How to Write Science Fiction

by Bob Shaw

Genres: Science Fiction, Writing

158 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Bob Shaw was born in Northern Ireland. After working in structural engineering, industrial public relations, and journalism he became a full time science fiction writer in 1975.

Shaw was noted for his originality and wit. He was two-time recipient (in 1979 and 1980) of the Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer. His short story Light of Other Days was a Hugo Award nominee in 1967, as was his novel The Ragged Astronauts in 1987.

Reviews

[Sarah Potter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought a copy of Bob Shaw's How to Write Science Fiction about 20 years ago and felt compelled to reread it again during this year's National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), rather than divert myself with fiction.

My Literary Muse must have prompted me to pick up this particular book at this exact moment in my writing journey, as halfway through reading it, I had one of life's Eureka moments: that I had never written genuine science fiction (or fantasy, for that matter), but stories about people, their psychology and relationships that happened to be set in the future. What a liberation!

Having come to this conclusion, I still read Bob Shaw's book to the end, as it is most entertainingly written and he came over as such a great guy, so natural and unpretentious. It's a book that I would recommend to any writer, whatever their genre, as there is some really useful information contained within its pages.

[Jcd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book, not just for aspiring writers but merely fans of the genre.