Describe your new book. Oddfellow's Orphanage is a series of stories/vignettes that tell the tale of the newest arrival to a curious orphanage, a...
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This book is not, as the previous review suggests, too obtuse and merely abstract. Rather, The Art of Fiction is a perfect choice for every young writer to peruse and understand. Among other things, Gardner introduces in this book his significant and classic theory of "the fictional dream," his proposal that an author's responsiblity is to create a dream-like state for the reader, completely capturing him into the story with techniques available to every writer. He talks about fiction not just as storytelling or a way to make money, but as art, an art which is capable of being not only learned but refined by using several methods, some of which Gardner describes herein. This book describes, quite simply, as the back cover blurb says, "..the principles and techniques of good writing." He is more explicit about writing method in his other classic book on writing, On Becoming a Novelist, but this book is a basic bible that absolutely should be required reading for every writer, and is really no less important. I highly recommend this book for anyone thinking to step out upon the course of bringing stories to life between the covers of books.
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The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers by John Gardner
Aelnyana, February 17, 2007
This book is not, as the previous review suggests, too obtuse and merely abstract. Rather, The Art of Fiction is a perfect choice for every young writer to peruse and understand. Among other things, Gardner introduces in this book his significant and classic theory of "the fictional dream," his proposal that an author's responsiblity is to create a dream-like state for the reader, completely capturing him into the story with techniques available to every writer. He talks about fiction not just as storytelling or a way to make money, but as art, an art which is capable of being not only learned but refined by using several methods, some of which Gardner describes herein. This book describes, quite simply, as the back cover blurb says, "..the principles and techniques of good writing." He is more explicit about writing method in his other classic book on writing, On Becoming a Novelist, but this book is a basic bible that absolutely should be required reading for every writer, and is really no less important. I highly recommend this book for anyone thinking to step out upon the course of bringing stories to life between the covers of books.(5 of 11 readers found this comment helpful)