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Wynelda Shelton

Worlds Of Wonder: How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy
By David Gerrold
Writer's Digest Books, Trade Paperback
ISBN 1-58297-007-6
$14.99 (U.S.), $23.99 (Canada)

On the surface, David Gerrold's book, "Worlds of Wonder," seems to be only about writing speculative fiction. A subtitle of "How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy," seems to say it all.

But does it?

In this book, Gerrold demystifies many of the writing processes. Things that you need to do whether or not you are writing mainstream or Science Fiction. He explores plot lines, heroes, complications, theme, style, metaphors, paragraphs and many more issues that confront every writer. The examples and exercises are geared towards speculative fiction, but can easily be adapted to other genres. In the chapter entitled "Write from the Inside," he deals with how to describe your world to the reader. How much information is enough, and how much is too much? But most of all, how do you "evoke the experience for the reader"? Every writer has to evoke the experience, whether it is of a housewife in a suburb or an alien landing on earth.

For anyone who is fascinated with language and how we relate to it the chapters on language alone are almost worth the price of the book. "Memes" comes with the following warning: "This is the bonus chapter. It's intended for advanced students only. If you aren't interested in digging under the foundations of storytelling, you can skip it" (page 186). The assertion that "the terrifying truth is that we are our language" is one that I have to admit I find intriguing. His arguments are well thought out and entertaining, something that is often missing from discussion of linguistics. "Metric Prose" shows how fiction writers can use the poet's art of rhythm to pull a reader through a story. "To Be or Naught to Be" and "Find Another Way" go deeper than most essays on the use of passive verbs and shows his own struggles with the E-Prime theory.

The main attraction of this book is how to write Science Fiction and Fantasy. David Gerrold delivers on his promise to those of us who write speculative fiction. But he does not leave out the writers of other genres either.

All fiction is a game of "What If" and David Gerrold teaches us to play the game.

Wynelda Shelton