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!
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John Gardner - The Art of Fiction I read parts of this book in a fiction workshop in college, so it was somewhat familiar. It was good to be reminded of the importance of maintaining the “fictional dream.â€� Gardner’s discussion of writing within the context of other art forms was inspiring, as is his emphasis on the importance of writing exercises. I also found his discussion of fiction as “concrete philosophyâ€� (Homer), or as a particular form of thought, really interesting; it made me think about theme and it’s relationship to events in a work of fiction differently. Gardener’s section on Plotting was enlightening. It taught me that plotting and …
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by Michael Neff Very Important Questions to Ask Yourself So you're searching high and low for a decent and experienced freelancer to read your novel ms and provide it with the healing touch it needs. You most likely will require thorough developmental editing, not to mention narrative or sample line edits at a minimum. Okay. So where to go? There are Google pages full of poor editorial services out there and just about anyone can claim to be a novel editor. Therefore, how to winnow forth the quality expertise you must have? Below are a few questions to ask yourself before engaging any editorial service: Do you get to review the credentials…
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My very first manuscript was horribly cliché and pretty much plotless. In fact, it didn’t even have an ending to it. I never bothered writing one. It was clear to me that by 80,000 words there was no point in wasting my time on devising a resolution because there was never even a climax. It literally turned into one very lengthy exercise in getting to know my main characters—because I hadn’t bothered doing that before I started to write my novel. And this was okay at the time. I was brand new to creative writing and I just wanted to test my hand at being a writer since I’d never done anything like it before, unless you count the horrible required writing assignments in En…
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WRITING THE BREAKOUT NOVEL, by Donald Maass. I've had this book (and its companion book WRITING THE BREAKOUT NOVEL WORKBOOK) on my bookshelf since it was first published, as well as Maass's other craft books. I find them extremely helpful, but primarily in the way of editing pages once they're written; less so in the realm of helping me plan and execute a first draft. I've attended the Breakout Novel Intensive (BONI) workshop Maass gives twice. (BONI is based on this book and his more recent ones, particularly WRITING 21st CENTURY FICTION.) The exercises provide insight and help in making sure there is "tension on every page" and in crafting a compelling story. This b…
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Have you ever been in writer workshops and reacted to criticism of your writing or story by demanding the other writer defend their decision in such detail that it served your purpose of making certain they never gave you unfavorable critique again? Hell hath no fury like a thin-skinned narcissist with a needy manuscript... But wait! Could you be one of them? In case you're not sure if your skin qualifies, Algonkian psychologists have developed a few skin test questions below. Feel free to respond honestly to yourself as you read each one. Everyone wishes to avoid time-wasting instances of Offended Writer Syndrome (OWS) that often takes place in writer wor…
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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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PROSE DRILLS If you are not Annie Proulx, you need to work on developing a powerful literary voice. All writer styles and voices are in large part a fusion of past immersions into good (or bad) literature. It‘s so true that you only write as well as you read. The writing of good authors soaks into you, becomes part of you, defines your ability to express. The point of the following prose drills is to speed up that process by a hundred fold. The selection of writers is diverse, beginning with a little Shakespeare and on up to modern lit. The names of the writers are not important, only their prose. Each of the following blocks of narrative is to be written i…
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AS II, Module VIII Nordstrom, John, Prose That Reads Like Poetry The Art of Writing Book Reports Assignment Writing a novel is a Sisyphean task, where the finished novel inevitably rolls down the hill and crushes the writer just as he thinks he’s beaten Fate by producing something rather than nothing. Elizabeth George, Write Away. George’s two fundamental points about writing, that is, that story is character and that setting is story too strike me as right on and thus reinforce my own theory of writing. In Prose That Reads Like Poetry, character and setting can be both internal and exterior parameters that interact with each other to create a plo…
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Write Away: Overall, this text was useful for me, in that its balance between instruction and examples is well-composed. It is far easier to become immersed in the theory of the instruction with well-chosen examples of the applied practices, and the examples of dialogue were most eye-opening for me. On page 108, included is an example from For the Sake of Elena, in which you can see the use of animated characterization. The dialogue portrayed how seamlessly dialogue can develop character and character relationships, rather than contrived dialogue with flat character animation. Dialogue is what I struggle with most, generally, when I write fiction. On page 113, still…
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Robert Pfaff, Shrunken Heads, Book Reports Book Reports: The Art of Fiction (Gardener) 1. I have loved John Gardener since I read Grendel in high school. He validated my instincts. For example, I like to break the rules but have always believed that you have to master the rules before you can break them well. Learning a musical instrument or a foreign language teaches you the same idea. You must understand and appreciate structure before you can manipulate it. 11. 1) He debunks certain myths like “Write what you know.â€� It’s a good departure point for a first book, and my first book is a memoir. But I prefer to write about topics that inspire me to learn…
