Synopses & Reviews
This wide-ranging handbook is aimed at students who want to develop their fiction writing skills. Reading and reflective practice are foregrounded, and students are given constant recommendations of what they might read. Imaginative and accessible, this companionable handbook is clearly and innovatively structured around the processes and techniques of developing writing. It will allow students to acquire a portfolio of key skills and is ideal for anyone writing short stories or longer fiction.
Review
"[B]oth novice and experienced fiction writers can learn from this book. Fiction writing is not something that you can rely on sheer talent to get right, you really do need to understand the functions of storycraft. As such, reminding yourself of what needs to be done as well as working on any weaknesses is not a bad idea. If I can learn something from this book then I'm sure you will as well." —GF Willmetts
Synopsis
If you are a writer of fiction, this practical handbook will teach you how to acquire your own writer's tool-box. Here you will learn all about developing your craft. The wide-ranging exploration of fiction-writing skills contains many unique features, such as the focus on reflective learning and tuition on advanced skills including foreshadowing, transitions and producing short story cycles. Throughout, the approach is centred on 3 kinds of activity:
- Examining the theory of particular fiction writing skills.
- Analysing the practice of these skills in examples of published work.
- Practising the use of skills in fiction-writing exercises.
What makes this guide so distinctive, though, is the way it consistently asks you to reflect on your work, and stresses the importance of being able to articulate the processes of writing.
Packed with wisdom about the art of fiction and filled with writing exercises, How to Write Fiction (and Think about It) examines the work of today's finest authors to teach you everything you need to know about writing short stories or longer fiction. Whether you are a student, a would-be professional author, or a general reader who simply likes to write for pleasure, this guide will equip you with a portfolio of key fiction-writing skills.
Synopsis
A wide-ranging handbook for students that offers practical advice on how to develop fiction writing skills.
About the Author
ROBERT GRAHAM is Programme Leader of the BA Creative Writing degree at Manchester Metropolitan University, UK. His previous publications include The Road to Somewhere: A Creative Writing Companion (Palgrave Macmillan, 2004).
Table of Contents
PART 1: HOW A WRITER WORKS * How a Writer Works * Writing Bursts * Notes and Journals * 500-Word Story Project: Person, Place, Problem * Reflection: How to Think about your Writing + Reflection Project 1: What Keeps Me Writing * How to Read As a Writer + Reflection Project 2: The Writer Reading * PART 2: WRITING SHORT STORIES * A Brief Tour around the Short Story * The Distance Between: Author, Narrator, Reader and Point of View * Characters--H.Newall * Living Elsewhere: Plot * Scenes (with Beginnings and Endings) * 1000-Word Story Project: Family Plot * Dialogue * Setting * Epiphany * 11500-Word Story Project: Tuning In * PART 3: REDRAFTING * Redrafting 1: Editing * Page Design * Peer Appraisal * Writer's Workshops * Redrafting 2: Revising * PART 4: TIME IN FICTION * Some Notes on Handling Time in Fiction--J.Friel * Transitions * Crossing Timelines and Breaking Rules--H.Leach * Foreshadowing * 2000-word Story Project: Dental Surgery * PART 5: WRITING WITH STYLE * Meaning Sense and Clarity * Description--U.Hurley * Concision, Omission, Precision * Long, Lush, Lyrical, Musical * 3000-word Story Project: Literary Revision * PART 6: DEVELOPING YOUR FICTION * Bring Out Your Demons and Angels--J.Newman * Looking for the Drama--U.Hurley * The Longer Story * Story Project: The Longer Story * The Short Story Cycle * Story Project: The Short Story Cycle * Structure - What Is It Good For?--G.Creer * Reflection Project 3 * Afterword * How to Go the Distance * Appendix * Interview with Sheena Joughin and Rajeev Balasubamanyam * Index