Book Description
Gotham Writers' Workshop has mastered the art of teaching the craft of writing in a way that is practical, accessible, and entertaining. Now the techniques of this renowned school are available in this book.
Here you'll find:
- The fundamental elements of fiction craft-character, plot, point of view, etc.-explained clearly and completely
- Key concepts illustrated with passages from great works of fiction
- The complete text of "Cathedral" by Raymond Carver-a masterpiece of contemporary short fiction that is analyzed throughout the book
- Exercises that let you immediately apply what you learn to your own writing
Written by Gotham Writers' Workshop expert instructors and edited by Dean of Faculty Alexander Steele, Writing Fiction offers the same methods and exercises that have earned the school international acclaim.
Once you've read-and written-your way through this book, you'll have a command of craft that will enable you to turn your ideas into effective short stories and novels.
You will be a writer.
Customer Reviews:
Strong for the beginners.......2007-09-23
Long familiar with the Gotham Writer's Workshop, I expected more from this work, but passed it on to several others and they found it helpful. I believe its strength lies in the organization it brings to your outlining and writing, carrying over to all phases of work. If you're just kicking off the life-long desire to write and are not schooled formally in creative writing, I highly recommend this.
Excellent Guide.......2007-08-05
Of more than a dozen books on the craft of writing fiction I've read, this is the clearest introductory book. Edited by Alexander Steele, it comprises eleven chapters, each by a different writing teacher. At first, this raised my concern: so many voices. Not to worry -- the book has been superbly edited to hold together.
Alexander Steele, the author of the first chapter, engaged me right away with his amiable and highly informed voice. Subsequent chapters sustain this voice while presenting remarkably clear expositions of basic constitutive elements of fiction: character; plot; point of view; description; dialogue; setting and pacing; voice; theme; and revision. These chapters include numerous brief excerpts from outstanding contemporary writers such as Jane Smiley, Arundhati Roy, and Milan Kundera. Moreover, the book thoroughly analyzes a classic contemporary short story, Raymond Carver's "Cathedral." The story, in full, appears in the appendix. Also in the appendix is a 2-page "cheat sheet" highlighting the key points of the entire book. The concluding chapter, "The Business of Writing" offers many valuable tips.
Five star book.
-- C J Singh
Advice that summarize the art of writing fiction.......2007-05-06
This book helps me to remember the most important rules when writing a novel. It is described in a very pedagogic manner. Still it is very hard for me to understand how to use different perspectiv but I am on my way with what is written here. Anyhow the book is not for for advanced writer but is great for beginners and almost beginners.
well written with practical exercises.......2007-04-08
easy to follow with practical exercises. Good for the beginning writer looking to build confidence and practice in the art of building characters and stories
book on writing.......2006-11-10
Excellent. Great, practical exercises. Highly recommended. I've been a professional writer for more than 20 years and this is the best book on writing I've read.
Book Description
The great paradox of the writing life is that to be a good writer, you must be both interested in the world around you and comfortable working in solitude for hours on end. Fiction Writer's Workshop, 2nd edition is designed to help writers foster a strong sense of independence, of being and thinking on their own, of becoming both disciplined and self-evaluative (not self-critical) in order to accomplish for themselves what others seek out in classroom groups. This comprehensive guide contains all of the key elements of a writing workshop: clear instruction illustrated by contemporary and classic works, innovative exercises and methods to gauge progress, and techniques for developing day-to-day discipline as well as a personal writing style.
Customer Reviews:
An excellent intermediary guide book.......2007-09-21
Once you have read an introductory book like Brayfield's Bestseller or Kings 'On writing' this is the book to buy and use.
Novakovich covers there basic elements: Setting /Character/Plot/PoV/Dialogue & Scene/Begins and endings / description/ vice and revision. He uses numerous examples form published literature and each chapter concludes with a number of good exercises.
One topic Novakovich does not cover is writers block. Maybe that is because he provides the solutions. Writers block is either due to lack of ideas or anxiety about one's writing. Novakovich provides the solutions - a chapter on the sources of fiction and a reference book to dip into every time one feels a anxious.
The beauty of Fiction Writers Workshop is the exercise - do them - and that all aspects are covered in one short book. That is also its disadvantage. Successful writing is complex, it requires fluent and adaptive use of a number of skills. To become fluent you will need to read and practice each in greater depth than can be provided in one book that covers them all. Don't make the mistake I made of going in depth on one skill first. It can lead to imbalance. Start with Fiction Writers Workshop and you will gain a balance.
