Wonderbook (Revised and Expanded): The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction by Jeff VanderMeer
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Wonderbook (Revised and Expanded): The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction

by

Jeff VanderMeer

(Author)

4.7

-

816 ratings


From New York Times bestselling author Jeff VanderMeer, Wonderbook is the definitive guide to writing science fiction and fantasy, offering an accessible, example-rich, illustrated approach for writers and would-be writers that emphasizes the importance of playfulness as well as pragmatism.

“If worldbuilding gives you an S-class migraine, never fear. There’s one book that every speculative fiction writer should read to learn about proper worldbuilding: Wonderbook.” ―Bustle

“Aspiring writers of ‘imaginative fiction’—whether science fiction, fantasy or other kinds—are in for a treat.” ―Space.com

Jeff VanderMeer’s modern masterpiece of instruction exploits the visual nature of genre culture and employs bold, full-color drawings, maps, renderings, and visualizations to stimulate creative thinking. On top of all that, the book features sidebars and essays from some of the biggest names working in the field today, including:

  • George R. R. Martin
  • Lev Grossman
  • Neil Gaiman
  • Michael Moorcock
  • Kim Stanley Robinson
  • Charles Yu
  • Karen Joy Fowler

And more!

A true objet d’art, this overstuffed, full-color illustrated book features really glorious and cool Lovecraftian artwork of all sorts of outrageous monsters, as well as a host of advice winding their ways around the edges of the pages like marginalia in an illuminated monk’s script. Yes, it’s practical advice, useful to writers, but it also deserves a place on your coffee table for visitors to flip through and for you to look at again and again.

This revised and expanded edition features an additional 50 pages of diagrams, illustrations, and writing exercises creating the ultimate volume of inspiring advice that is also a stunning and inspiring object.

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ISBN-10

1419729667

ISBN-13

978-1419729669

Print length

384 pages

Language

English

Publisher

Abrams Image

Publication date

July 02, 2018

Dimensions

7 x 1.13 x 10 inches

Item weight

2.31 pounds


Product details

ASIN :

B07DWXVTYK

File size :

940071 KB

Text-to-speech :

Enabled

Screen reader :

Not Supported

Enhanced typesetting :

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Editorial Reviews

“If worldbuilding gives you an S-class migraine, never fear. There's one book that every speculative fiction writer should read to learn about proper worldbuilding: Wonderbook by Jeff VanderMeer. This handy how-to guide deserves a spot on your writer's bookshelf…”―Bustle

"Wonderbook is one of the best books about writing I’ve ever read or experienced.” ―Nnedi Okorafor

“Aspiring writers of "imaginative fiction" — whether science fiction, fantasy or other kinds — are in for a treat: a new update to the fiction-writing guide "Wonderbook," by Jeff VanderMeer... it's gorgeous to page through and substantial enough to last new (or medium) writers a good long time.”―SPACE.com

“In the gorgeously illustrated Wonderbook, Vandermeer generously gives away some of his tricks."―Refinery29

“VanderMeer ambitiously sets out to help readers get creative, and he does it with a rule-breaking book full of illustrations.”―Portalist


About the authors

Jeff VanderMeer

Jeff VanderMeer

Called “the weird Thoreau” by the New Yorker, NYT bestseller Jeff VanderMeer has been a published writer since age 14. His most recent fiction is the critically acclaimed novel BORNE, which has received raves from the NYTBR, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and many more. Paramount Pictures has optioned BORNE for film.VanderMeer's Southern Reach trilogy was one of the publishing events of 2014, the trilogy made more than thirty year’s best lists, including Entertainment Weekly’s top 10. Paramount Pictures has made a movie out of the first volume of the Southern Reach, Annihilation, slated for release in 2018 and starring Tessa Thompson, Oscar Isaac, Gina Rodriguez, Natalie Portman, and Jennifer Jason Leigh.His nonfiction appears in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, the Guardian, and the Atlantic.com. VanderMeer also wrote the world’s first fully illustrated creative-writing guide, Wonderbook. With his wife, Ann VanderMeer, he has edited may iconic anthologies. He lives in Tallahassee, Florida, with two wonderful cats. His hobbies include hiking, reading, and bird watching.

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Reviews

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5

816 global ratings

Marc

Marc

5

THE most beautiful fiction writing guide I have ever seen

Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2019

Verified Purchase

In every way this book is a revelation. It's advice is great, the writing is interesting, instructive and fun, and the book itself is gorgeous inside and out, from cover to cover.

Not one for overly long reviews, I recommend this book to anyone who is looking for some ideas, or hints on how to get started with imaginative fiction. If you're lost in the 'how do I put this idea together?' mind-space, then this will help you on the path.

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4 people found this helpful

Sian Stargazer

Sian Stargazer

5

wow!

Reviewed in the United States on August 12, 2023

Verified Purchase

the minute i saw this book online, i thought: yoink!!! i couldn't wait to have this creative resources in my home.

& i'm glad i bought it. it's a soft cover book of a nice size with great colourful illustrations & many activities to keep an aspiring creative like myself busy for months? years? to come!

Beth

Beth

5

Imaginative, Thought Provoking, and Practical

Reviewed in the United States on October 16, 2018

Verified Purchase

I bought this to help with D&D campaigns and it's almost overwhelming. So many ideas and interesting things to ponder. There's plain language that's easy to read when I'm not getting distracted by my own thoughts it provokes. I'm also gaining a better understanding of what it takes to write fiction well. I've never read a book on writing before but there's a lot of good general writing advice in here that would apply to any genre. There's lots of good stuff in this book for non-writers too.

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6 people found this helpful

Victoria

Victoria

5

Beautifully Illustrated!

Reviewed in the United States on May 26, 2024

Verified Purchase

Bought this as a gift for my bf and we both love it! The art is well done and I was also impressed with the quality of the print!

SaraB

SaraB

4

Inspiration

Reviewed in the United States on June 26, 2019

Verified Purchase

For me - this book was better for inspiration than for craft. I loved the author interviews and frankly, any book that recommends examining the story structure in Serenity and Firefly is a good one. The visuals are fun and it was a true delight to turn the page and see what was next.

3 people found this helpful

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