Art and Life in Novel Writing
Classic and valuable archive. Misc pearls of utility, agent irritation points, plus takeaways on craft. Also, evil authors abound!
108 topics in this forum
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These bullets of advice for writers in all genres were taken from a review of the SFF author Brandon Sanderson on the video forum and they're worth repeating here for emphasis: The concept of "borrowing" or getting story ideas, entire structure, or themes from other books or films can't hurt and might actually lead to publication; but I maintain you step carefully. The concept may already be overdone, a stale trope. His advised method of transposing the "structure" of one type of genre novel onto another can be productive--reminiscent of Italian writers in the old days transposing Japanese samurai scripts into spaghetti westerns. Another good example is the …
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An absorbing conversation about "sensitivity reading" and the extreme absurdities resulting from the SR rationale.
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Creating your author’s platform can be both exhilarating and nerve-wracking, and for good reason. There’s lots to worry about. What do I say about myself? What photo of me looks the best? What if I’m nowhere near close to being published? Do I start with a website first, or a presence on social media? Rest assured that all these questions, and more, get answered in my top picks of the week: #1: Your Author Platform – Is it Ever too Soon to Start? The short answer is no. It is never too soon to start and I’ll let Karen Cioffi explain why. #2: Do I Need a Platform and If So, How High? Are you an expert on what you’re writing about? This article gives tip…
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What should be percolating in the aborning author's mind from the very start? Purpose and Passion A few basic questions first. Why are you writing a novel? For reasons of ambition or ego? Well, why not? Most of us, in one way or another, nourish the ego. We want recognition, validation, a chance to prove our ability to others and thereby rise above. In truth, we may need to prove something to ourselves, or more simply, gain a degree of independence from an unsatisfactory mode of existence. We might require purpose, a sacred mission, a desire to fill our lives with a pursuit that restores us to life, and what better way to achieve than by writing a novel? …
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Are "brutal" reviewers really good for you? So what spurred this question? A friend recently said she had a "brutal critique partner" that could be relied on. It got me to thinking about brutal reviewers in my own experience who were worse than useless and actually destructive. We need to keep in mind that the better an ms becomes, the harder such "brutal" critics are forced to dig for critique at all costs, inevitably focusing on matters of taste, e.g, "I don't like that character's personality..." as opposed to "I think this point could be made clearer by doing XYZ." You could put 10 of these brutal negative types in a room and they would shred an unpublished no…
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Truthful, authentic, honest. All these words mean roughly the same thing, but in this case, I’ve chosen these words to describe writers and the stories they create. I’m sure you’ve all heard phrases such as “find your own authentic voice,” or “write your truth,” or “be true to your craft.” Or even “be honest with your readers.” I realize that these phrases are ambiguous at best and are usually tossed around at writing conferences to make a speaker sound like they know what they are talking about. So…what am I getting at? To be honest in what you are writing, or to be truthful in the story that you create means showing a side of yourself that you may not want to. To b…
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Since you asked... Nearly everyone has the potential to write a breakout novel and go on to become a successful commercial author, but precious few finally accomplish the task. Do we know why this is the rule? Writer conferences, author workshops, books, ms editors, and even the most pointless of MFA programs play a part in a writer's evolution, but none of these provide the overall pragmatic means and method to finish the job (and quite often, not even to start it). If this were not the case, an imaginative and ambitious writer would only have to attend an MFA program at Iowa, for example, and become a published author in due course. But this rarely if ever hap…
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New York Pitch Book Reports "The Art of Fiction" by John Gardner (a great primer for this commercial program) How did the book help you as a writer? What overall aspects of it taught you something“ The Art of Fiction” helped me as a writer by introducing me to the concept of fiction as a vivid dream and presenting many tools to create that dream for the reader. The book also talks about the important of sentence structure down to word choice and explains the use of scansion as a tool to create the vivid dream. What two or three major lessons did you learn from the book that you can apply to your writing a…