Readers of this review can review it - tick the box 'useful' or 'not useful'. There is something I have noticed in those reviews. If reviews are critical then people are less likely to tick the box - 'useful' and more likely to tick the box 'Not useful'. What they are in fact saying is 'It was a nice review'. For a writer that is the worst kind of review. It leads you up the garden path. An author needs is honest candid review.
I'm not being nice about Fiction Writer's Workshop. It is that good.
just Jack
Excellent Read for the Slow Starter.......2007-07-01
This book is a must read for anyone who has trouble getting started. The mantra that has been beaten into my head over and over by most college professors is the importance of writing everyday. However, that's often easier said than done. Outside of CW courses, class assignments and workshops, it's been very difficult for me to get started and I've never been big on journaling. This excercises in this book have provided me with countless "assignments" to help get the creative juices flowing. If you find that you need a little push to get going, this book is for you.
Wonderful book.......2007-05-03
I have taken several classes lately and with them gotten several books. Most of them have at least some valuable information to make one a better writer with modern examples, but this book is unique in that you never feel like the author is giving you lines in which you are supposed to color inside of to make a good picture. You never feel pressured either. Since I am a beginning writer, this was the perfect atmosphere for me because there was room to learn new things, and reject some things without feeling I am suffering long-term as a writer. If one feels a strong sense of personal voice, this is the best book to acquire and develop new skills (as well as refine existing ones)
Fiction Writer's Workshop by Josip Novakovich.......2007-03-16
The book arrived in excellent condition within the scheduled delivery time.
This book is terrific, well written, an excellent resource. Understandable and practical. Bravo!
Thank you,
Francine Keehnel
Outstanding Writing Instruction.......2006-11-04
This gives you the how and the why and what you must do to accomplish what you wish to accomplish in your writing. Worth every penny.
Amazon.com
For The Eleventh Draft, Frank Conroy solicited essays about writing from 23 fiction writers--all of them one-time Iowa Writers' Workshop students or faculty members. "My instructions to them," says Conroy, "were deliberately vague.... Leaving it open seemed to me to heighten the chances of getting the strongest and least predictable work." Conroy guessed right. Beyond the shared sentiment that writing is hard work, there is, blessedly, no common thread here. For T. Coraghessan Boyle, writing is an addiction as powerful as "putting a bottle to your lips or a spike in your arm." James Hynes claims that writing takes such a toll that "just writing this essay is probably as bad for me as a pack of cigarettes." And Barry Hannah describes writers as "not always the most vital people in the room, but often nearer ghouls sniffing at the trough of other living blood." In the book's most pessimistic piece, Doris Grumbach maligns word processors for destroying the richness of the English language, megabestsellers for the decimation of forests, and the notion of writer-as-celebrity (lionization, she says, does not advance one's writing).
Most of this book's contributors aim, often by way of story, to get at the mysterious heart of the fiction writer's experience. Fred G. Leebron recalls the moment he realized that the characters take the author by the hand, and not vice versa. Elizabeth McCracken confesses to having no inner or outer life, but to stealing all her material from her family. And Scott Spencer underscores the courage needed to create fiction. "A writer who will not risk hurting someone's feelings," he says, "is finally no more effective than a firefighter who will not smash in windows." --Jane Steinberg
Book Description
"My instructions to them were deliberately vague--they were to write about writing, any aspect or approach that caught their fancy. Leaving it open seemed to me to heighten the chances of getting the strongest and least predictable work. And so it was. They came at it from different angles, using different techniques, and each piece is unique. Perhaps the only common tacit assumption is that writing is difficult."-- From the Introduction by Frank Conroy
Since its inception in 1936, the Iowa Writers' Workshop has been perched atop the creative writing landscape, producing some of the greatest writers of the century. Though no one claims that writing can be taught--the Workshop itself professes no method--there is no disputing the success of the program and its celebrated attendees. Of the 20 Pulitzers awarded for fiction and poetry in the `90s, nine have gone to University of Iowa graduates.
For The Eleventh Draft, present-day director Frank Conroy invited 23 former professors and students of the Iowa Writers' Workshop to pen essays on their craft. As he hints in his Introduction, he was looking for an eclecticism, and The Eleventh Draft is nothing if not diverse. Some pieces are deeply personal; others might have been scripted for the first day of class. They are sometimes prescriptive, often contradictory, but always eloquent and provocative.
The Eleventh Draftis an invaluable resource for aspiring and established writers, for lovers of literature, and for anyone intrigued by the writing process or the Workshop itself. If you have doubts, open this anthology and, as Conroy advises, "Listen up."
