On October 18, I posted a comment on the “Writer’s Digest” article “How to Write a Science Fiction Novel” by Robert Lee Brewer published on August 19, 2019.
The article is well written and gives some good places for a novice to start exploring writing a sci-fi novel and coming to know its trials and travails. However, I had to throw in my two cents about writing science fiction and writing in general, because I started out reading books on how to write, but it helped me little. The thought that kept going through mind was that if the author of this book on writing was a great writer, why haven’t I heard of him? Why isn’t he making a living just writing fiction? Why does he need to write books like this. Yes, Stephen King wrote a great book on writing, but it’s hard to find another famous author who has.
The key for me to learning how to write has been to read great writers, read their comments on how to write, and to learn everything I can about English grammar (here I have an advantage over most because I have a verifiable knack for linguistics and have college credit in about six languages). The two books that have helped me more than all the others are The Elements of Style by Strunk and White and Webster’s New World Guide to Punctuation. Both are very concise and very short and inexpensive. I recommend them highly. Most importantly though is to WRITE! WRITE! WRITE! and READ! READ! READ!
Anyway, here is a link to the “Writer’s Digest” article for your edification and/or entertainment. My comments are currently awaiting moderation, but will hopefully be up soon. It will be interesting to see the responses I receive.
As soon as the comments come up, I will update this article.
Phil Slattery, Writer, Publisher 