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    On Writing Fiction: Rethinking conventional wisdom about the craft
    Unavailable
    On Writing Fiction: Rethinking conventional wisdom about the craft
    Unavailable
    On Writing Fiction: Rethinking conventional wisdom about the craft
    Ebook284 pages4 hours

    On Writing Fiction: Rethinking conventional wisdom about the craft

    By David Jauss

    4.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    The pieces of a satisfying novel or story seem to fit together so effortlessly, so seamlessly, that it's easy to find yourself wondering, "How on earth did the author do this?" The answer is simple: He sat alone at his desk, considered an array of options, and made smart, careful choices.

    In On Writing Fiction, award-winning author and respected creative writing professor David Jauss offers practical information and advice that will help you make smart creative and technical decisions about such topics as:

    • Writing prose with syntax and rhythm to create a "soundtrack" for the narrative
    • Choosing the right point of view to create the appropriate degree of "distance" between your characters and the reader
    • Harnessing the power of contradiction in the creative process
    In one thought-provoking essay after another, Jauss sorts through unique fiction-writing conundrums, including how to create those exquisite intersections between truth and fabrication that make all great works of fiction so much more resonant than fiction that follows the "write what you know" approach that's so often used.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherWriter's Digest Books
    Release dateJun 2, 2011
    ISBN9781440320835
    Unavailable
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    Reviews for On Writing Fiction

    4.5/5

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    • 4/5
      Comprised of essays about various elements of fiction, this book makes me want to get my MFA in Vermont. The one about point of view pretty much blew my mind and will affect not only how I write fiction but how I read it, too. The library says it wants its copy back today, but I'll be getting this one again so I can finish it (and then start it again).
    • 5/5
      The best writing book I have read. Too good to keep on my shelf so I gave it to a friend. Good things are better when shared.
    • 3/5
      Substance: Reasonably good advice, with neither authorial mystique nor mundane publication practices. Contains useful technical information and sensible suggestions.Style: I liked it.
    • 5/5
      So you want to be a writer? Don't read this book.

      Alone With All That Could Happen is a wonderful, well thought out collection of essays on fiction writing, but it is not a “how to” guide or a simple refresher course. It is more akin to a work of philosophy than a primer for the contemporary author. It asks tough questions about the constraints modern writers have put on themselves and explores in depth alternatives to the “conventional wisdom.”

      As someone who has been writing fiction for half my life, acquired undergraduate and graduate degrees in writing, and spent the last three years crafting my novel, I, at times, felt overwhelmed by Jauss' insight and brilliance on the subject. Had I read this three or four years ago, I think I would've been lost. For the most part, I get it. Or, at the very least, I think I do. A few years from now I may pick this book up again and I'll realize how stupid I was. That's what makes reading books like Alone With All That Could Happen such a wonderful experience—no matter how may times I read it, I feel I could walk away with some new knowledge.

      Personally, I got the most out of the first few essays. Largely, I attribute this to the fact that they were the most relevant to my writing and my work in progress at the moment. Or perhaps my mind had hit overload by midpoint. Nevertheless, I expect that if I do return to this collection in future years, I'll have much to learn from the essays I took less away from this time.

      If you're a writer and you've been around the block for more than a few years, check it out. I can almost promise you you'll learn something. But if you're still learning the craft, still discovering yourself as a writer, give it some time—Alone With All... will likely leave you bored, frustrated, and scratching your head, wondering when it all became so complicated. Oddly, what Jauss teaches here is simplification of the craft, but the audience he is addressing needs to be taught that some of what they know to be gospel is really flam. The result is a book of essays dense with ideas and overflowing with examples. Highly recommended for all writers of fiction... eventually.