Customer Reviews:
Congratulations, all of you, on your fine, fine..........2003-07-29
A toast! Tenure all around. Bravo, marvellous. All of you--really. Really, truly marvelous. So many insights. You've got Paris on the Iowa River out there, you really do. A round table to make King Arthur proud. A real Salon--Kantian style. Brilliant, on every possible level. So true, everything was so true; and so well-said, from start to finish. Not a word out of place. Ideal. Perfection! Stupendous! I can't rave enough. Tenure for everyone! On me!
Charming.......2000-05-09
Elizabeth McCracken, Stuart Dybek, and Tom Grimes deliver the best here (in my opinion), but the other essays are worth reading. There is throughout the book a shared love of writing--even at its most frustrating and formdible. The title, The Eleventh Draft, is a gentle nudge to the rest of us that God is in the revisions; that no one--not even the best (and these writers are good)--writes easily or quickly, and that the process of writing is just as meaningful as the result (even if nobody ever sees your 11th draft but you). :-)
A Worthwhile Read for Prose Writers.......1999-10-05
A compilation of essays from former students and teachers of the prestigious Iowa Writers' Workshop, editor Frank Conroy's book The Eleventh Draft attempts to capture the essence of the writer's life. "These essays," Conroy notes in the introduction, "are written by people who struggle with both the visible and invisible realities of language every day of their lives." Consequently, authors including Stuart Dybek, Elizabeth McCracken, and Barry Hannah reflect on the unique nature of their profession. The tone varies wildly; while authors such as William Lashner and Justin Cronin write in a deeply personal manner, Scott Spencer and James Alan McPherson give more detached, less introspective observations. This variance renders some essays less affecting than others, but most are engaging, thoughtful pieces. Despite such a lofty goal this book is an overall success, a testament to Conroy's faith in his selected writers (evidenced in his "deliberately vague" instructions for each contributing author) as well as the authors' individual talents. Those looking for pragmatic tips should look elsewhere. However, prose writers seeking both inspiration and insight should find this book both valuable and enjoyable.
Book Description
A collection of accessible and excellent short fiction hand-picked by the country's most popular writing school.
Each of the stories in Fiction Gallery will hold you spellbound from first to last page, while also exemplifying the very best in literary fiction. Grouped in sections that follow the cycle of life, these stories explore the varied aspects of human existence and, cumulatively, form the satisfying dramatic arc of a novel.
The authors range from the acknowledged masters of short fiction- Anton Chekhov, Dorothy Parker, John Cheever, Raymond Carver, T.C. Boyle, Jhumpa Lahiri- to the very best of today's emerging writers. As a bonus, the anthology includes interviews with T.C. Boyle and Jhumpa Lahiri, in which they illuminate the process of creating a short story.
Aspiring writers who enjoyed Gotham Writers' Workshop previous book, Writing Fiction, will also find this anthology an invaluable source of inspiration and instruction.
Gotham Writers' Workshop is America's leading private creative writing school, offering classes in New York City and on the web at WritingClasses.com. The school's interactive online classes, selected "Best of the Web" by Forbes, have attracted thousands of aspiring writers from across the United States and more than sixty countries.
Customer Reviews:
Another Excellent Short-Story Anthology.......2007-08-05
The FICTION GALLERY comprises twenty-five short stories by past masters such as Anton Chekov, John Cheever, and Raymond Carver as well as by outstanding contemporary writers such as Jhumpa Lahiri, T.C. Boyle, and Hannah Tinti.
The book also includes interviews with the above three contemporary writers, adding another dimension to the readers' understanding of the fiction-writing craft. How? First, a summary of Jhumpa Lahiri's short story, and then an excerpt from her interiew.
Lahiri's "The Third and Final Continent" is a first-person story of an Indian immigrant who looks back at his first few weeks in America, thirty years ago. In the late 1960s, at age thirty-six, he arrives to work as a librarian at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, after having studied for four years in London (his second continent). Just before coming to America, he takes a trip to Calcutta to "attend" his arranged marriage, staying there only a week, barely getting acquainted with his bride. She has to await her visa for six weeks before she can join him in America. On arrival in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the narrator checks into the local YMCA and later rents a room in the home of a 103-year-old widow, Mrs. Croft, who lives by herself. She is a stay-at-home eccentric mother of a 68-year-old daughter, who thinks it improper that her visiting daughter wears a dress high above her ankle. "For your information, Mother, it's 1969. What would you do if you actually left the house one day and saw a girl in a miniskirt?" Mrs. Croft sniffs: "I'd have her arrested."
