REVIEW - Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction by Jeff VanderMeer

Cover of Wonderbook. Review by Markus McDowell

While this book is advertised as a guide for writing science fiction and fantasy, it is really useful for any type of creative writing. The content itself is creative: drawings, maps, diagrams, visual representations of the material, and more. Jeff Vandermeer, perhaps best know for his Southern Reach trilogy, has written and assembled this almost encyclopedic treatment of the writing process. He has also asked other writers and illustrators to contribute. Throughout, there are essays on various topics by George R. R. Martin, Lev Grossman, Neil Gaiman, Michael Moorcock, Karen Joy Fowler, and more.

The chapters take us through the writing process and its elements:

Inspiration an the Creative Life
The Ecosystem of Story
Beginnings and Endings
Narrative Design
Characterization
World-Building
Revision

The book closes with a workshop appendix and another chapter of additional writing exercises. This is an updated version, five years after the original, and contains 50 more pages of writing exercises and diagrams than the first edition,

Amazon’s description reads, in part:

Wonderbook has become the definitive guide to writing science fiction and fantasy by offering an accessible, example-rich approach that emphasizes the importance of playfulness as well as pragmatism. It also exploits the visual nature of genre culture and employs bold, full-color drawings, maps, renderings, and visualizations to stimulate creative thinking.

While reading through the book provides excellent insights, instruction, and ideas for the writing process, the book could also be used as a reference. I made copious highlights and margin notes, and plan on returning to the book periodically as I work on different aspects of my own writing.

If you are engaged or interesting in creative writing, I recommend you read this book. Its approach is unique, and the inspiration and education you will gain is invaluable.