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Beth Daniels
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GEARED UP! WRITING STEAMPUNK Kindle Edition

by Beth Daniels (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.0 out of 5 stars 29 ratings
“The best thing about Steampunk is getting to rewrite history.” Or so a reviewer said in commenting about Geared Up Writing Steampunk. But author Beth Daniels totally agrees with them! In this, the 3rd edition of the book, she adds a few more elements to the fun PLUS expands the listing of Steampunk publishers from 36 to 43, many of them new to the volume with no longer valid ones dropped. Since the first edition back in 2010, this has been the only volume to focus solely on writing Steampunk fiction and building the Steampunk stage on which characters play. Steampunk is, without a doubt, the most fun a historian in love with the 19th century can have since this is enhancement rewriting of what events might have been if technology got an extra boost a bit earlier. Among elements covered are: • Characters – 31 classifications, covering professions, social strata, and how to build a “being” whether biological or mechanical • Style of Story – tales of adventure, mystery, romance, dystopian, comedy, time travel • The World Setting – Victoria’s England, Edward’s, Weird West, Weird Urban East, La Belle Epoch, Canada and Australia, Parallel and Alternative Universe, off Earth (space travel, Steampunk style) • Suggestions for how to Mangle History • Creating machines • Period language and jargon creation • Steampunk meets Gaslamp Fantasy (paranormals, supernaturals, legendary beings, the Fae) • To use magic or not to use magic . . .and more! Particularly the marketplace for Steampunk stories. So, don those goggles, pack up the carpetbag, lace up the corset, brush off the bowler or top hat, choose your weapons, the country and spot within the Victorian, Edwardian, Gilded Age or Belle Epoch that will serve as the stage. Decide whether your cast includes detectives or inquiry agents, government agents or the police, six-gun toting marshals or inventors with upgrades on weapons, machines, transportation and communication. Board the steam locomotive, the dirigible, the automobile or rocket powered bicycle. Go questing for the unknown be it up the Amazon, into the jungles, deserts or mountains of Africa, South America, India, or to one of the poles, toward the center of the Earth or to the Moon or Mars, or a different dimension. Deal with lost worlds, find treasure, dinosaur bones, or alert mummies. Journey into the known and the unknown. Journey where history never took us. Get Geared Up and write Steampunk! Reviewers have said of previous editions: • “[Daniels’] dual passions for history and storytelling come together in a way that makes history a playground.” • “I read it, cover to cover, because Ms. Daniels made the world steampunk draws on interesting. Because, in order to warp history, you've gotta know it first.” • “…packs a lot of useful information for anyone who is interested in writing steampunk fiction. Everything from archetypal steampunk characters to the various subgenres and time periods is covered here. My favorite bits are when the author discusses historical figures and events and how best to warp them to suit your story (especially in the appropriately titled chapter ‘Mangling History’).” • “…just plain fun to read,” • “…essential to anyone wanting to [dip] their toe into writing steampunk. It is told in a no nonsense yet humorous way and gave invaluable info.” • “Inspirational. Must read again with notepad and pen.” About the Author: Beth Daniels discovered Steampunk when she was looking for a different market for 19th century American West stories and fell in love immediately. Under the pen name Nied Darnell, she writes both Weird West adventure and London based Victoriana Steampunk comedy. She also writes historical romance and romantic comedy as Beth Henderson and urban fantasy mystery comedy and fantasy comedy as J.B. Dane.
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  1. Print length
    246 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Accessibility
    Learn more
  4. Publication date
    February 24, 2014
  5. Reading age
    15 - 18 years
  6. File size
    3.3 MB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
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  9. Enhanced typesetting
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00IMWRY2U
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ 3 Media Press
  • Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 24, 2014
  • Edition ‏ : ‎ 3rd
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 3.3 MB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 246 pages
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 15 - 18 years
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 out of 5 stars 29 ratings

About the author

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Beth Daniels

Beth Daniels

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BETH DANIELS lends the expertise she gained as a professional novelist with 30+ years and 37 published novels, as well as novellas and short stories to her list of achievements, though they fall under various pseudonyms, to aid genre fiction writers on the cusp of their careers. Add in a BA in History and a MA in English Composition and Rhetoric with an Emphasis in Creative Writing, over a dozen years as a composition instructor at the college level, numerous online fiction writing workshops at SavvyAuthors.com and for various RWA online chapters, and the stats add up.

She knows her onions and can maneuver her way through nearly any genre or subgenre birthed.

She is a past-president of The Derby Rotten Scoundrels, the Louisville, KY, Sisters in Crime chapter, and one of the founders of the writing group The Bards of Bardstown. Her numerous workshops have spawned a collection of Fiction Writers Aids e-books and other non-fiction titles about the art of writing fiction, among them GEARED UP WRITING STEAMPUNK, MUSE TO MANUSCRIPT, and HOW TO WRITE A FUNNY MYSTERY.

Find her at www.4TaleTellers.com or https://www.facebook.com/Muse2Manuscript-243368693245777 or @BethDaniels1 on Twitter.

Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
29 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book's information quality positive, with one noting it's written in a no-nonsense style. They appreciate its historical content, with one review highlighting its coverage of different eras within the 19th century.

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Information qualityHistory
5 customers mention "Information quality"5 positive0 negative

Customers find the information in the book invaluable, with one describing it as a no-nonsense guide.