When the narrator's wife, Mala, arrives from Calcutta, Mrs. Croft scrutinizes her "from top to toe with what seemed to be placid disdain. I wondered if Mrs. Croft had ever seen a woman in a sari, with a dot painted on her forehead and bracelets stacked on her wrists. I wondered what she would object to. I wondered if she could see the red dye still vivid on Mala's feet, all but obscured by the bottom edge of her sari. At last Mrs. Croft declared, with equal measure of disbelief and delight I know well:'She is a perfect lady!'"
It is this scrutiny that first evokes the narrator's empathy with his bride for it reminds him of his own experiences as a bewildered stranger in London. Looking back, "I like to think of that moment in Mrs. Croft's parlor as the moment when the distance between Mala and me began to lessen."
The interviewer's question: "You have an uncanny ability to get inside a deiverse collection of characters, regardless of age, gender, nationality, or personality. How do you zero in on your characters? Do you make detailed dossiers of look for some specific physical or emotional key or do you simply intuit these people as you write? In particular, how did Mrs. Croft come about?
Lahiri reply: "My characters are generally always composites of people I know, people I've heard of, people I imagine, and a little drop of myself. Mainly it's a matter of intuition, of putting yourself in the body and mind of another person. It's almost like acting, only instead of performing, you portray the person in language. Mrs. Croft was based on an actual perosn. When my father first came to America, he lived for a few months in the home of a 103-year old woman. He told me a few things about her -- she insisted that my father sit with her for a while every evening, and she talked endlessly about the man on the moon. He also mentioned that she was a piano teacher. I worked these details into Mrs. Croft's character and imagined the rest."
I wish the anthology had a dozen author interviews -- presenting the story behind the story.
--C. J. Singh
Best anthology ever for learning fiction writing!.......2006-03-22
Gotham Writers' Workshop's _Fiction Gallery: Exceptional Short Stories_ is a complete toolbox of writing techniques. Masters of the art of fiction--from Hawthorne to Chopin to Carver to Borges to ZZ Packer--illustrate craft in this well-chosen sampling of fictional works. Interviews with authors about their processes add another dimension. _Fiction Gallery_ is an affordable, accessible, and comprehensive collection.
Dr. Denise Low, professor of creative writing
Gems of the Storytellers' Art.......2004-11-15
Yes, the short story is alive and well. It is no longer a medium of popular entertainment but it lives on in numerous small literary magazines and anthologies, in devoted readers, and in a rising generation of great new short story writers.
This collection includes a wide range of styles and voices, but all are brilliantly done, accessible and engaging. Many of the newer short story voices are included as well as a few of the old masters, such as Hawthorne and Chekhov. Some of the writers are not afraid to break the rules--there are stories with omniscient point of view and stories that span several decades--but these authors know what they are doing and the stories work--brilliantly. The short stories are grouped into sections based on the life cycle, with short and helpful introductory comments.
The book includes delightful short interviews with three of the authors, which will be especially appealing to the authors among us. The Fiction Gallery is one of the finest collections of short stories I have ever read. I recommend it most highly. Reviewed by Louis N. Gruber.
Great Anthology!.......2004-10-19
I have taken a class at the Gotham Writers' Workshop, and I highly recommend it. My former teacher, Thom Didato, is one of the editors of this collection. The purpose of this book is to give the reader (writer) an overview of the short story. Sure, there are countless other anthologies of short stories out there, but those either reprint the same ones over and over, or they cater to specialized markets. As it says in the introduction, "We've taken great pains to select stories that the general public will find gripping and entertaining." In other words, these stories qualify as literary fiction, but they are not pretentious or boring. There are a couple of classic stories here, by such authors as Carver, Chekov, and Hawthorne; but it is mostly comprised of contemporary stories that are only a few years old.
This book is a valuable guide to the state of the modern short story.
Book Description
Reggae's rebel spirit blazesÃ, in this hot selection of short fiction from Jamaica's Calabash Writer's Workshop. Set in the Caribbean and the U.S.A., the stories sweep across a range of moods and genres to create a narrative LP of fascinating voices. From the old lady who gives a "how to" speech on beating children, to the schizophrenic singer who thinks he's Bob Marley, to the hotel maid who gets a sexual offer that she can't refuse, the diverse mix of characters are linked by the fundamental principle that all cliched conventions must be shouted off the page. In the proudly odd tradition of Jamaican music, the selections seek to entertain while asking daring questions that provoke new ideas into being.
Contributors include: Colin Channer, Elizabeth Nunez, Marlon James, Kwame Dawes, Kaylie Jones, Geoffrey Philp, Rudolph Wallace, Konrad Kirlew, Alwin Bully, A-dZiko Simba, and Sharon Leach.
