Publisher's Weekly Review
Celebrated speculative fiction writer Anders (Victories Greater than Death) blends personal stories with practical genre fiction techniques in this earnest though overwrought manual for how "to write your way out of hard times." As she writes at the book's outset, "Putting any kind of story together makes you a god in your own private universe and grants you control over a whole world inside your own mind, even when the outside world feels like a constant torrent of awfulness." Originally published on Tor.com during the height of the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic, these concise essays on writing "as an act of self-preservation" lucidly describe storycraft fundamentals (characters, plotting, worldbuilding) in welcoming, conversational prose, interspersed with anecdotes of the author's growth from lonely first-grade daydreamer to multi-award-winning author. Anders shows keen trauma awareness, strategizing how writing practices can fit troubled times--from "embrac uncertainty" to defining success realistically and developing adaptable emotional skills. Unfortunately, the book's lack of a cohesive through line undermines its authority: both intriguing and problematized elements--such as the genre's overly Western idea of agency and sweeping statements on writers' motives--are rarely explored deeply, and playful examples often get belabored, muddling the principles they illustrate. Budding genre writers questioning their voice's value will appreciate this overview, but quickly need more. (Aug.)
Library Journal Review
Since the publication of her debut novel, All the Birds in the Sky, Anders has sometimes been called the inheritor to Margaret Atwood's speculative fiction crown; this makes her the perfect author for a how-to guide to storytelling, especially in the midst of the global pandemic that has turned many of the concepts of speculative fiction into realities. In this volume's raw introduction, Anders delineates how writing helped her survive 2020 and says, "Putting any kind of story together makes you a god in your own private universe and grants you control over a whole world inside your own mind, even when the outside world feels like a constant torrent of awfulness." The ensuing guide offers strategies, interspersed with personal narratives, designed to support storytellers searching for control of those private universes we each have in our own minds. VERDICT Let Anders introduce you to the imaginary friends whose stories need to be told; provide you with tools to defeat enemies like imposter syndrome; and show you the many varied lifelines writing can offer, no matter who you are--and no matter what story you need to tell.--Emily Bowles, Lawrence Univ., WI
