Speculative Fiction
A Writer's Guide and Anthology
- Textbook
Speculative Fiction
A Writer's Guide and Anthology
- Textbook
Available for purchase via Bloomsbury etextbooks on publication date
Description
In a time defined by uncertainty, change and inequality, speculative fiction is fast-becoming the genre of the 21st century. Straddling genres such as fantasy, science fiction, dystopia, alternative history, and horror, this book is a comprehensive introduction to the art of writing in this imaginative, fluid, and inclusive mode. An all-in-one textbook combining a craft guide with an extensive, diverse anthology, Speculative Fiction explores the multiplicity of influences that the genre has consumed and incorporated, digs into techniques specific to speculative writing, and gives writers exercises and prompts to begin their own works.
In addition, Speculative Fiction features:
- Annotated stories to showcase speculative techniques in practice
- Interviews with authors about the use of craft in their speculative work
- Detailed exploration of techniques from world-building to creating characters to plots and conflict in a specifically speculative mode
- Exercises engineered to allow readers to master a broad range of techniques
- 'Reader response' sections from speculative writing students with critical feedback
- Chapters on finding a speculative writing community and workshopping writing within the genre
-“Notes for the novelist” in every chapter
Featuring the works of such authors as George Saunders, Joyce Carol Oates, Rebecca Roanhorse, Carmen Maria Machado, Sofia Samatar, and many more, this book gives writers the resources to write boldly, differently, and freely as they embrace stories that defy, undermine, and subvert traditional visions and points of view.
Table of Contents
a. Thoughts on an expansive and fluid genre
b. Social and political impacts of speculative fiction
c. Putting an expanding genre in context
d. How this book works
2. Building a Speculative Fiction Community
a. Finding and assessing writing groups
b. The benefits and technique of workshop
c. Developing shared vocabulary
i. “Tools of the Trade”: Setting, Plot, POV, Voice, Dialogue, etc.
3. Starting Your Tale
a. Choosing a speculative angle
b. Thinking about conflict and setting
c. Writing a detailed scene
d. Writing a first page
e. Writing a second page
4. Stranger in a Strange Land: Estrangement
a. A discussion of the technique of “estrangement”
b. Rob Roensch's story, “I Awoke to Discover I Had Been Transformed into a Dolphin,” annotated
c. An interview with the story's author
d. Estrangement-based exercises with building conflict, speculative characterization, world building
e. Example exercise
f. A reader's response from the editors (Tanner and Warner)
5. A World Unlike Our Own: Description and World Building
a. A discussion of description and world building
b. Sofia Samatar's story, “Honey Bear” annotated to examine moments of world building
c. An interview with the story's author
d. Description-based exercises with alienation, speculative characterization, and speculative conflict
e. Example exercise
f. Reader's response
6. Something Strange: Speculative Characterization
a. A discussion of some techniques of speculative characterization
b. Sarah Gerkensmeyer's story, “Pipe Hugger,” annotated for speculative character development
c. An interview with the story's author
d. Characterization exercises with alienation, speculative conflict, and world building
e. Example exercise
f. Reader's response
7. Colliding Forces: Plot and Conflict
a. A discussion of some techniques of plotting and creating speculative conflict
b. Catherine Chung's story, “Give Me Your Body,” annotated for plot and conflict
c. An interview with the story's author
d. Plot and conflict exercises with alienation, speculative characterization, and world building
e. Example exercise
f. Reader's response
8. Revision, Reconsideration, and Writers' Block: How Deep Can You Go?
a. A discussion of revision
b. Using speculative “What if?” exercises to reconsider story and character
c. Exercises to overcome writer's block
d. Advice and insights from the writers in the anthology
9. Writing Novels in the Speculative Mode
a. A discussion of scope and reach
b. Thoughts on pacing a novel vs. pacing a short story
c. Exercises for thinking about stories of different lengths
d. Using speculative techniques to expand an idea into a novel
10. Anthology of Stories
Product details
| Published | Jan 22 2026 |
|---|---|
| Format | Ebook (PDF) |
| Edition | 1st |
| Extent | 272 |
| ISBN | 9781350408500 |
| Imprint | Bloomsbury Academic |
| Illustrations | 30 bw illus |
| Series | Bloomsbury Writer's Guides and Anthologies |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
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