Book Description
“Make [your] characters want something right away—even if it’s only a glass of water. Characters paralyzed by the meaninglessness of modern life still have to drink water from time to time.” —
Kurt Vonnegut
“‘The cat sat on the mat’ is not the beginning of a story, but ‘the cat sat on the dog’s mat’ is.” —
John Le Carré
Nothing is more inspiring for a beginning writer than listening to masters of the craft talk about the writing life. But if you can’t get Vladimir Nabokov, Virginia Woolf, and Gabriel García Márquez together at the Algonquin, The Modern Library Writer’s Workshop gives you the next best thing. Stephen Koch, former chair of Columbia University’s graduate creative writing program, presents a unique guide to the craft of fiction. Along with his own lucid observations and commonsense techniques, he weaves together wisdom, advice, and inspiring commentary from some of our greatest writers. Taking you from the moment of inspiration (keep a notebook with you at all times), to writing a first draft (do it quickly! you can always revise later), to figuring out a plot (plot always serves the story, not vice versa), Koch is a benevolent mentor, glad to dispense sound advice when you need it most. The Modern Library Writer’s Workshop belongs on every writer’s shelf, to be picked up and pored over for those moments when the muse needs a little help finding her way.
Customer Reviews:
A good buy for the serious beginner.......2007-05-14
You will find, when you start shopping for books on fiction writing craft, that there are many of them. Most are well-intentioned but you will only read them once and the verdict will be: "Thanks for sharing."
Stephen Koch's title is one that many working authors of my acquaintance dip into frequently. It is a motivational work as much as a writing guide, but don't underestimate the value of such a cattle prod, especially if you can't quite find your way into your masterpiece or you are trying to develop your writing as a beginnner.
Perhaps more than people in highly structured occupations, authors can fall prey to procrastination, fruitless self-questioning, and creative blanks. Author, Stephen Koch comes at his subject from the position that a writer writes and that a story reveals itself as the writers works on it. After more than twenty years as an editor and fiction author, I am inclined to agree with him. I have found that his small volume delivers some thoroughly practical advice while at the same time prompting the writer to get on with the process of writing.
Throughout the book, Koch offers quotes about the craft from notable authors. Some people seem to find these inspiring and interesting, and believe they can learn something from accomplished peers. A few I've spoken with do not welcome this content and wish Koch had focused more on craft methodologies.
While he covers various bases, it's certainly true that other guides will offer a much more thorough technical treatment of character, narrative, plot etc. Yet, writing is not all about a "correct formula". One of the most helpful aspects of Koch's approach is that of mentoring. He strikes a careful balance between prodding, practical help, introductory information about technique, ways into a writing mindset, and the fundamentals of good story-telling. His is the style of an accomplished teacher with a passion for his subject.
If you are looking for a highly technical guide to the craft, this may not be your best choice. I recommend this title to the serious beginner who would welcome some commonsense practical guidance, along with motivational material, and to the seasoned author who enjoys reading what notables have to say about certain topics. There are trendier works available, and those that are more specific and technique-focused, but this is among the best of the broad, general guides.
Encouraging and Inspirational.......2007-01-03
This book has provided fuel for my recently withering desire to write. I often need a kick in the rear end and I found the boot I needed in this book. The book does not get very technical but does give the writer the right path to follow in all aspects of writing. Koch did his research and provides literally hundreds of inspirational quotes from many of the great writers we all know and love. Koch makes you believe he is on your side in the battle. Not everything will be absorbed on the first read but I don't think it was meant to work that way. This isn't necessarily a how-to book. Advice and encouragement is given but it is clear your own way must be paved.
Not done reading, but alreadying in love.......2006-09-17
Maybe this book isn't new info, but it is to me. It has already opens my eyes real wide and I'm so happy that I can acsess the storys in my mind now! I'm not making them up and that makes me happy!
some gems but mostly old stones.......2006-08-12
Koch uses so many other writers and his own refined method to push the writer in two different ways. The first part of the book focuses on what we so often need: motivation. He's not afraid to tell the reader to put down the book and get to work. Sometimes this is exactly why I turn to books on craft. Koch certainly motivates, but when he turns finally to craft he stumbles some. It could be that switching modes is difficult for the reader, but he can only lay out so many edicts, so many quotes from other writers or books on craft, before everything begins to sound familiar. There are some gems there, but they are hard to find among so many plain ol' stones.
A Paper Classroom.......2006-02-25
This work is helpful in that it provides many comments from famous writers on the craft of writing besides the author's own vast experience teaching the art and structure of writing. It is like attending a writer's workshop or seminar but from the comfort of your living room and at a pace you find helpful for your own needs. No book is the ultimate guide or resource to help young writers (of any age), each person has their own needs and areas of strength, but this book will help and is recommended. Other than that, try reading as many literary classics as you can, good readers make good writers. Besides, what the devil is there to watch on TV anymore...reading is an old and loyal friend.
