Worlds of Wonder by David Gerrold

Worlds of Wonder by David Gerrold

Introduction

Worlds of Wonder by David Gerrold is his non-fiction book on the craft of writing, subtitled how to write science fiction and fantasy. The most famous work that he wrote was the episode of Star Trek (the original series) called “The Trouble with Tribbles”. He also wrote scripts and directed episodes of other Star Trek series. He wrote novels in the science fiction and fantasy genre. This book tells about his writing path and gives examples from his works to help aspiring writers. Where should you start as a new writer? Use this book.

39709934. sx318

Summary

Worlds of Wonder by David Gerrold starts with two of his college instructors who taught him valuable lessons. The first instructor told him he would never make it as a writer. That rage against failure fueled him to do well. The other instructor stressed the importance of structure. David Gerrold took that advice to mean he should learn from the masters of his chosen genre of science fiction and fantasy to see how they were successful. He realized that a story is about a person’s problem solving and the lessons learned through that experience.

Ask yourself If questions to invent the wonder of your story. Find your hero and your hero’s problem. Your hero will face crises and challenges. Set the stage and build your world. The first line is important to hook the reader and keep them reading. He gives examples of love scenes from his novels When Harlie was One and A Method for Madness. He goes over each structural device for writing. Discipline is important because real writers write. Use the idea that your first million words are for practice. If you end up selling any of your first million words, then that is a bonus for you. He ends the book with ten pieces of good advice.

Recommendation

Worlds of Wonder by David Gerrold is a useful book about writing. It is short and easy to read. The author has a conversational way of writing. The advice is sound but like other books I have read. I remember reading the author’s novel The Man Who Folded Himself when I was in high school. I also remember that he was the writer of “The Trouble with Tribbles”. David Gerrold was a panelist and an interviewee at Marcon in Columbus Ohio on May 11, 2019. I had planned to read this book but because of the conference, I read it sooner than I planned. I am glad that I did.

Links

This is the link to the Goodreads page of Worlds of Wonder by David Gerrold

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39709934-worlds-of-wonder

Recap for SF Conference Marcon Columbus on May 11, 2019. They held it at Crowne Plaza – Columbus North. I also attended Marcon in 2017 and 2018. This year I attended four panels, a performance, and an interview. My star of the con was David Gerrold. He was engaging in the panel and the interview that I attended with him.

Save the Cat Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody takes the books of Blake Snyder and applies his teachings to writing novels. She presents complete beat sheets and genre breakdowns of current and past novels. This is the link to my review.

Another similar book on writing is How to Write Best Selling Fiction by Dean Koontz. This is the link to my review. It’s from 1981, but the advice is still great.

Redshirts by John Scalzi

Introduction

Redshirts by John Scalzi starts with Ensign Andrew Dahl assigned to the Universal Union’s flagship, the starship Intrepid. He works in the Xenobiology department and his coworkers advise him not to go on away missions with the officers of the starship. Crewmembers on away missions who are not officers are dying at an alarming rate. Dahl must discover the unbelievable truth, or he will die like the other Redshirts.

Summary

Andrew Dahl connects with a group of new crewmen on the Intrepid. His group includes Maia Duvall who transferred from her last post, his rich friend Jimmy Hanson, a suspected ‘fungus’ dealer Finn, and the mysterious Hester. They learn not to go on away missions with the ship’s officers or risk death. The officers to watch are the Intrepid’s Captain Abernathy, chief science officer Q’eeng, astrogator Kerensky, medical chief Hartnell, and chief engineer West. The key to the mystery is finding the missing crewman Jenkins. The story is connected to the original Star Trek TV show. They must discover the nature of what Dahl’s coworkers call the sacrificial effect and another effect called the Narrative. Shenanigans ensue and the conclusion arrives to complete Dahl’s story. There are three codas that are from different viewpoint characters that finish the theme of the story.

Recommendation

Redshirts by John Scalzi is a great novel. It’s funny, has an unusual premise, and moves quickly to the conclusion. The novel is sneaky because the humor overshadows a great theme. The three codas bring home the theme of making your own reality. There is a first-person coda and a second person coda. The third person coda ties up the themes explored in the novel and the final image ends the novel perfectly. I like that there is no sequel because the end says it all.

Links

This is the link to the Goodreads page for Redshirts by John Scalzi

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13055592-redshirts

The following links are for my reviews of other John Scalzi books.

This is a link to my book review of The Consuming Fire by John Scalzi, Book 2 of the Interdependency Sequence.

This is a link to my book review of The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi, Book 1 of the Interdependency Sequence

This is a link to my book review of the Dispatcher by John Scalzi, Book #1 of the Dispatcher Series.