| Re: How to write...
If you don't read other SFF books, you risk rehashing a well-worn idea that you believed very original.
Moorcock started writing at the end of the 50s. There have been lots of novels since, including his; lots of ideas have been exploited to death.
And books about writing are useful: the more you know the techniques, they more you can consciously transgress them to obtain a particular effect.
In fact, the art of writing has its own rules (like cinema, graphic novels, and music); an experienced author can twist these rules without looking like a dilettante.
But that's okay if most aspiring writers don't know zilch about their own art and can't write professionally. It helps the 5% who know to surf upon the slush.
Knowing the rules and writing the proverbial one million words is what we need to learn the art. Like in every art, professionalism is theory plus practice.
To answer the question, the book by Orson Scott Card is interesting. |