Average customer rating:
- Hands on approach.
- The best overall guide for beginning fiction writers...
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Science Fiction Writer's Workshop 1: An Introduction to Fiction Mechanics
Barry B. Longyear
Manufacturer: Owlswick Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Genre Fiction
| Writing
| Reference
| Subjects
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General
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Look Inside Science Fiction & Fantasy Books
| Trip
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ASIN: 0913896187 |
Customer Reviews:
Hands on approach........2002-01-13
This is the best guide for beginning writers-and some professionals, for that matter-that I have ever seen. I have most of the well-known books, but this one works the best. It teaches the mechanics of good story construction through explanation, example, and exercises for the reader. For example, in one chapter the reader is challenged to create "backfill" using a variety of different methods. In several places, the reader must evaluate a flawed story opening, or whatever, and figure out what is wrong with it (yes, answers are provided). In another place, the aspiring writer has to "diagram the schematic of a complete story situation", quote unquote. There are many more examples I could give you, of many different types. Suffice it to say that this 150 page book will kick-start you to a higher level of technical competence. Buy it now.
The best overall guide for beginning fiction writers..........1996-12-05
Joel (_Guardians of the Flame_ series) Rosenberg turned me on to this book. In the afterword to his _Emile and the Dutchman,_ he said that anybody aspiring to write SF/fantasy should "either get a copy...or cop to not being serious." To put it into plain English, this is simply the best book available for would-be writers. Although a lot of the information is specifically aimed at SF/fantasy writers, the exercises presented would do a lot for anybody at all who seriously wants to write fiction. Longyear gives examples of what he's talking about that anybody can understand, and explains the whys and wherefores of fiction writing with uttermost clarity. There are other books for would-be SF/fantasy writers on the market, but this one is, in my own view, the very best. It would serve admirably well as a text for a "creative writing" course, or as such a course in and of itself
Book Description
Since 1969, the prestigious Squaw Valley Community of Writers has helped develop the art and craft of many who are now household names. Instructors such as Michael Chabon, Mark Childress, Diane Johnson, Anne Lamott, Robert Stone, and Amy Tan have distilled their advice and wisdom from seminars and lectures, and the result is a book that captures the workshop experience of complete submersion in the writing process. With an introduction by novelist and short story master Richard Ford, himself a conference attendee in the 1970s, this volume gives the writer and dedicated reader a jolt of inspiration, sharp insight into matters of technique, and a feeling of camaraderie with a writing community.
Customer Reviews:
So you want to be a writer?.......2007-07-17
Though scores of summer writing conferences have been established throughout the last several decades, one of the oldest and most respected is the Squaw Valley Community of Writers in Northern California. Founded in 1969 by novelists Blair Fuller and Oakley Hall, the Community has sponsored workshops in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, screenwriting, playwriting, and nature writing. For almost forty years, published authors have dispensed hard-earned knowledge about the craft to conference attendees who harbor the dream of someday seeing their names emblazoned across the covers of bestselling novels or story collections.
For the first time, the Squaw Valley Community of Writers shares the wisdom of some of its contemporary staff members. Edited by Lisa Alvarez and Alan Cheuse with an introduction from Richard Ford, Writers Workshop in a Book (Chronicle Books) includes essays on many aspects of fiction writing from eighteen well-published authors. Regardless of whether reading this book will inspire a beginning writer to commence or finish a full-length manuscript, it is a fine and truly entertaining addition to the ever-growing bookshelf of "how to" tomes.
In the first essay, "How to Write a Novel," Diane Johnson informs us that "most people in their lives think at one time or another of writing" a novel. Indeed, she read somewhere that "90 percent of college-educated women, at one stage or another of their lives, actually begin one." Of course, very few actually get around to writing a novel because there are many obstacles including the fact that "it's an awful lot of work." But if you are willing to put in the time, Johnson offers very practical threshold decisions you must make before moving forward: "First you have to plan it. What will happen in it? Who will tell it?" Johnson identifies and explains the "[s]mall and large choices" you must make as you plot out your novel. Her advice is sound, honest, to the point, and decidedly unromantic.
Alan Cheuse's piece is as wonderfully audacious as its title promises: "'Here's Lookin' at You, Kid': A Brief History of Point of View." Cheuse notes that with movies, there is essentially one point of view which "employ[s] the simple equation of camera lens and eye of the audience member, or the so-called God-like point of view." Literature, of course, has offered through the millennia many more options for POV. In examining the history of the point of view in literature, Cheuse begins with ancient Greek epic and then moves to biblical authors and then Chaucer, Dante, Herodotus, Cervantes, up through the ages to such writers as Joyce, García Márquez, Rhys and Atwood. All the while, Cheuse dissects how these authors used POV in their works and cautions that "[m]ost new writers slip and slide between third-person subjective and the general..." This essay is quite a heady (and fun) ride.
