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The Fiction Writer's Guide to Alternate History

A Handbook on Craft, Art, and History
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( 11 ratings, 5 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Fiction Writer's Guide to Alternate History by Dr Jack Dann is a comprehensive guide to writing within the speculative sub-genre of alternate history fiction. It explores the unique aspects of this storytelling mode, offering a clear overview and critical tools to distinguish forms of counterfactual fiction. The book explains techniques such as 'Heinleining', creating 'divergent points', and using paratextual elements and layering to help readers engage with invented historical scenarios. It also features a detailed, line-by-line walkthrough of a complete short story and includes insights from renowned alternate history authors.
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Format: Hardback
$24800

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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This guide is ideal for writers, educators, and students interested in alternate history and counterfactual fiction. It suits both newcomers seeking an introduction and seasoned authors looking to refine their craft in this specific genre.

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

A comprehensive guide to the speculative sub-genre of alternate history fiction, The Fiction Writer's Guide to Alternate History maps the unique terrain of this vibrant mode of storytelling and then explains how to write it.

First giving a concise conceptual overview and the critical tools to differentiate the different forms of counterfactual fiction, Jack Dann lays out the β€˜tricks of the trade’ such as β€˜Heinleining’, how to create recognisable β€˜divergent points’, and how to employ paratextual elements and β€˜layering’ to overcome readers’ unfamiliarity with invented counterfactual events and cultures.

Alongside this, Dann takes you step-by-step through a complete short story to demonstrate, line-by-line, how alternative history fiction works. As well as Dann's exacting methodology for writing professional quality alternate history stories, this book also features a live-on-the-page Q&A with some of the most esteemed alternate history writers working today, including Kim Stanley Robinson, John Birmingham, and Lisa Goldstein among many others. These authors will detail their own particular hacks, theories, processes, methods, and strategies.

Combining extensive and deep knowledge of the field with accessible writing advice, this is the ultimate guidebook to the broad and complex sub-genre of counterfactual and alternative history fiction.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Praised as "a tour-de-force treasure trove" and "invaluable to authors at any stage," the book is recognised for its readability and illumination of the art of writing alternate history. It serves as both an excellent writing guide and an introduction to the genre, highly recommended for writers and educators alike. Paul Levinson and Dr Sean Seeger endorse it enthusiastically.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781350351356

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 10 August 2023

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Bloomsbury Academic

Illustration: 4 bw illus

Audience: Tertiary education

DIMENSIONS

Width: 138.0mm

Height: 216.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 184

About the Author

Jack Dann is an internationally published author, editor, lecturer, anthologist and Adjunct Senior Research Fellow, School of Communication and Arts, University of Queensland, Australia. He has written or edited over eighty books and his awards include the Nebula, World Fantasy, Aurealis, and Shirley Jackson awards. He received his PhD from the University of Queensland.

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  • The Fiction Writer's Guide to Alternate History
    A comprehensive guide to the speculative sub-genre of alternate history fiction, this book maps the unique terrain of this vibrant mode of storytelling and then explains how to write it. First giving a concise conceptual overview and the critical tools to differentiate the different forms of counterfactual fiction, Jack Dann lays out the β€˜tricks of the trade’ such as β€˜Heinleining’,...
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