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Barbara Zitwer specializes in discovering new writers from all over the world. They look for writers with original voices and who have commercial, international appeal, and also for books that have potential to be developed for film and television. Barbara Zitwer herself specializes in developing books and editing. She has written several books as well as the play, PAPER DOLL, about Jaqueline Susann, produced in regional theaters throughout the US. She has produced landmark films such as VAMPIRE'S KISS with Nicolas Cage, was Executive Producer on LAZARUS RISING with Columbia Tri-Star and Bernie Sofronski, and she executive produced THE FRIDAY NIGHT KNITTING CLUB with Juli…
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Books on Fiction Writing Utilized in the Algonkian Novel Writing Program "The Art of Fiction" by John Gardner (a great primer for this commercial program) "Writing the Breakout Novel" by Donald Maass (another good primer) "Write Away" by Elizabeth George (a no nonsense primer, and humorous) "The Writing Life" by Annie Dillard (a look at the struggle) ________________________________________________________________________________ As you've noted on the novel writing program website, the above books are listed as must reads for this program. Therefore, the purpose of this forum is to nudge you into taking what you've learned from these …
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THE WRITING LIFE by Annie Dillard 1. How did the book help you as a writer? What overall aspects of it taught you something? As a visual artist for over forty years, I have always known that art is challenging. The art of writing is no different. Writing is hard. THE WRITING LIFE by Annie Dillard confirmed that mantra. Writing is hard. Good writing even more so. It takes discipline, tenacity, and a thick skin. Just like Dillard and thousands of other writers, I struggle with writing. As Dillard stated, “... it is a lion growing in strength. You must visit it every day and reassert your mastery over it. If you skip a day, you are, quite rightly, afraid to …
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Typical Panel of Dubious Worth Below, we've assembled a list of the best writer conferences currently available. But before choosing one over the other, keep in mind your goals as a writer. Where do you want to be as a commercial author five years from now? And consider asking yourself these questions also: Do I know how to properly pitch a project? Will I settle for self-publishing or no? Do I know precisely what genre I'm writing in, and is the genre found on the shelf, searchable as a category on Amazon? Do I know my comparables and how to best choose them? Have I immersed in my chosen genre well enough t…
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The Art of Fiction While rewriting my manuscript (from basically a clean slate), I've been more mindful of making my current draft publishable. The learning curve in doing so has been necessary and useful, yet my progress on this draft (as opposed to my original) has unfortunately been much slower. John Gardner's advice not to sacrifice your writing's "delight" was helpful, as that's one of my motivating factors when writing (and one that is sometimes lost when I feel overwhelmed about strategically perfecting something as opposed to simply writing it). Gardner reiterated that good writing should shift in and out of various POV's, as opposed to limiting the na…
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A WATERSHED EVENT FOR SERIOUS WRITERS Whatever the stage of your project or writing life, know that all writers, if they desire to become commercially published, must see and enter the Epiphany Light. First of all, what is the "Epiphany Light"? The EL is a state of mind crucial to any aspiring author desirous of commercial or serious literary publication, and one which clearly divides the 99% from the 1% of those who've learned the hard way how challenging it is to have their expertise and projects taken seriously by professionals in the publishing business. But are the percentages so drastic as depicted here? Yes, and probably even more so. Consider …
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Ben Chewey Reaction to Algonkian Novel Writing Program Readings The Art of Fiction by John Gardner 1. How did the book help you as a writer? What overall aspects of it taught you something? The Art of Fiction helped me as a writer by introducing me to the concept of aesthetic interest. Since the start of my writing career I was aware of the importance of a story having a cast and setting that stands out. John Gardner made it clear why it's important for every aspect of one's story to be organic, or at least as organic as possible from something that does not actually exist. 2. What two or three major lessons did you learn from the book …
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The Art of Fiction 1. How did it help me as a writer? Throw away details that are not necessary. Even as a writer who dislikes excessively long books, it's easy at times when writing our own stuff to have fun "playing" with details in the story that might bore others. 2. Two or three major lessons I learned from it? Writing is like any other art form, break the old, traditional rules if you can do it in a way that makes the art more beautiful. And the idea of not overexplaining what a character is thinking. THAT is something that's very easy to do when writing in the third person, and it's a good reminder to show, not tell, even in third person POV. 3. Anyt…
