will at some point, it would have looked like one of my grad school text books with passages highlighted, underlined, and sticky notes jutting from the pages. There are points when I was reading that I would replace the word writer with the word adult and the advice worked. If I could, this review would be a series of quotes that resonated with me as a person and as a reader, and quotes I want to stick in front of the creative people I know who doubt their own brilliance.

I received this as an advance reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't make the mistake I did when I started reading this book in a public place - because for the first time in my life, a book on writing made me cry, and it happened in public! The introduction is just so powerful and resonant as it addresses the question of how and why we can manage to write through global fear and stress and personal overwhelm. I loved the whole book, and I'd wholeheartedly recommend it to writers at every stage of their career. The actual craft tips (which will be very useful for new writers) may not be new or needed by long-time writers, but it's still helpful to be reminded of them - and Anders devotes a lot of the book to the psychological game behind the writing, which is hugely valuable no matter how long any writer has been working.

A really wonderful book to read and also to keep for re-reading some very powerful reminders of why it's worth it to keep going and how we can get through our worst times and stay creative (or come back to our creativity) after all.

[A. _____ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel like I've spent all year with Charlie Jane Anders, reading her books and listening to Our Opinions Are Correct (highly recommended, btw). Fair warning, she's been one of the highlights of a rubbish year, and my review is pretty biased.

Never Say You Can't Survive is a series of essays on writing and creativity in tough times. The essays were written as a series for tor.com through 2020, and published in this collection in 2021. I am deeply grateful that I discovered the audiobook (fantastically narrated by Charlie Jane) this year, when I was desperately in need of something to shake me out of my writing funk, and give me permission tell me it was ok, even good, to write and create when everything is going to shit.

The book has five sections, starting with "Getting Started", a broad overview of the process of finding and nurturing creativity; the second is on finding stories; the third section is on emotions--yours and your character's emotions, and harnessing emotions in life and in fiction. The last two sections, "What we write about when we write about spaceships" and "How to use writerly tricks to gain unstoppable powers" cover the nuts and bolts of crafting a story.

I took almost a month to listen to the book, giving myself days between sections to absorb the lessons in each essay and do the exercises. I am definitely a better writer now than when I started the book. I am more comfortable with the idea of trying and failing, and I feel like I have a better sense of the process of constructing characters, plot and story from the sentence up.

I've read a fair few books on writing over the last two years, and this is one of my top three (along with Philip Lopate's To Show and to Tell: The Craft of Literary Nonfiction and Vivian Gornick's The Situation and the Story: The Art of Personal Narrative). Most books on writing tend to focus on either the mystical "art" of the process, or the hard graft, the "craft" of it. Never Say You Can't Survive covers both the art and the craft, and does so in a clear, accessible, concise, funny, and immensely kind and sensitive way. Highly recommended for any writer, whether or not they are currently struggling to get through hard times by making up stories.

[A.M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Each chapter was posted weekly online at Tor.

But lately, I’ve been realizing that I haven’t actually gotten any better at finishing the stories I start. Instead, I’ve just gotten quicker to realize that something’s not panning out, and it’s time to jump tracks. When I was putting together my upcoming short story collection, I went back and looked through all the stories I wrote when I was starting out—and somehow, I had forgotten that for every story I finished, there were five or six that I didn’t. And I found tons of notes and other evidence of me banging my head against the same wall over and over.
I had to learn to stop thinking of leaving a story unfinished as an admission of defeat, or thinking that it reflected on me as a writer. I had to give myself permission to move on.

Oh yes…
And this one:

To utterly misquote Hunter S. Thompson, when the going gets weird, the weird become paladins.

That’s the spirit.
4 stars

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the (many) issues with writing books is that almost all of the ones I've read by anyone with any apparent writing credentials, that is to say, from authors with actual novels that you could actually find in a bookstore, are from authors whose fiction I really have no interest in.

For me, that group includes Stephen King, so, you know, there's no real reason anybody should be insulted to be stuck in that group. I do own one of Charlie Jane Anders' novels, but it's one of those cases where I bought it, and then before actually reading it ended up learning things about it that convinced me I wouldn't like it, so I never did.

Reading this didn't really change my mind about that. Not because this was bad or I thought her advice was bad, but because in describing what she likes and looks for and tries to put in her stories she pretty much reinforced the idea that it's not what I like or want or look for in fiction. Also I think our senses of humor are not a good match, though there is some funny here.

That said, I enjoyed this mostly as one writer's opinions and ideas about writing.

The early part of the book is an emphatic defense of escapism and an exhortation to ignore the elitists and haters and write what makes you happy. There are probably other people who need or will enjoy the same thing. I agreed with a lot of what she said here and highlighted a ton of stuff. The last part of the book does shift more into the sort of traditional, practical advice common to writing books, but overall I'd categorize this one more as the inspiration pr0n type book.

There are some exercises. I have never been a fan of exercises in writing books, I think they are stupid and useless and insulting. Here they are extra annoying for being oddly placed in the middle of chapters and disrupting the flow.

