Ansen Dibell (1942–2006)
Author of How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy
About the Author
Disambiguation Notice:
Ansen Dibell is the pen name of Nancy Ann Dibble (1942-2006).
Series
Works by Ansen Dibell
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Dibell, Ansen
- Legal name
- Dibble, Nancy Ann
- Other names
- Dibblie, Nan
- Birthdate
- 1942-09-08
- Date of death
- 2006-03-07
- Gender
- female
- Nationality
- USA
- Disambiguation notice
- Ansen Dibell is the pen name of Nancy Ann Dibble (1942-2006).
- Associated Place (for map)
- USA
Members
Reviews
When I first dabbled in this book, years ago, I remember placing it in lineage with so many others, an endless parade of books which all say more or less the same thing when it comes to that most workaday aspect of storytelling, the plot. Campbell is invoked, the hero’s journey extolled, and careful and precise subdivisions of what makes a plot are enumerated. If you watched Robin Williams in Dead Poets Society this would be the point to rip up the book in question and proclaim it show more “Excrement!” I wonder sometimes if the reason for so many bad movies and books now isn’t due to the readers of these books growing into their own and writing the way they’ve been taught; badly, I mean, using shortcut and formula instead of craft and artistry. I’m a different, older writer now, and whereas before I missed them, the nuance and wisdom of Dibell’s book and how it stands out from these other books became apparent with this latest reading.
Myself, I think focusing on plot is putting the cart before the horse and something like Dibbel’s book would better serve a book’s second draft, but better writers than I — which is to say writers who have actually finished a book — would disagree. There’s more than enough pantsing/plotting debate going around, though. I’m of the mind that we don’t go to story to find out what what happens, but rather seek to find out what happens in order to have an excuse to immerse ourselves in story.
At one point Dibell says
At another point she says that “plot is a verb.” I think this is very much true and Dibell’s use of this axiom to spine the book is what makes it worth reading. show less
Myself, I think focusing on plot is putting the cart before the horse and something like Dibbel’s book would better serve a book’s second draft, but better writers than I — which is to say writers who have actually finished a book — would disagree. There’s more than enough pantsing/plotting debate going around, though. I’m of the mind that we don’t go to story to find out what what happens, but rather seek to find out what happens in order to have an excuse to immerse ourselves in story.
At one point Dibell says
As I've said before, stories—especially live, convincing stories—will change under your hands. That's the reason I've never been persuaded of the usefulness of outlines. By other writers' experience and my own, I judge that you generally won't know how a story's going to go until you get close to the place where something is just about to happen. It will take its own shape and tell you how it wants to go, if you listen and watch attentively for the ways it's telling you.
At another point she says that “plot is a verb.” I think this is very much true and Dibell’s use of this axiom to spine the book is what makes it worth reading. show less
I've had this on my to-read list since high school. Clearly my dedication to the craft is as hard as plasteel.
It's a quick read, not only because it's short but also because of Card's breezy and (somewhat) informal style. As promised in the introduction, he sticks mostly to genre-specific elements of writing, such as world building, creating rules for science/magic (or both...), and so forth. He skips or glosses over aspects that apply to all writing, and even fiction writing specifically.
As show more you might imagine, Card refers to a lot of works, both by himself and others, to illustrate the points he is making. The examples were generally well chosen, but it had the dubious effect of making me aware of more things I want to read.
For me, the best part of the book was the last chapter, which discusses the life and business of writing. Card slips a little in his intent here by giving more general advice, but that's not necessarily a bad thing, since it's good advice. In particular, he gives voice to the conflicting viewpoints that an author must take of his or her own work:
He goes on to explain how to handle these antipodal viewpoints without going mad ("but that, too," he says, "can be an asset to the writer").
It's not a life-changing book, but there's some good tips along with a fair amount of humor and "huh" moments. If you want to feel like you got to pick the brain of a premier science fiction author about his craft, then sit down and read this.
(For the record, I mean "pick the brain" in a metaphorical sense, not a literal, scientific one.) show less
It's a quick read, not only because it's short but also because of Card's breezy and (somewhat) informal style. As promised in the introduction, he sticks mostly to genre-specific elements of writing, such as world building, creating rules for science/magic (or both...), and so forth. He skips or glosses over aspects that apply to all writing, and even fiction writing specifically.
As show more you might imagine, Card refers to a lot of works, both by himself and others, to illustrate the points he is making. The examples were generally well chosen, but it had the dubious effect of making me aware of more things I want to read.
For me, the best part of the book was the last chapter, which discusses the life and business of writing. Card slips a little in his intent here by giving more general advice, but that's not necessarily a bad thing, since it's good advice. In particular, he gives voice to the conflicting viewpoints that an author must take of his or her own work:
Writers have to simultaneously believe the following two things:
- The story I am now working on is the greatest work of genius ever written in English.
- The story I am working on is worthless drivel.
He goes on to explain how to handle these antipodal viewpoints without going mad ("but that, too," he says, "can be an asset to the writer").
It's not a life-changing book, but there's some good tips along with a fair amount of humor and "huh" moments. If you want to feel like you got to pick the brain of a premier science fiction author about his craft, then sit down and read this.
(For the record, I mean "pick the brain" in a metaphorical sense, not a literal, scientific one.) show less
The author, for some unknown reason, uses a pseudonym. She claims to have written the “internationally published” five-book science fiction series The Rule of One. But that fiction series doesn’t exist, at least not on a public or international scale, so kudos to Dibell for thus keeping the forensic loop closed on her pseudonym. But wait -- let’s check the internet. Turns out Dibell is in fact Nancy Ann Dibble, American Sci-fi-wri-(ter). She’s dead now, but must have been something show more of a Star Wars nut back in the day: Plot is shot through w/ The Empire Strikes Back references. So there you go. But the point, here, is that the title of Dibell’s supposed sci-fi series The Rule of One is actually a clever tipping of the hat to Star Wars fans, a discreet index finger placed on the side of the nose, as it were, a pointed glance, if you will, to those in the “know.” The phrase, “Rule of One,” apparently refers the Sith (q.v., Dark Lords of the) principle of absolute obedience to an autonomous overlord. And it is exactly this notion of dark, deep, secret connection -- of plot -- that Plot so effectively limns. Dibell is good company; she’s not a bore. Her book’s parting words are good-humored and direct: “Now, quit reading. Go write.” show less
An awful title and a misleading barbarian-fantasy cover (surprisingly not completely inaccurate) -- and a much better than average DAW novel from the late 1970s. The back cover's parallels to Norton, Bradley, and Lee (all frequent DAW authors of course) is not too bad a set of comparisons. The setting is the far future, presumably on another planet, but this is only alluded to briefly. Except for a few major info-dumps, for the most part the reader is thrown into the multiple cultures and show more vocabulary of this world without much handholding. Characters are driven by many goals, misunderstand each other in multiple ways, but for the most part work towards a common goal. My one major complaint is that I simply could not follow what was happening at several key inflection points in the story. Despite that, I enjoyed the book and will seek out the sequels.
Recommended. show less
Recommended. show less
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Statistics
- Works
- 13
- Members
- 2,982
- Popularity
- #8,555
- Rating
- 3.7
- Reviews
- 47
- ISBNs
- 26
- Languages
- 3