Some of the essays consist of war stories which are entertaining but also offer their own lessons. For example, Amy Tan recounts in "Angst and the Second Book" how after the publication of her wildly successful first novel, she was confronted with the similarly wildly high expectations for her, as yet, unwritten next novel. One writer told her that the second effort was "doomed no matter what you do." Why? Critics will complain that "it is too much like the first," and readers will complain "that it is too different." Tan's battles with self doubt and doomsayers are comforting in some ways because she lets us know that bestselling authors must do what beginning writers do: persevere despite the multitude of reasons to give up and move to something more practical.
The essays run from the basics to the spiritual. Sands Hall and Al Young dig into the nitty-gritty of scene construction, dialogue, theme, voice and language. Anne Lamott and Louis B. Jones plumb the mysteries of writing. Other pieces recount the rather odd convergence of circumstances that resulted in the writing of a first novel (Michael Chabon), or the fear of finishing a novel (Mark Childress). These and the other essays make one realize that such a book could not be dedicated to other professional pursuits such as the law or operating a chain of restaurants. Creating fiction is, indeed, a singular way of life.
Though one of the editors of Writers Workshop in a Book is Latina, there is not one essay by a Latino writer. But this likely will change in future editions based on the upcoming Squaw Valley faculty members and guest speakers that include Dagoberto Gilb, Michael Jaime-Becerra and Alex Espinoza. Such authors could delve into their use of "code switching" (moving from English to another language and back again) in a way that allows their characters to ring true while not leaving behind those readers who do not speak Spanish. Also missing is any meaningful discussion of the publishing industry's often ham-handed approach to writers of color. Despite these omissions, Cheuse and Alvarez have brought together fascinating, instructive and meaningful advice from some of our finest contemporary writers.
[This review first appeared in La Bloga.]
You Really Need to be There.......2007-07-15
This book is a collection of essays about writing, going back about 15 to 20 years. All of the essays are written by current or former Squaw Valley Workshop teachers or former students. The introduction is by Richard Ford, himself a former student. Given the venerable reputation of the essayists, I expected down-to-earth pragmatic advice on how to achieve better fiction; what I got, instead, with essay titles like "A Note to an Unpublished Writer" and "Fear of Finishing," was something that read like a self-help manual for writers.
There was one exception. Janet Fitch's essay, "Coming to Your Senses" was an outrageously practical essay on how to use unique verbs to describe ordinary perceptions. For example, Fitch writes: "A girl has moist skin, a literal description. If we like her, we can describe it as dewy, slick, glossy. If we don't, it's greasy, sweaty, oily." Fitch's essay is packed with practical technique like this.
The other essays, unfortunately, were more general in nature. A few talked about scene, plot, point of view, but often in generalities and using arcane examples.
Some of the essays were transcribed from actual talks. They read well, but it seems like you had to be there to get the overall effect.
I recommend Curious Attractions: Essays on Fiction Writing and Stephen King's On Writing for a more practical approach to learning fiction.
All in all, not a bad book, but I was hoping for something more pragmatic.
Book Description
Writing is hard work, and it may be terrifying, but it also can be one of the most rewarding ways to engage with yourself and the world. Good writing does not come easily; it takes a single-minded effort and skill. The Writer's Workshop in a Box is what every writer needs to develop that skill. Beautifully designed to sit on a desktop, its contents are intended to stimulate new ideas and guide writers as they navigate the sometimes arduous path to setting words down on paper.
The Writer's Workshop in a Box
includes:
- The Art of Writing, a book to get writers started
- thirty cards presenting daily exercises for the writing life
- an exquisite blank book with a pen
The Art of Writing is a course book that addresses writing techniques as well as root problems every writer encounters: creative blocks, getting started but not finished, uneven writing, lack of confidence, uncontrollable plots, and ill-defined characters. Each "class" endows the writers with skills to overcome these problems, and provides writing tips that can be applied to both fiction and nonfiction. The book contains lessons that draw on the expertise of some of the great masters of creative writing:
- Dorothea Brande (author of Becoming a Writer)
- Eric Maisel (author of Deep Writing and Affirmations for Artists)
- Julia Cameron (author of The Artist's Way, The Vein of Gold, and The Right to Write)
The Writer's Workshop in a Box is the ideal gift for every budding writer and an effective way to inspire new authors to embrace their art and career.