"...of ideas, objects, people, and places in steampunk worlds, it's a useful guide...." Read more

"...leaner and meaner version of it's predecessor, but still packs a lot of useful information for anyone who is interested in writing steampunk fiction...." Read more

"...do with it, Geared Up : Writing Steampunk will be a steady and inspirational guide." Read more

"If you are interested in writing Steampunk this is a great book to get ideas from. If you are not a writer or would be writer, save your money...." Read more

3 customers mention "History"3 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's historical content, with one customer noting how it makes history a playground, while another mentions how it covers different eras within the 19th century.

"...that this book shouldn't replace actual research, but timelines of interesting events or invention dates would have been handy—especially when..." Read more

"...in both content and format, and it remains the best primer on writing the steampunk genre I've encountered. Geared Up!..." Read more

"...for history and storytelling come together in a way that makes history a playground. I read this book...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Rachel H.
    4.0 out of 5 stars Useful and Not Useful at The Same Time
    Reviewed in the United States on October 9, 2020
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    As an overview of ideas, objects, people, and places in steampunk worlds, it's a useful guide. As an overview of history to bring settings to life, it lacks.

    The Good:
    She breaks down the types of characters, technology, and genres (sci-fi, adventure, romance, etc.) very well and provides examples of published authors who have used them in creative ways. She also provides a story idea—an expedition to Mars!—and shows how it could be developed in different ways. Other topics include different eras within the 19th century & beginning of the 20th (a total of seven setting & time divisions, including Weird West and Weird Urban West), and overviews of parts of England, America, Australia, and New Zealand within those time frames. And for those looking to be published by a publishing company vs self-publishing, she provides a recently updated list of publishers.

    The Lacking:
    "Weird Urban West" focuses on San Francisco and Denver, while "Weird East" covers Chicago, Pittsburg, Boston, and New York City. The amount of time spent on each feels uneven (one city gets just two pages) and some of the details feel like they were included more because "this is cool!" than because they were useful for world building. I feel that there could have been better balance there.

    Maps would have helped immensely. Especially when talking about the various gold & silver rushes in America and New Zealand, various train routes, or the bridges in order across the Thames.

    I know that this book shouldn't replace actual research, but timelines of interesting events or invention dates would have been handy—especially when following her advice to tweak when things happened to suit your plot.

    There's a note at the beginning that the book was a compilation of several online workshops, and it reads like that in places. Also, she REALLY needs a proofreader, and/or an editor. There are a few historical mistakes right off the bat (who is Poncho Vila, anyway?), and there are a lot of sentences that I had to read multiple times to figure out where she was going with the subject.

    I would have given it 3.5 stars, but rounded up instead.
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  • Owl and Ivy
    5.0 out of 5 stars Updated and better than ever!
    Reviewed in the United States on March 12, 2014
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    Geared Up! Writing Steampunk is the leaner and meaner version of it's predecessor, but still packs a lot of useful information for anyone who is interested in writing steampunk fiction. Everything from archetypal steampunk characters to the various subgenres and time periods is covered here. My favorite bits are when the author discusses historical figures and events and how best to warp them to suit your story (especially in the appropriately titled chapter "Mangling History").

    There are some great improvements from the first edition in both content and format, and it remains the best primer on writing the steampunk genre I've encountered. Geared Up! is also just plain fun to read, so slap on your goggles and get ready to write your own steampunk adventure.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • MMV Hamilton
    4.0 out of 5 stars History as they never taught us in school!
    Reviewed in the United States on October 30, 2014
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    The best thing about steampunk is getting to rewrite history. Geared Up: Writing Steampunk, Beth Daniels' guide to indulging the genre, is more than a "how to write" book. Her dual passions for history and storytelling come together in a way that makes history a playground.

    I read this book. Most books on writing are a list of topics that I can thumb through when I have a problem. Not this one. I read it, cover to cover, because Ms. Daniels made the world steampunk draws on interesting. Because, in order to warp history you've gotta know it first. And the parts of history that don't make it into the history books we had in school? They are in here. In fact, if I were homeschooling somebody, this would be my source for getting started on history. "What would happen, for example, if ...?" is the beginning of a lot of stories. The essence of steampunk is the insertion of technology and its affect on society. Its a marvelous way to inspect the impact of changing technologies on our own behavior while indulging in a lot of creative recreation.

    With National Novel Writing Month bearing down on us, it is a good time to grab a copy and take it for a flight. Mix and match eras, landscapes and reading levels to make something fun immerse yourself in. Whatever you decide to do with it, Geared Up : Writing Steampunk will be a steady and inspirational guide.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Dave Hornung
    5.0 out of 5 stars Writer's Aid
    Reviewed in the United States on February 20, 2015
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    If you are interested in writing Steampunk this is a great book to get ideas from. If you are not a writer or would be writer, save your money. For writers it is worth the price and more.
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  • lora hasse
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great info
    Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2016
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    This book is essential to anyone wanting to do their toe into writing steampunk. It is told in a no nonsense yet humorous way and gave invaluable info.
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Ebook Elly
    4.0 out of 5 stars No list of steampunk fiction
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 25, 2023
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    I thought this was pretty good. I'd read some reviews that said it was too basic but I disagree. I thought the example that she worked up was useful and would have liked a couple more.

    My main disappointment was that although the author talks about examples of steampunk novels several time, I thought she'd mentioned somewhere that there's a list of steampunk fiction included in the book but I couldn't find it. That would have been useful.
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  • JK
    5.0 out of 5 stars A Treasure Trove
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 27, 2018
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    This book is full of tips, knowledge, and key points needed to write a solid steam punk story. Respect to Beth Daniels.
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  • Actionwords Publishing
    4.0 out of 5 stars Great sparker of ideas
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 9, 2017
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    A great overview of some flavoursome genres. Inspirational. Must read again with notepad and pen.
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