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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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Book reports The Art of Fiction by John Gardner How did the book help you as a writer? What overall aspects of it taught you something? This was the last book I read out of the list, so much of it was review of what I had already read. I did learn a great deal from the chapters regarding common writing errors and technique. What two or three major lessons did you learn from the book that you can apply to your writing and/or your novel? 1. The use of active voice vs. passive voice. This may not be news to most writers, but it made me more aware of it in my writing. I had to change a few lines of dialogue because of it. 2. Not to begin sentences with inf…
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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 Writing Life" by Annie Dillard (a look at the struggle) How did the book help you as a writer? What overall aspects of it taught you something? It helped me to trust your assignment to rewrite my opening 5000 words in third person. (She is brutal in “killing all her darlings.â€� The beginning of my book was the oldest part and containing the original idea—I had started it seven years ago, then it lay buried during many hard years. I was overly attached to it as it was. I don’t know if I’ll keep it in third person but the whole enterprise liberated me from what I had written and it is much improved because of it. Annie’s ruthless approach to this was…
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AS II, Module 8 -- Reviews of Books About Writing THE WRITING LIFE by Annie Dillard 1. How it helped me, overall aspects Annie Dillard's writing voice combines the practical with the artistic or whimsical, as solid advice mixes with poetic images. She relies heavily on her observations and impressions in her work, to the point where sometimes I wonder where her point lies. But there is no denying her power, the strength of her voice -- you hear it from the page. So I learned from her confident voice, her use of poetic images, and from her lessons about the discipline of putting fanny in seat and working every day, not relying on some muse to inspire me.…
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Book Reports "The Art of Fiction" by John Gardner 1. I was surprised at how relevant this book was considering how long ago it was written, which is a testament to the truths of effective writing. Particularly, the science of sentence structure and rhythm was very interesting. I constantly say sentences out loud to see how they sound and look for rhyming distractions, but haven’t examined it as objectively before. 2. Three major lessons: a. “In serious fiction, the highest kind of suspense involves the Sartrian anguish of choice; that is, our suspenseful concern is not just what will happen but with the moral implications of action.â€� Fo…
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Seeing that they were being ignored, the man who made the comment once again spoke up, referring to the size of Brigitte’s breasts, and made a squeezing motion with his hands. Seeing this, the owner of the café rushed over and suggested that the three men leave the women to their coffee and pastries. The three men looked at each other, shrugged, and turned to leave. Lauren looked at Lily and Brigitte and said, “I know the little foul-mouthed one. He’s a bully, always picking on women and children.” As the men reached the door, Lily looked at her two friends and uttered, “Cochon,” meaning pig. The last man out the door…
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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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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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"The Art of Fiction" by John Gardner (a great primer for this commercial program)
 1. How did the book help you as a writer? What overall aspects of it taught you something? “ The first and last important rule for the creative writer, then I stat though there may be rules (formulas) for ordinary, easily publishable fiction - imitation fiction - there are no rules for real fiction, any more than there are rules for serious visual art or musical composition. Pg. 158. That line made me question a lot of things. With that said Gardner does later imply that you have to be a master to learn how to break those rules correctly. It was good reminder that Im still gree…
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Authorial Misdemeanors - Agent Richard Curtis There seems to be a law of nature that the quality of a manuscript declines in inverse proportion to the elaborateness of its package. When I receive a manuscript bound by brass screws with a plastic embossed cover, lovingly wrapped in chamois cloth, set in a velvet-lined cedar box, shrink-wrapped, packed in turn in a fireproof strongbox secured with iron bands, I am prepared to stake my career on the likelihood that this book is one colossal dud. From time to time an author will do something that causes me to scratch my head. I've compiled a list of these foibles and offer it here with a light heart. If you hav…
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Note this does not include a long story pitch or short synopsis (which will sink you if you don't know how to artfully write it), but rather a single hook line (which will also sink you for the same reason). Note that comparables (at least two) are vital to your novel. Dear Mr. or Ms. (name of agent): ( Open by noting you saw a relevant deal they concluded on PM. It marks you as a true professional. ) I noted in Publishers Marketplace that you represented XYZ Title to ABC Publisher, and I am querying because I have recently completed a novel that might work for your list. You may recall that we met at the XYZ conference [if this is relevant] and thank y…
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An absorbing conversation about "sensitivity reading" and the extreme absurdities resulting from the SR rationale.
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http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-L1pXo4xN464/VcpPrfiFQ_I/AAAAAAAAAy8/twGxL0kcs_E/s200/jenny-milchman-square-web.jpg Jenny Milchman I wish I’d known just how polished and perfected a work has to be to get published traditionally. I was lucky enough to get kernels from industry pros that allowed me to go back and hone my craft... How long did it take you to get published? Here are my stats: 11 years, 8 novels, 3 agents, 15 almost-offers from editors. An almost-offer happens when an editor wishes to acquire a book, but gets turned down by her editorial board, or by people in the marketing or publicity departments, or even (as happened to me with my seventh novel) the publi…
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Where it All Began