Should you read it? I don't know. If you're someone who's held off writing something you want to write because of ideas about what you "should" write, then maybe?

[britt_brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anders reminds us how creativity can provide a respite during the worst of times. And these times are pretty damned awful. From big themes to the nuts and bolts of putting pen to paper, this guide will encourage you to try, or at least think, and that’s what matters. It just made me feel good, ya know? Now, I need to try some of her fiction!

[Johanna Käck · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the tone of this book was too chatty for my own personal taste, it did a good job of demystifying writing processes and it definitely made me itch to take up creative writing again.

[Thomas Edmund · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m probably going to butcher the history of this book – but my understanding is that it evolved out of an idea for a series of essays on the topic of writing during tough times and what it evolved into was Charlie Jane Ander’s ‘on-writing’ book with a central theme of getting through those tough times with stories.
Technically its all “inspired” (provoked) by 2020’s Covid-19 global pandemic but I feel like even 5 years later this book is only more relevant. I like Ander’s perspective which is essentially to provide permission to create anything, in particularly confronting that pressure we give ourselves to create relevant art for stressful times. In fact she argues that irrelevant art is almost more important during such times.
The rest of the on-writing advice is all fire as well. One key point that stuck in my head was pointing out that part of the benefit of rewriting a story draft is you now know (assuming you don’t change it all lol) the significance of things like the last time that two characters interact in the story, or key scenes before a death.
The other strength of this book is examining themes and politics. As mentioned before Ander’s is of the opinion that you don’t need to write directly on the bad times you live through, but she has great points (perhaps I say this because I align with them) about how in some respects all writing is political, by depicting relationships and events and showing your takes on case and effect you say something political.
All in all, a very recommended on-writing book really glad I stumbled across this one.

[Emily Fortuna · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m going through a hell of a time and I really was hoping this book would help me find my way through. I was ready to…write my way out. 😏 But, perhaps my personal emotional struggle is too big to simply write my way out of? The advice in the book at times came across as overly blithe, which, frankly, hurt.

As an example, there’s a line in there: “So those moments when I feel most trapped at the rock bottom of Maslow’s hierarchy of gaddamn needs? Those are the exact moments when I feel it healing and freeing to imagine a character who goes for what they want, shamelessly and ruthlessly.” Rock bottom, eh? Look, I’ve been very fortunate to not live with real food insecurity or worry about not having clean water to drink or something to cover my body. But as someone who has dealt a LOT with that second rung of Maslow’s hierarchy being met, in my personal experience, when you’re literally unsafe or your body is betraying you and putting you in massive amounts of pain, I…literally cannot stop and imagine something else. The need is all-consuming. So, it comes off as a bit glib to simply turn your anger into tenderness (another suggestion in the book).

Maybe I’m just a Negative Nelly, and my inability to see my…not-always-survivable-situation (to quote the book) in a positive light is keeping me there. But I was hoping (desperately!) for more.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the most fun book on writing I've read, and I've read a lot of books on writing. Charlie Jane Anders avoids saying the same-ol-same-ol that so many how-to-write books say. Where most books tell the reader to finish something, absolutely finish stuff, she'll compare unfinished work to blind dates where the chemistry didn't click. In other words, Anders doesn't make the reader feel guilty for all the pages that never went anywhere.

Even when giving advice the reader has heard before, she makes it amusing. I know I've picked up other how-to-write books and lost interest halfway through, partly because they say nothing new and partly because the writing is less than inspiring. All through Never Say You Can't Survive I kept coming up with new ideas. This book made me want to write.

Thanks to Netgalley, Ms. Anders, and Tor for allowing me to read this digital ARC in return for an honest review.

[Sahitya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have actually not read any of the author’s books before, maybe just a few short stories. But I love her podcast with Annalee called Our Opinions are Correct and when I saw the idea of this book, I was very intrigued.

I don’t even know if I’m the right audience, because other than writing reviews, I have no other writing background or aspirations. I’m also not much of a creative or imaginative person - so I feel no way eligible to judge this book for it’s content, specifically all the wonderful craft related ideas and messages the author gives. But I loved the theme of how writing a story that one really wants to tell, channeling our fears and concerns and rage into characters and stories, can really help us deal with our issues or maybe just feel a bit better for a while. I found so many quotes and lines in this book that would apply for many troubling situations, not just for a writer but for any person, and I think that’s the beauty of this book - how universal it is in its messaging while also catering to the specific needs of writers trying to put forth their work in times when the world around us is going to hell. And I thought even though the book is for writers and other creative people, it was quite helpful for me as a reader and reviewer as well, and I feel it will definitely have a positive impact in the way I consume and analyze stories from now on.

I think this will be a book I will look towards many times in the future, especially when I’m feeling a bit down. Hopefully I’ll buy the paperback when it releases and highlight it a lot.

