{"schema_version":"bf_book_companion_v1","release_id":"20260418T162306Z","book":{"amazon_purchase_url":"https://www.amazon.com/dp/1599631407?tag=bookfrontier-20","asin":"1599631407","authors":["Orson Scott Card","Philip Athans","Jay Lake","The Writer's Digest"],"book_id":"9781599631400","canonical_url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/writing-fantasy-amp-science-fiction-1599631407","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781599631400.jpg?v=20260418T162306Z%3A2026-04-19T10%3A16%3A55Z","description":"This all-in-one comprehensive guide will show you how to write the next great fantasy or science fiction story. In Writing Fantasy & Science Fiction , master authors offer advice on world building, character creation, and storytelling techniques in speculative fiction. Combining two Writer's Digest classics, Orson Scott Card's How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy and The Writer's Complete Fantasy Reference , along with two new selections from award-winning science fiction and fantasy authors Philip Athans and Jay Lake, this book provides the best of all worlds. You'll discover: • How to build, populate, and dramatize fantastic new worlds. • How to develop dynamic and meaningful themes that will expand the cannon of sci-fi and fantasy storytelling. • Exciting subgenres such as steampunk, as well as new developments in the sci-fi and fantasy genres. • How to imbue your tales with historically accurate information about world cultures, legends, folklore, and religions. • Detailed descriptions of magic rituals, fantastic weapons of war, clothing and armor, and otherworldly beasts such as orcs, giants, elves, and more. • How societies, villages, and castles were constructed and operated on a day-to-day basis. • Astounding methods of interstellar travel, the rules of starflight, and the realities and myths of scientific exploration. • How to generate new ideas and graft them to the most popular themes and plot devices in sci-fi and fantasy writing. To create credible and thrilling fiction, you must ground your stories in rules, facts, and accurate ideas. Writing Fantasy & Science Fiction will guide you through the complex and compelling universe of fantasy and science fiction writing and help you create stories for the next generation of readers and fans.","forthcoming":false,"isbn13":"9781599631400","publication_date":"20130930","publisher":"Penguin Publishing Group","slug":"writing-fantasy-amp-science-fiction","subtitle":"How to Create Out-of-this-world Novels and Short Stories","title":"Writing Fantasy & Science Fiction"},"discovery":{"categories":{"all":[{"bisac_code":"LAN005050","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Fiction Writing","score":0.778,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"LIT004260","confidence_band":"medium","label":"SF & Fantasy Criticism","score":0.7709,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"LAN005040","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Writing / Composition","score":0.7689,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"hint":[{"bisac_code":"LAN005050","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Fiction Writing","score":0.778,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"LIT004260","confidence_band":"medium","label":"SF & Fantasy Criticism","score":0.7709,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"LAN005040","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Writing / Composition","score":0.7689,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"publisher":[{"bisac_code":"LAN002000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Writing as a Career","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"LAN005050","confidence_band":"high","label":"Fiction Writing","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"REF015000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Practical Guides","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"}]},"genres":[{"label":"Fiction Writing","score":0.778,"slug":"fiction-writing"},{"label":"SF & Fantasy Criticism","score":0.7709,"slug":"sf-fantasy-criticism"},{"label":"Writing","score":0.7689,"slug":"writing"}],"reader_fit":["Good for readers who enjoy Fiction Writing","Good for readers interested in short stories","Good for fans of Writing"],"related_lists":[],"series":null,"similar_books":[{"authors":["Gene Wolfe"],"book_id":"9780312890421","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780312890421.jpg?v=20260418T162306Z%3A2026-04-19T10%3A16%3A55Z","score":11.1103,"title":"Castle of Days","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780312890421"},{"authors":["C. 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