Reddit Reddit reviews Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction

We found 12 Reddit comments about Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.

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Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction
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12 Reddit comments about Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction:

u/AllDreamNoDrive · 25 pointsr/fantasywriters

It’s a bit eccentric, but Wonderbook by Jeff Vandermeer is a fun read and has a ton of great writing advice geared towards fantasy and speculative fiction.

u/dsteinac · 5 pointsr/fantasywriters

Wonderbook is fantastic and seems like exactly what you're looking for. It's less about the mechanics of writing than jumpstarting creativity, and thinking of really wild things that will resonate with imaginative readers.

Or, another step removed, flip through books on myth or architecture or geography and find one with a lot of really wild photos that make you think of ideas. That's what I've been doing lately.

u/Dennisbaily · 4 pointsr/worldbuilding

I got this a while ago. I talks about worldbuilding, but also a load of other things.

The chapters are:

  • Inspiration and the creative life

  • The ecosystem of story

  • Beginnings and endings

  • Narrative design

  • Characterization

  • Worldbuilding

  • Revision

  • Workshop appendix

  • Additional writing excercises

    It's 360 pages and features loads of different perspectives and guest writers who give their opinion on topics and their way of handling them. There is also a lot of artwork. Almost every page has art on it to support the subject at hand. I think it's really good.
u/sixtrees · 3 pointsr/worldbuilding
u/Tiranon · 2 pointsr/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon

Something you want: The Wildwood Tarot

Something you need: A cat scratcher lounge thing, because my couch is looking pretty sad

Something to wear: Gloves for my poor frozen hands

Something to read: Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction, by Jeff VanderMeer

Something to watch: Season 1 of Hana Yori Dango

Something to listen to: Sonic Highways by the Foo Fighters

I can't decide between two of the items, so here's two riddle haiku (riddle-ku?).

First: Fingers hide in sleeves / But the cold makes them clumsy / Wrap them up in wool

Second: Evoking nature / Divining secret meanings / Tell me my fortune

u/riddle_you_that · 2 pointsr/Fantasy

Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction by Jeff Vandermeer is a fantastic read and cannot be recommended enough.

It really gets the creative juices flowing and the input Vandermeer has gotten from other authors (there are tens of essays/comments/workshops from authors including Neil Gaiman, GRRM, Joe Abercrombie, and Lev Grossman) is quite insightful. Also, it doesn't read like a textbook, as many other books in the instructive writing genre tend to do.

u/dpwoolliscroft · 2 pointsr/Fantasy

Feedback is so important, so I love to hear it. But of course I reserve the right to respectfully ignore it at times :)

I have not read Shape of Stories but I did read Wonderbook (https://www.amazon.com/Wonderbook-Illustrated-Creating-Imaginative-Fiction/dp/1419704427) which I found to be very helpful as I was starting out.

I'm a plotter so I have definite thoughts at the outset what the beginning and end of each story is. Then I come up with the characters and what I want their arcs to be like. And then I plot out the major way points from beginning to end. And if the events don't move the plot forward then they don't make the book. But I also like to think about what has happened to the characters off the page. So, that's how I came up with the idea of having these collections of short stories so I could tell different kinds of stories, explore existing and new characters, create more threads for the reader to pick up on, without encumbering the plot too much.

You mentioned that Kingshold could have done with a longer page count, but 500 page books already put some people off, and when you're a new unknown author you want to limit the reasons for why someone won't read your book. So instead I'm releasing a 300 page collection of short stories :). It will be interesting to see if this works or is publishing suicide. And that comes back to reader feedback too; if folks don't want to buy Tales of Kingshold then I'll rethink this approach.

u/ricctp6 · 2 pointsr/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon

Fun, thanks for hosting the scavenger hunt!

