Wonderbook

Wonderbook The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction

This visual guide to writing creative and compelling fiction includes interesting and inspiring artwork as well as motivational tools and essays from today's top fantasy writers, including George R. R. Martin and Neil Gaiman, to help all aspiring authors.
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Reviews

Photo of Erin Darlyn
Erin Darlyn@erindarlyn
3 stars
Jan 25, 2024

Fun artwork and some useful information, but it fluctuates between being engaging and dull. I think it would have been a stronger book if about half of it had been cut.

Photo of Nelson Zagalo
Nelson Zagalo@nzagalo
5 stars
Sep 3, 2022

Um livro para saborear, para se ir lendo e absorvendo aos poucos. Cada secção, cada página, abre-nos mundos de ideias de possibilidades imaginativas que despertam em nós o sentimento criativo e a vontade de criar.

Photo of Kyle S
Kyle S@kylesq9
5 stars
Aug 5, 2022

Jeff VanderMeer is one of my favorite authors out there, especially since I consider Annihilation to be the most "me" book I've ever read, so when I heard that he wrote a book on writing I knew I had to pick it up. Wonderbook is a book on writing unlike any other I've read before and I've read a lot of books on writing in the past couple of years. Following VanderMeer's more post-modern the book uses fantastic illustrations, essays by authors, and exercises to get the message across. If you're a writer or just are curious about what VanderMeer's writing philosophy is all about I highly recommend you check out this book. This is probably one of three books on writing that I can see myself revisiting again and again.

Photo of Sunyi Dean
Sunyi Dean@sunyidean
5 stars
Dec 17, 2021

Extremely useful and innovative approach to writing craft with loads of real life book examples and informative essays from an army of famous writers. Wonderbook works as a spot reference book but is best read from start to finish at least once so that you can follow the context before dipping back to troubleshoot specifics. The other thing I would add is that this is perhaps not the best book for a beginner writer seeking to learn basics. For that, I would recommend Story Genius by Lisa Crohn, On Writing by Stephen King, and/or The Emotional Craft of Fiction by Donald Maass. Wonderbook (imol is more geared at intermediate writers who are pursuing serious publication (whether self or trade), or advanced writers looking to dive deep into fine turning of craft, structure, and story telling, perhaps by taking a novel (harhar) approach to novel writing.

Photo of b.andherbooks
b.andherbooks@bandherbooks
5 stars
Oct 9, 2021

Beautiful! What a way to learn how to write and create Science Fiction. Gorgeous illustrations, and the best part - author interviews! I heavily skimmed, but focused mostly on the tid bits and marginalia.

Photo of Rebecca Light
Rebecca Light@lightreading
3 stars
Sep 10, 2021

A unique book in its structure and presentation. Almost all stars go to the captivating artwork. It took me forever to get through this book. The text itself was hit or miss in how much it helped me as a writer. At times it was dense and inaccessible, then some chapters would surprise me in their accessibility. Really though, unlike any craft book I've come across. I'm sure I'll return to it for bits and pieces. Especially the contributing essays, and the writing exercises.

Photo of Monicap
Monicap@insult_the_glory
3 stars
Apr 29, 2024
Photo of Dimitris Papastergiou
Dimitris Papastergiou@s4murai
4 stars
Jul 1, 2023
Photo of Martin Ackerfors
Martin Ackerfors@ackerfors
2 stars
Sep 13, 2022
Photo of Steve Daniels
Steve Daniels@stevezie
4 stars
Aug 29, 2022
Photo of Maggie Gordon
Maggie Gordon@maggieg
3 stars
Aug 13, 2022
Photo of Andrew Ireland
Andrew Ireland@aireland92
5 stars
Aug 11, 2022
Photo of Dave Walker
Dave Walker@bibliosaurusrex
5 stars
Aug 4, 2022
Photo of Marsh Wu
Marsh Wu@narrativore
5 stars
May 16, 2022
Photo of Mark Wadley
Mark Wadley@markplasma
4 stars
Mar 8, 2022
Photo of Ana V.
Ana V. @nobadbooks
5 stars
Feb 27, 2022
Photo of Jason Porterfield
Jason Porterfield@katzenpatsy
5 stars
Jan 9, 2022
Photo of Mariana Miralles
Mariana Miralles@lady_marian
5 stars
Oct 25, 2021
Photo of lychee
lychee@iridesium
3 stars
Oct 15, 2021