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When it comes to rewriting, a writer must make hard choices. Fitzgerald warned us writers about the danger of becoming way too attached to something you’ve written. "Keep an objective eye on the whole piece," he says, "and if something isn’t working get rid of it." In a 1933 Saturday Evening Post article titled “One Hundred False Starts,” he writes: I am alone in the privacy of my faded blue room with my sick cat, the bare February branches waving at the window, an ironic paper weight that says Business is Good, my New England conscience–developed in Minnesota–and my greatest problem: “Shall I run it out? Or shall I turn back?” Shall I say: “I know I had so…
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"The Art of Fiction" by John Gardner (a great primer for this commercial program) "Writing the Breakout Novel" by Donald Maass (another good primer) "Write Away" by Elizabeth George (a no nonsense primer, and humorous) "The Writing Life" by Annie Dillard (a look at the struggle) The Art of Fiction by John Gardner 1. How did the book help you as a writer? What overall aspects of it taught you something? What spoke to me the most regarding this book was the focus on the authenticity of a story. As well as the focus on "feeling" giving rhythm to sentences. It caused me to go back and look at my sentence variation. Was I using fragment…
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Book Reports Connie Whitmer WRITING THE BREAKOUT NOVEL Donald Maass I found Donald Maass’s book empowering, and invaluable as a writing craft reference, in general, and for my project in particular. “If I write an amazing story, well – they will come!â€� His advice improved every paragraph, page and chapter, knowing what to cut, and what to leave in. And affirmed the passion I feel for the importance of my story, and my need to tell it. And, most exciting, he reaffirmed exactly what I am trying to do. “To write a Break out Novel is to run free of the pack – To go beyond what has been done before - delve deeper, more original, unexplored realm…
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THE ART OF FICTION by John Gardner 1. This book is startlingly basic in both its description of what fiction is and what the writer needs to do. It makes me want to write, to use the power within me to reach out to others, expressing what really matters to me, and hopefully to them also. 2. The primary lessons I learned: structure is paramount - be aware of each word chosen, each sentence structured, each paragraph and scene, as elemental building blocks of character and plot, therefore of the story. Above all else, plausibility: make the fiction so real that the reader lives and breathes within it. My novel, THE BRAID, being a serious (living, breathing) matter …
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Conflict should be at the very heart of every story you write. Its presence throughout your manuscript, or lack thereof, can literally make our break your ability to get published. Your main characters need internal conflict, they need conflict between themselves and other characters (more than just the conflict raised by the antagonist). There should also be conflict within the setting of your novel like a picturesque countryside that isn’t entirely what it seems, etc. etc. etc. Without conflict, or tension or raised stakes for the main characters, beginning with the first scene and ending with the resolution, stories meander, they are quiet and your readers get bor…
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Book Review - Part 2 - Module 8 The Writing Life by Annie Dillard This book plus some of the assignments within The Art of the Novel gave me permission to be more descriptive in my novel. I fear that it also led me to start too many chapters with exposition. My excuse is wanting to assure that readers know when they pick up the book each time the place and the point of view. The chapters of Dillard's book that I hope to keep in mind are the last two, Chapters 6 and 7, with her analogies of writing and Ferrar Burn's struggle to bring in the log from the sea and then Dave Rahm, the stunt pilot. The first tale is about the writer's struggle against and with th…
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The Writing Life 1. Dillard's perspective of the writing life provides insight into the reality of writing for a living, rather than the romantic notions that my brain tends to fixate upon. I love how she gives permission for it to take years to write a book. I often berate myself for being so slow, but Dillard gives me permission to take my time. I also needed the reminder to create a schedule. It is all too easy to not get around to writing without one. 2. On the practical end she had some motivating comments about revision. Two that particularly struck me were, "I hope you will toss it all and not look back," and "You can waste a year worrying about it, or y…
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The Art of Fiction – John Gardner 1. A valuable grammar Bible in Part II - Notes on the Fictional Process - that includes basic skills to avoid common errors. Gardner also encourages writers to create their own style. Both directions require practice! 2. Major lessons: A. CHAPTER 5 VOICE: Vary sentence lengths and rhythms to excite the reader. *A sentence with three syntactic slots: The man/walked/down the road. (pg. 106) Don’t cram all three with details. Load down slot 1: The old man, stooped, bent almost double under his load of tin pans, yet smiling with a sort of maniacal good cheer and chattering to himself in what seemed to be…
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ALGONKIAN SUCCESS STORIES
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Where it All Began
