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0 pointsgizajob3y ago0 comments

https://www.wired.com/1996/12/ffglass/

Mother Earth Mother Board is a great example of storytelling. I was using him as a sidestep from Crichton, given that's where the author is saying he's at.

HG Wells or Margaret Atwood would also be good places to start, when looking for examples of the craft of short-story writing.

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YeGoblynQueenne3y ago

Margaret Atwood is a terrible writer. If you're going to put someone next to Wells for mastery of the craft, that should be P.G Wodehouse. I would add Jerome K. Jerome to the list, also.

Then of course there are master storycrafters in SF like James Tiptree Jr., Cordwainer Smith, Ted Chiang, Clifford D. Simak, Robert Heinlein, Poul Anderson, Brian Aldiss, Fredric Brown, Theodore Sturgeon, and others I'm forgetting. And H.P. Lovecraft, Ambrose Bierce, Clark Ashton Smith, R. E. Howard and Arthur Machen from the strict fantasy side.

gizajobOP3y ago

I was trying to ease the OP in, coming from Michael Crichton, not give an exhaustive list.

Also your list is 100% male.

YeGoblynQueenne3y ago

James Tiptree Jr was female. But yes, most of my list is male. Would you like to propose more female writers?

Edit: if you haven't read anything from Alice Sheldon (a.k.a. James Tiptree Junior, a.k.a. Raccoona Sheldon) I wholeheartedly recommend you chase down anything of hers and read it. It is not an accident that she is first in my list because she is, for me, one of the absolute best SF authors of all time. Same for Cordwainer Smith. It is distressing to see their names having faded into obscurity, with modern readers.

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0 pointsgizajob3y ago0 comments

https://www.wired.com/1996/12/ffglass/

Mother Earth Mother Board is a great example of storytelling. I was using him as a sidestep from Crichton, given that's where the author is saying he's at.

HG Wells or Margaret Atwood would also be good places to start, when looking for examples of the craft of short-story writing.

0 comments

YeGoblynQueenne3y ago

Margaret Atwood is a terrible writer. If you're going to put someone next to Wells for mastery of the craft, that should be P.G Wodehouse. I would add Jerome K. Jerome to the list, also.

gizajobOP3y ago

I was trying to ease the OP in, coming from Michael Crichton, not give an exhaustive list.

Also your list is 100% male.

YeGoblynQueenne3y ago

James Tiptree Jr was female. But yes, most of my list is male. Would you like to propose more female writers?

1 more reply

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse