BOOK NOTES: "Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy" [Robert A. Heinlein]

This book, published in 1991, was created by the editors of Analog and Asimov's Science Fiction magazines and they've had experienced well-read and well-loved writers of the genre of science fiction contribute essays on the subject.

The first essay, by Robert A. Heinlein, is titled, "On the Writing of Speculative Fiction" and I found a gem to share with any writer of any genre and even beyond narrative fiction -- this would apply as well to writers of screenplays. Mr. Heinlein writes:

For me, a story of the sort I want to write is still further limited to this recipe: a man finds himself in circumstances that create a problem for him. In coping with this problem, the man is changed in some fashion inside himself. The story is over when the inner change is complete - the external incidents may go on indefinitely.

People changing under stress:

A lonely rich man learns comradeship in a hobo jungle.
A milquetoast gets pushed too far and learns to fight.
A strong man is crippled and has to adjust to it. A gossip learns to hold her tongue.
A hard-boiled materialist gets acquainted with a ghost.
A shrew is tamed.

This is the story of character, rather than incident. It's not everybody's dish, but for me it has more interest than the overwhelming pure adventure story. It need not be unadventurous; the stress that produces the change in character can be wildly adventurous, and often is.

Well, there you have it. As I continue on in this book, if I find anything else of special fascination, I'll share it on this blog.