Customer Reviews:
Taking other people's great ideas and repackaging them........2005-02-03
This could have been very interesting. Many excellent books are written that are based on other people's ideas about writing - not the author's. One comes to mind : Walking on Alligators. Although to be fair, the Alligators's author does add her own comment and "affirmation" and those are just as important as the corresponding writer's quote.
Note that the author of the Writer's Workshop in a Box has only written a preface to the tiny book The art of Writing. Every 6 chapters are excerpts from such books as The Artist's Way and Beyond The Words.
There are many problems with this "workshop in a box". One is the packaging : the cover is beautiful, but deceptive. Inside the box, which is more like a book that you open, and which contains many slots, for everything that it contains, well... everything is a disapointment. The notebook is ugly, not at all like the cover, not sylish, more like very out of style, the pen is a very plain one, and the selection of excerpts found in The Art of Writing manual are from books that I have already read. Everything is gray/sepia, all washed-out.
The author selected excerpts from Cameron, Goldberg (Bonni), and Maisel's books. I suggest that you go to the sources, read Beyond The Words by Bonni Goldberg (an excellent book, you can find it for a few bucks in stores that sell books that have been returned to the publisher), read The Artist's Way, read Becoming a Writer. Buy yourself a less narrow notebook which you can open flat more easily, buy yourself a good pen, and forget about any book that wants to workshop you the whole nine yards about writing fiction and non-fiction in 96 small pages, and taking its lessons from the great "masters of writing like Julia Cameron".
The cards are too big to shuffle, and made out of thin cardboard that isn't treated (glossied, plastified), meaning that any humidity will ruin them. On one side is an ugly photo (by one of two unknow photographers, probably friends of the author) in sepia, and on the other side is a suggested activity. Some are good (but not original), such as write first thing in the morning each day for a week, and others are original but won't work for me, such as be attentive to commercials seen on tv and make out a story based on a commercial you find intriguing. There are 30 cards.
There are better gimmiks out there : The Observation Deck, the Autobiography Box (this last one is so cute, but I never used it). There's even a book on I Ching for writers coming out soon, that you can pre-order. It's too bad that there is no "search in the book" or any preview pages to look at. I know that the cover is beautiful. It is great design, really nice. The description is tempting, there are even some rare reviews out there (from obscure sources) that don't seem to trash this merchandise product. Resist.
PS : There is one delightful book you could get now, that you probably don't have already : No Plot, no problems! Not even gimmicky, it is unpretentious, fun, and very encouraging.
Book Description
This collection consists of forty-three stories, each with an introduction by writers from the Iowa Workshop. It also includes original essays on both the writing life and trends in 20th century American Literature that were shaped by the growth of the Iowa program and the programs that followed.
Books:
- Writing Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day: A Guide to Starting, Revising, and Finishing Your Doctoral Thesis
- Zolar's Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Dreams: Fully Revised and Updated for the 21st Century
- 2005 Children's Writers & Illustrator's Market (Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market)
- 501 Spanish Verbs: with CD-ROM (Barron's Foreign Language Guides)
- About Face 2.0: The Essentials of Interaction Design
- Al-kitaab fii Ta'allum Al-'Arabiyya with DVD's A Textbok For Begining Arabic
- Allen and Greenough's New Latin Grammar (Dover Books on Language)
- AMA Manual of Style: A Guide for Authors and Editors
- Arabic in a Flash Volume 1 (Tuttle Flash Cards)
- Arabic Verbs and Essentials of Grammar: A Practical Guide to the Mastery of Arabic
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Introduction to Digital Systems
- Georgia O'Keeffe: A Life
- Accounting Interactive Pre MBA 2000
- Citizen Kane
- Derivatives Demystified: A Step-by-Step Guide to Forwards, Futures, Swaps and Options
- Grieving the Loss of Someone You Love: Daily Meditations to Help You Through the Grieving Process
- Flags of Our Fathers
- Payroll Accounting 1994
- Democratizing Global Governance
- Flesh Unlimited
The Modern Library Writer's Workshop: A Guide to the Craft of Fiction (Modern Library Paperbacks)
Immediate Fiction: A Complete Writing Course
Gotham Writers' Workshop Fiction Gallery : Exceptional Short Stories Selected by New York's Acclaimed Creative Writing School
Write Great Fiction: Characters, Emotion & Viewpoint : (Techniques and exercises for crafting dynamic characters and effective viewpoints) (Write Great Fiction)
How to Write a Damn Good Novel: A Step-by-Step No Nonsense Guide to Dramatic Storytelling (How to Write a Damn Good Novel)
