An Asylum for Writers of Speculative Fiction

I'm about half way through "The Science of Science Fiction Writing," by James Gunn. This is one of the better how-to books for the field, and believe me I have read enough of them to have an opinion. This isn't a book one can skim. Gunn was a college professor and his non-fiction sounds like it. The information level is pretty dense. Stick with it, and you'll find a wealth of information about character-driven plots and ways of creating characters who simulate real people closely enough to hold the reader's interest.

Another how-to author whom I admire is Dwight Swain, who wrote two books on writing fiction, and one on writing screenplays. He has a lighter, breezier, style than Gunn, but his books are equally informative. Look for his "Techniques of the Selling Writer," and "Building Characters." They're both worth reading and re-reading.

Both Gunn and Swain wrote science fiction, and Swain cut his teeth on the highly competitive pulp fiction market of the 'thirties.