[Allison Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been a Charlie Jane Anders fan since the iO9 days, and it is such a pleasure to have her wisdom on writing and the writing process in one beautiful book! The book is organized with sections on storytelling, writing techniques, and the writing life (among others), making it easy to dip in and read a chapter before starting my own writing for the day. I'm finding useful insights that I'm able to immediately apply to my work, and I love her inspirational-but-never-cheesy tone. Every writer should have this one on the shelf!
- Allison K Williams, author of SEVEN DRAFTS

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charlie Jane Anders hits it out of the park (again). This book has all kinds of angles on kindling creativity and then making it work as a story. How to get ideas, put them together, build a world, make your characters interesting, create empathy, pace the plot, evaluate and edit your work. Strategies for when you're stuck, and how to know when you need to abandon a project, at least for now. And suggestions and elaborations that make each part of that eminently do-able. If I were writing a story, I'd keep this book next to me.

It made me feel like I could possibly write fiction. I've written many software and hardware manuals, and written and edited lots of nonfiction. But when I used to think I'd write science fiction short stories, I didn't come up with viable ideas. Plus I'm socially odd and have a hard time figuring out how people relate to each other, so how could I write about people? Well, with the writing exercises and suggestions in this book, and a writing group, I might be able to do all that. Then again, the book shows how much of a job it is to write; you need to take time and you need to focus. So (at my age) probably not. But if I ever decide to, I will buy a copy of this book - and I don't buy books.

Oh, and the title, and some of the content, is about using your past (or present) trauma to inspire and inform your stories, and using your writing to transmute your trauma. Good stuff.

The book is short and easy to read. I drew out my reading over a couple of months because I wanted to spread out the inspiration as long as I could. It's that good.

[Jaimie Pitts · Rating 5 out of 5]

05/26/2023
This is gonna be an annual read for me. I want it carved into my brain. Legitimately so incredibly helpful in getting me re-excited about writing.

05/30/2022
Probably the most motivating book on writing I've read so far. Charlie Jane Anders's passion for writing flies off the page. She offers lots of practical and helpful advice for writing good stories that YOU love, while also reminding us why we write in the first place: because it's fun and powerful and personal and a way to escape. Highly recommend!

[Trish · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was not what I expected it to be. I thought it would be more about the author, rather than a selection of essays on how to write. Interesting, but not as compelling as I'd hoped.

[Peter Tillman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought I had written something up for this. Apparently not unless GR lost it, not an unkown happening, sigh. Well. Long gone back to the library as overdue. Let's see what others say . . .
OK, my GR friend Alan gave it 5 stars here, https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
"Never Say You Can't Survive is not just a memoir. Nor is it just a writing guide. Never Say You Can't Survive is a manifesto, and all the better for it—it's a polemic, and a pep talk, too, with practical advice for the aspiring writer as well as for readers of their works. And it's polished—the "Uncorrected Proof" I received as a Goodreads giveaway seemed just about ready for publication anyway. I found nothing to nitpick about—which is rarely the case for me, even for published works."

Well. His review is why I tried to read it. I kept stalling and losing interest, so I can't really recommend her book. Rating by memory: 2.5 stars, rounded down. If I took notes and find them, I might revisit this. Parts were good: it's very episodic. Then the next chapter was like watching paint dry!

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book—especially the audiobook. I’m 100% certain I’ll read this book multiple times in my life. It’s required reading if you’ve ever written or tried to write fiction, or if you’re just curious. Charli Jane Anders is a friggin’ gem. I love her creative sense of humor. This book is full of insight, vulnerability, helpful references, and great advice for any type of creative thinker or storyteller.

[Kevin Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

I NEEDED this!

[Rachel Pollock]

I expected more about writing as a coping strategy and it’s largely very basic writing advice.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is, at its heart, a craft book. I think the title could be misleading. While CJA does address how creativity and imagination can be a refuge and a rebellion, the majority of the book focuses on macro to micro writing advice. I took what worked for me and plan to pass it along to another writer for them to do the same. As CJA's says in the book, "nobody changes the world on their own."

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a writing book with lots of great specifics while also being encouraging and throwing in a dash of self help. But mostly, it feels like talking shop with a delightfully geeky writer who has lots of excellent advice.

[Anne-Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I didn't personally connect with much of the nuts and bolts of writing a novel, the core meditations on the rebellion and self discovery of writing were interesting and well put.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never Say You Can’t Survive is part creative writing guidebook, part pep talk. Charlie Jane breaks down the writing process from something that can be intimidating to something accessible, liberating, and fun. I would recommend it to any aspiring writers, whether they intend to share their stories with the world or not.

[Ian Welke · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read a lot of books about writing. In any era I'd say this is a good one, but in this era, particularly with the constant bombardment of grim news that is 2025, this is a perfect book.

[Courtney Kenney · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for writers! I adored this book and dogeared many pages that I’ll be going back to. The book features several exercises and I plan to go back and do them. This is by far the best book on writing from an author in recent years. To me it ranks up there with On Writing by Stephen King and Zen and the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury.