The twenty-four contributors to Creating Fiction--members of the Associated Writing Programs--have won awards such as the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, and the National Magazine Award. Now their experience and wisdom can be found in one landmark book.
* Learn how to revise and edit from Jane Smiley * Find ways to evoke time and place from Richard Russo * Hear a passionate discussion of the writer's apprenticeship from Charles Johnson * Explore tone and emphasis with Charles Baxter
Their sage advice, combined with more than 100 writing exercises, assure that Creating Fiction will engage and delight readers at any level of experience.
Unable to secure a coveted spot in a creative-writing program? Unwilling to make the life changes necessary to do so? Creating Fiction is a fiction-writing course from some of those programs' top instructors. Among the finest of these 23 never-before-published essays about fiction writing--each of which is accompanied by a few writing exercises--are those by Jane Smiley on revision, John Barth on plot, Carrie Brown on the writing of magic realism, and Julie Checkoway on "The Lingerie Theory of Literature" ("The fundamental secret ... to the effective ending," Checkoway confides, "is to practice the restraint one sees in those Victoria's Secret lingerie ads--enough coyness to tantalize, enough enigma to tease, but never, ever, too much naked abandon").
And Philip Gerard, author of Hatteras Light and instructor at UNC-Wilmington, has written a standout piece about structuring the novel and story collection. "It astonishes me," says Gerard, "that intelligent people who would not hold a wedding, plant a garden, or even slap together a utility shed without exhaustive planning nonetheless regard the novel as a spontaneous literary event that just happens onto the page." Of course, there are many novelists who would disagree with Gerard about such planning, but Gerard is not advocating writing an outline and sticking to it. "The central paradox of writing the novel," he says, is that "you have to know where it's going, but when it speaks to you, shows you a better direction, you have to be ready to abandon your plan and listen to the story." Gerard also has unorthodox ideas on the organizing of story collections. While most writers obsess over story arrangement, Gerard's approach is more relaxed. "Enough readers read at random within the collection," he advises, "that worrying too much about the order of stories may distract the writer and editor from more important considerations." And whatever you do, don't be overwhelmed by the concept of writing a book. "Nobody writes a book," says Gerard. "What you write every day is a piece of a book, a fragment, a scene." --Jane Steinberg
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
Help and Info:
I have a Friend who is a writer she recommended this book for the activities/homeworks you get at the end of each chapter, it help her enormously when she was in college, so I decided to get it, I'm just starting with the book but the first chapter alone gave me a perspective of different views of a reader/writer.
I will recommended for beginner writers, or for someone a little challenge on his/hers writers skills.
Book came in a very good condition, new.
Excellent reference book for writers and writing teachers:
Creating Fiction is very usable for students and teachers of fiction writing. The primary strength of this book is that the authors give concrete instruction for developing skills as a fiction writer, rather than vague, abstract advice. They tell the reader what works (and what doesn't work) in their classrooms. Every essay contains examples from classic and/or contemporary published writing--from Shakespeare to T.C. Boyle. Thus, teachers will easily be able to pair these essays, or lessons on the... more info
TOO MUCH CHATTER:
There are many flattering reviews of CREATING FICTION on Amazon, but I find the book to be filled with friendly chatter that doesnt contain much instruction or helpful information. The one piece of solid advice in this book is Maxwell Perkins' suggestion to read WAR & PEACE several times and forget about how-to-write books.
A Complete Writing Workshop in One Book:
Imagine having 23 professional writing coaches at your disposal - each instructor teaching the fundamentals of writing they've perfected over the years. "Creating Fiction" is the best of nationwide creative writing programs taught by respected novelists and short story writers.
Established authors offer their expertise in these informative essays. Every entry ends with related exercises pertaining to the writing elements you've just learned. In fact, you'll find over 100 writing exercises taught in... more info
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