  1. Something Blue: These journals are so beautiful, and I just thought I would start the scavenger hunt out with something simple and beautiful. Is that too corny of a reason to put them on here?
  2. Summer: Summer reminds me that I will soon be in a place with sun constantly radiating down and burning my retinas. We're all gonna need some sunglasses.
  3. Unusual Food-Related Item: Kawaii Squishies are super cute, smell like freshly baked bread (or cream soda), and are shaped like foods! I had a lot of wiggle room with this category, and while I have tons of things about food in my WLs, I just think these are great to pass out to stressed friends, as well.
  4. Gift Someone Else: A Bidet for the Fiancé Kind of a silly one, but my fiancé loves bidets. I've always wanted to get him one, and so this is my ultimate "I love you" gift for him. I actually thought about getting it for him and calling it his engagement ring, in response to the one he just got me. Do you think it would make him laugh?
  5. Book!: The book Lab Girl by Hope Jahren has gotten a lot of great press, and it seems very relevant to any woman in a demanding science-related field. I think it would be an interesting, and hopefully inspiring, read.
  6. Less Than a 1$: Somehow this shampoo brush is only $.01? Is that real?
  7. Related to Dogs: I haven't owned a dog since my family's golden retriever, Max. He was such a wonderful light in our house, and I think about him a lot. I know that GSD are really smart, so I figured I'd put something a smart-alecky GSD owner might have on here. ;)
  8. Not Useful, But Awesome: I really love oracle cards. I find that they sort of get me past challenges that maybe I'm too stubborn to see for myself. I think they are a good psychological tool, but I also know most people would find them less than useful. Therefore, they are mostly just awesome, and I want them.
  9. Great Movie: I get some flak for it, but my favorite movie of all time is Coraline. I think it is just so thought-provoking and the animation is beautiful. It really has a special place in my heart.
  10. Zombies Attack!: Weirdly enough, I am in the process of creating an emergency plan and some bugout bags for my fiancé and I. It's more of a hobby than worry, but I always thought a couple of these matches would come in handy when the hammer drops.
  11. Life Goals: This one might require a little explanation. So, I just quit my career as an archaeologist to become a creative writer, and my fiancé just quit his archaeology career to become an illustrator. Together we are writing some children's books, creating a comic book series, and hosting a podcast. It has come to our attention that these endeavors require social media presence (something neither of us are very good at). Through our bumbling around, we've found that our pictures are turning out less-than-great for social media, and the problem is lighting. I think this lightbox really neat for anyone who wants to make their pictures look professional on social media.
  12. Add-Ons: Makeup Remover Cloths These are so useful, I thought about even adding them to the Zombie Apocalypse part of the Scavenger Hunt! I sometimes forget to take care of my skin. So I started leaving one of these by my nightstand just for those times when I'm too lazy (or drunk) to take my makeup off. They are lifesavers!
  13. Fandom Related: Adventure Time, come on grab your friends.... No explanation needed really. AT is amazing, and I'm sad the series is ending, but we will always have the comics!
  14. Ridiculously Priced: Okay, let's chat. This watch is over $200,000 and has 4 reveiws? 4 people bought this? Why?! If I was that rich, I'd hole up in my cool-ass movie theater and eat caviar all day. Who needs a watch for that?
  15. Shark or Unicorn: This unicorn color-changing light is on my wishlist. I want it so badly, but have no idea where I would put it. The bathroom maybe? It has to be somewhere that won't get in the way of all my other unicorn stuff. I like when people just happily stop upon a unicorn in the apartment. When they're peeing is a good time, right?
  16. Smells Great: These candles are the scents of a coffee shop and so I know everyone in my house would feel warm and welcome right when they walk in once they are lit. These are actually three of my favorite scents, so you can probably tell that I have a slight coffee-related addiction.
  17. Toy: Dixit is an amazing game. Like...I don't know how to describe it. A bunch of cards with illustrations on them need to be described by the players, and then everyone votes on which description they like the best (blindly vote). It's just a wonderful game for inspiration, and you can make it as complicated or as simple as you'd like. I really enjoy playing it with both my friends and family.
  18. Helpful for Writers: An Imaginative Workbook! I think one of the biggest things writers forget how to do is play! We spend so much time in our universe, trying to make it perfect, that sometimes we forget to just let go and have our imaginations run wild. I think workbooks like the one I just linked are perfect for when writer's block hits, or when we need a pick-me-up to remember why we started writing in the first place.
  19. Current Obsession: My current obsession has become learning how to play the ukulele. I heard on a couple of podcasts that it really boosted some people's happiness, especially if they loved music, but didn't feel like they had the time to learn to play a new instrument. I have been borrowing my neighbor's, but since I am moving soon, I've decided to purchase one from Amazon. They have tons of ukuleles on there, weirdly.
  20. Makes You Laugh: As a person who loves Wes Anderson films this coffee table book always makes me laugh.

    Edit: Finished! I love scavenger hunts; it always reminds me what a weirdo I am.
u/Aerotes · 2 pointsr/writing

The Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide To Creating Imaginative Fiction had some great tips, and keeps you engaged in reading it. There were a lot of things pointed out to me that I've never noticed before and it helped me find what I think is my current level of writing. Worth the read.

u/xenomouse · 2 pointsr/nanowrimo

A nice carpal tunnel glove? =D

I'm only sort of kidding.

What does she like to write on? People always seem to default to pens and notebooks, but really, a quality bluetooth keyboard might be even better. If she has a tablet, she can take it to B&N and write on it without having to deal with that awful screen-tapping.

A novel in her preferred genre that she hasn't read yet: also nice.

Or even a book about writing, or worldbuilding. I found this one quite inspirational. But I don't know what sort of thing she likes to write.

u/King_Jeebus · 1 pointr/Filmmakers

Ohhhh, I now see you wanted a workbook about filmmaking, sorry!

I don't know, but if you don't find any then you should make one! Something like Wonderbook for film :)

u/AlisaLolita · 1 pointr/FanFiction

Okay, so I'm not home so these are the few off the top of my head that I can remember I've read and loved.

  • On Writing Well - this book was used for my Script Writing class in college - I loved it, and I still have it on my bookshelf.

  • How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy - This book by Orson Scott Card is genre themed, but I really suggest it no matter what genre you write. It's just a great source to have all around.

  • No Plot? No Problem - Somewhat humorous take on those of us who procrastinate and have lots of writers block.

  • Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction - Okay, so I haven't read this yet, but it looks amazing and I might actually just pick it up myself.

  • Book In A Month - Okay, so this isn't really in the same category, but it's incredibly hands-on, fun book that can really, really, really help with outlining. I always suggest this book to people who participate in NaNoWriMo, because it's just super helpful.

    I hope one of these can help out!