Synopses & Reviews
Written by best-selling author Janet Burroway, Imaginative Writing — an introduction to creative writing — covers all four genres: creative nonfiction, fiction, poetry, and drama. Imaginative Writing discusses elements of craft common to all creative writing before delving into the individual genres. Each of the first five chapters investigates a specific element of craft–Image, Voice, Character, Setting, and Story–from a perspective that crosses all genres. Chapter 6 explores development and revision and serves as a bridge between the craft chapters and genre chapters. The last four chapters examine individual genres: Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. This unique organization allows students to experiment with creative techniques shared by all genres before deciding which form best suits their imagination. Unique "Try-This" exercises help students develop writing skills, while new “Working Toward a Draft” exercises encourage students to think ahead about the direction and possibilities of their work
Synopsis
Janet Burroway's bestselling Imaginative Writng: The Elements of Craft explores the craft of creative writing in four genres: Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Creative Nonfiction. A trade author as well as a professor of creative writing, Burroway brings her years of teaching and writing to this book. "Try-This" exercises appear throughout each chapter. Provocative and fun, these exercises help writers develop the specific writing skills discussed within the text. “Working toward a draft” exercises encourage writers to develop their ideas into complete drafts. In response to reviewer requests, the preface “Invitation to the Writer” has been expanded into a full chapter. This new chapter introduces writers to important skills such as reading like a writer, journaling, and participating in the writer’s workshop. This book offers lots of ideas and encouragement at a great price!
About the Author
JANET BURROWAY is the author of plays, poetry, essays, children’s books, and eight novels including The Buzzards, Raw Silk (runner up for the National Book Award), Opening Nights, Cutting Stone, and Bridge of Sand. Her publications include a collection of personal essays, "Embalming Mom," in addition to a volume of poetry, Material Goods, and two children’s books in verse, The Truck on the Track and The Giant Jam Sandwich. Her most recent plays, Medea with Child (The Reva Shiner Award), Sweepstakes, Division of Property (Arts & Letters Award), and Parts of Speech, have received readings and productions in NewYork, London, San Francisco, Hollywood, Chicago, and various regional theatres. Her textbook Writing Fiction, now in its eighth edition, is the most widely used creative writing text in the United States. She is Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor Emerita at the Florida State University in Tallahassee.
Table of Contents
* indicate selections new to this edition.
Preface
to the instructor
Invitation
to the writer
You…
…and writing…
…and reading…
…and this book…
…and your journal…
…and your workshop
I. THE ELEMENTS OF CRAFT
1. IMAGE
Image and Imagination
Concrete, Significant Details
Figures of Speech
READINGS
Creative Nonfiction:
“The Giant Water Bug” Annie Dillard
* “The Ring of Time” E.B White
Fiction:
“The Diamond Mine” Nadine Gordimer
Poems:
“The Hawk in the Rain” Ted Hughes
* “Snow Day” Billy Collins
“Facing It” Yusef Komunyakaa
* “Naming of Parts” Henry Reed
Drama:
* Her Deer Story Jim Quinn
2. VOICE
Your voice
Persona
Character Voice
Point of View
READINGS
Creative Nonfiction:
* “Beauty: When the Other Dancer is the Self” Alice Walker
* “A Note About Allen Tate” Kelly Cherry
Fiction:
* “Sitting With the Dead” William Trevor
Poems:
“Black Hair” Gary Soto
* “Ginko Tree” Tom Crawford
“Kong Looks Back on His Tryout with the Bears” William Trowbridge
“Father” Hilda Raz
“The Language of Bees” Barbara Hamby
Drama:
French Fries Jane Martin
3. CHARACTER
As Desire
As Image
As Voice
As Action
As Thought
As Presented by The Author
As Conflict
Stock and Flat Characters
READINGS
Creative Nonfiction:
“The Inheritance of Tools” Scott Russell Sanders
Fiction:
* “Interpreter of Maladies” Jhumpa Lahiri
Poems:
“I Knew a Woman” Theodore Roethke
“Stonecarver” Carole Simmons Oles
* “To Aunt Rose” Allan Ginsberg
“One Flesh” Elizabeth Jennings
* “Life Cycle of Common Man” Howard Nemerov
Drama:
Brother Mary Gallagher
4. SETTING
As the World
As a Camera
As Mood and Symbol
As Action
READINGS
Creative Non-Fiction:
“At the Dam” Joan Didion
* “A Wind From the North” Bill Capossere
Fiction:
“The School” Donald Barthelme
Poems:
* “At Navajo Monument Valley Tribal School” Sherman Alexie
“Earthmoving Malediction” Heather McHugh
* “Trials of a Tourist” Anne Tibble
“Nude Interrogation” Yusef Komunyakaa
Drama:
The Philadelphia David Ives
5. STORY
As a Journey
As a Power Struggle
As Connection/Disconnection
READINGS
Creative Nonfiction:
“Red Sky in the Morning” Patricia Hampl
Fiction:
“Missing” Robert Olen Butler
* “The Story” Amy Bloom
Poems:
“A Story About the Body” Robert Haas
* “Columbine High School” Albert Goldbarth
“Short Story” Ellen Bryant Voigt
“Woodchucks” Maxine Kumin
“The Hammock” Li-Young Lee
Drama:
The Battle of Bull Run Always Makes Me Cry Carole Real
6. DEVELOPMENT AND REVISION
Developing a Draft
Structuring
Research
Revision
Editing
The Workshop
EXAMPLES
First and final drafts of "One Art" Elizabeth Bishop
The Opening of Indian Dancer: A Revision Narrative Janet Burroway
* Growing "Four Tangerines" James Kimbrell
II. THE GENRES
7. CREATIVE NONFICTION
The Essay and Creative Nonfiction
Memoir and the Personal Essay
Techniques of Creative Nonfiction
Fact and Truth
READINGS
“The Female Body” Margaret Atwood
* “Do He Have Your Number, Mr. Jeffrey?” Gayle Pemberton
* “Interlude” William Kittredge
“The Knife” Richard Selzer
Creative Nonfiction Format
8. FICTION
Story and Plot
Scene and Summary
Backstory and Flashback
Text and Subtext
READINGS
“Snow” Charles Baxter
* “Story” Lydia Davis
* “A Clean, Well-lighted Place” Ernest Hemingway
* “Bigfoot Stole My Wife” Ron Carlson
Fiction Format
9. POETRY
Free Verse and Formal Verse
Imagery, Connotation, and Metaphor
Density and Intensity
Prosody, Rhythm, and Rhyme
READINGS
“Stillborn” Sylvia Plath
“The Grammar Lesson” Steve Kowit
* “Annus Mirabilis” Philip Larkin
* “Fathers” Grace Paley
“Black Silhouettes of Shrimpers” Dave Smith
* “The Pardon” Richard Wilbur
“The Language of the Brag” Sharon Olds
“Dream Song 14” John Berryman
Poetry Format
10. DRAMA
The Difference Between Drama and Fiction
Sight: Sets, Action, Costumes, Props
Sound: Nonverbal and Verbal
Some Notes on Screenwriting
READINGS
Duet for Bear and Dog Sybil Rosen
Gas José Rivera
* Removing the Head Josh Ben Friedman
Eukiah Lanford Wilson
Drama Format
Appendix A: Basic Prosody
Glossary
Index