Writing the Other
I received a press release the other day about a new writing book that I thought sounded interesting:
Writing the Other: A Practical Approach by Nisi Shawl and Cynthia Ward is now available from Aqueduct Press for $9 a copy. Based on the acclaimed “Writing the Other” workshop, this important book includes essays and exercises that help authors create believable characters with diverse backgrounds. Race, religion, and age are among the differences covered in the book’s hands-on approach.
Both established professional writers and talented beginners have benefited from attending “Writing the Other” workshops. Now these valuable techniques and concepts are accessible to the public in a concise and highly readable, step-by-step guide.
Writing the Other: A Practical Approach (ISBN 1-933500-00-X) can be ordered via your local bookstore, or online. Details about the book can be found here. You can find out more about the “Writing the Other” workshop, and read student testimonials, at www.writingtheother.com.
If this book only contained Finlay’s brilliant Nebula and Hugo Award-nominated reinvention of space opera, “The Political Officer,” it would be worth buying for that story alone. But fortunately, the book’s also got thirteen other compelling and finely-crafted tales, which run the gamut from humor to alternate history to swords-and-sorcery. This variety makes for an interesting reading experience, as if Finlay wanted to take the reader on a tour through all of what science fiction and fantasy has to offer. And Finlay seems equally adept at each of the subgenres he explores, so it’s not a matter of him trying new things until he finds something that works; it’s more like having written a great story in one subgenre, he goes looking for new kingdoms to conquer.