Review: 'Writing Steampunk!' by Beth Daniels

Writing Steampunk! by Beth Daniels, 2011, 3 Media Press, $13.06, softbound, pages. Category/Genre: writing how-to. Cover: pretty good; really like the typewriter, but it could be more Steampunky. Where we got it: bought it. Where you can get it: Amazon, Barnes and Noble. 


One of the best things about this book is that the appendices give examples of historical events and technology in the 19th and early 20th centuries. One of the most frustrating things is that the Table of Contents does not list page numbers. In addition, the Appendices list events and technology by the decades, rather than the year, with the exception of Appendix II, '19th Century Technology.' 

Other high points include chapters on world-building, human and mechanical characters, and magical elements. 

There are research aids given on wardrobes and coinage, weapons, slang, and entertainment. 

If you like this one, try: The Writer's Guide to Everyday Life in Regency and Victorian England from 1811-1901, by Kristine Hughes.