Never Say You Can't Survive: How to Get Through Hard Times by Making Up Stories

by Charlie Jane Anders

Overview

WINNER OF THE 2022 HUGO AWARD FOR BEST RELATED WORK
From Charlie Jane Anders, the award-winning author of novels such as All the Birds in the Sky and The City in the Middle of the Night, this is one of the most practical guides to storytelling that you will ever read.

The world is on fire.
So tell your story.

Things are scary right now. We’re all being swept along by a tidal wave of history, and it’s easy to feel helpless. But we’re not helpless: we have minds, and imaginations, and the ability to visualize other worlds and valiant struggles. And writing can be an act of resistance that reminds us that other futures and other ways of living are possible.

Full of memoir, personal anecdote, and insight about how to flourish during the present emergency, Never Say You Can’t Survive is the perfect manual for creativity in unprecedented times.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250800022
Publisher:	Tor Publishing Group
Publication date:	08/17/2021
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	340,995
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Charlie Jane Anders is the author of Victories Greater Than Death, the first book in the young-adult Unstoppable trilogy, along with the short story collection Even Greater Mistakes. Her other books include The City in the Middle of the Night and All the Birds in the Sky. Her fiction and journalism have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Slate, McSweeney's, Mother Jones, the Boston Review, Tor.com, Tin House, Conjunctions, Wired Magazine, and other places. Her TED Talk, "Go Ahead, Dream About the Future" got 700,000 views in its first week. With Annalee Newitz, she co-hosts the podcast Our Opinions Are Correct.

Editorial Reviews

08/30/2021

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.)

Publishers Weekly

★ 06/01/2021

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

Library Journal

Influenced by the uncertainty of current times, award-winning author Charlie Jane Anders crafts a guide on becoming a better writer and overcoming life's struggles. Part memoir, part pep talk, the timely and inspirational guide for listeners and writers alike exudes Anders’s colloquial and casual presence. Coming across as genuine and entertainingly amusing, she shares her struggles as a writer and offers up fresh solutions to the sometimes frustrating creative process, focusing on subjects such as imposter syndrome, characterization, finding your voice, and other common writing challenges both new and experienced authors face. Sharing guidance on the writing process with thought-provoking exercises and examples, Anders enthusiastically explains how difficult times can spark creativity and how writing can be cathartic. D.Z. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine

NOVEMBER 2021 - AudioFile

Influenced by the uncertainty of current times, award-winning author Charlie Jane Anders crafts a guide on becoming a better writer and overcoming life's struggles. Part memoir, part pep talk, the timely and inspirational guide for listeners and writers alike exudes Anders’s colloquial and casual presence. Coming across as genuine and entertainingly amusing, she shares her struggles as a writer and offers up fresh solutions to the sometimes frustrating creative process, focusing on subjects such as imposter syndrome, characterization, finding your voice, and other common writing challenges both new and experienced authors face. Sharing guidance on the writing process with thought-provoking exercises and examples, Anders enthusiastically explains how difficult times can spark creativity and how writing can be cathartic. D.Z. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine

NOVEMBER 2021 - AudioFile