Customer Reviews

The Art of Fiction

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3 star:		(4)
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I have shelves of books about creative writing, and this most recent addition is definitely in the top three (the other 2 are Bird By Bird by Annie Lammott and On Becoming a Novelist by John Gardner). The reason these books stand out is because they are constantly engaging, and filled with either new ideas, or the best restatement of ideas that may already be familiar to you. I find myself turning to these books repeatedly, while the majority of my other writing books have barely been opened since my initial review.

Here, Ms. Rand offers excellent insight into how actual writing gets done. For example, her thoughts on writer's block, and what others may call "inspiration," are not only fascinating, but they ring true. The next time I'm sitting there gathering wool, wondering what to write next, I'll follow this book's advice to take a step back and make sure that the scene I want to write fits into what I'm trying to accomplish. According to Ms. Rand, if it's not flowing, there's a reason, and part of the writer's job is to figure it out. Without spoiling too much, rest assured that this book coaches you on how to figure out what's wrong, and what to do about it.

Yes, Ms. Rand has definite ideas about the "right" way to do things -- there's basically her way, and the wrong way. But if you read through this with an open mind, and remember that everything that seemed to work for Ms. Rand may not work for you, then you will greatly enjoy this book. I've really learned a whole new way of thinking about theme, plot, "plot-theme", and characterization -- all of which I plan to integrate into my next writing project. And that's really the best recommendation I can give -- not only did I find this book interesting throughout, but I hope to incorporate some of the advice in my writing.

By the way, I've never read Ms. Rand's novels, and I don't subscribe to her rather radical (to my way of thinking) philosophy of objectivism. But not being familiar with her work doesn't detract from the ability to enjoy or understand this one. Ms. Rand discusses her work, but provides enough context for you to easily understand her points. In fact, her writing theories and discussion make me want to read through some of her more popular books, as well as classics by other authors, like Victor Hugo, whom Ms. Rand greatly admires.

If you are serious about writing gripping, plot-driven fiction, then you really owe it to yourself to grab a copy of this excellent peek into the creative process of a well-known and respected novelist. There's fiction writer's gold on almost every page!

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Author: Lee Sandstead Subject: Suffering and tragedy in art

I never had a full justification why I love movies such as "Life is Beautiful," "Braveheart," and "Cyrano de Bergerac." They all present heroes, who die tragic deaths. Ayn Rand, in her new book on fiction writing, gives me the answer.

"The justification for presenting tragic endings in literature is to show, as in "We the Living," that the human spirit can survive even the worst of circumstances--that the worst that the chance events of nature or the evil of other people can do will not defeat the proper human spirit. To quote from Galt's speech in "Atlas Shrugged": "Suffering as such is not a value; only man's fight against suffering, is."

I highly recommend this book to everyone. There is bound to be some piece of information that will come as a revelation; for me, there has been many.

Best, Lee Sandstead Memphis, TN (Soon to be NYC)

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The best part of this book is its tips on how to construct an exciting plot-from developing plot conflicts to compounding the burdens on protagonists, to creating the seminal event in which all conflicts converge. I find the hardest part in writing to be the sub-plots and this book was very helpful in developing sub-plots that belong to the main story line. Ayn Rand also emphasized the importance of action to make visible a character's journey and that not all stories that record even a good character's impressions of the world make good stories (such as memoirs), although she didn't mention memoirs in her book. She adds on p. 42, "I believe with Victor Hugo that the more melodramatic the action in which one can express the drama, the better the story. If you can unite the two-if you can give a relevant and logical physical expression to the spiritual conflict you present-then you have high-class drama." Ayn Rand gives helpful objective definitions to drama verses melodrama to make her point. She also explains what it takes to create suspense.

The only part missing from this book that I would have liked is a more complete discussion on "extravagant romanticism" (as mentioned in "Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life") verses Romanticism, the emphasis on volition. What was the "extravagant romanticism" of Fritz Lang movies verses the "adequate" job done with the Fountainhead movie? That is something elusive that I would like to understand.

Ayn Rand also contrasts her writing with other famous writers. She explains why I've never been able to stand reading fiction stories except her own. Her comparisons show why. So, if you are even mildly interested in writing, this book will make you excited to write because it will teach you how. It will give you a power you don't realize you have so that you can unleash your imagination to create stories of your own. If you come up with any good stories, you can learn to make them into movies at cyberspacefilmschool.com and become a millionaire director/producer.

A surprising exclamation of "Thank You!" was my instant gut reaction, undeniably ordered by my subconscious, right after reading her last word of this remarkable book. Trying to compete with such authority, "Time well spent" my next cognitive thought.

Have you ever felt the type of gratitude towards a professor who achieved to engage you in a lecture full of clarity, energy, wit, objectivity, intellectual stimulation, and who had you mesmerized, to the point of where you forgot the sense of time? A lecture that didn't register as yet another missionary and boring message by somebody only out to convince you that his/her religion is the only valid one, using all sorts of cheap rhetorical tricks or biblical mystery to sway you? Well, you're in for a treat.

Whether, in the end, one agrees or doesn't with Ayn Rand's points she submits in this remarkable analysis of fiction writing is not what you'll end up with if you allow yourself to go beyond simple judgment of her viewpoints. This is not just another debate with an achieved author seeking approbation about her opinion on what is better or best in literature. This is neither a religious manifesto merely destined to justify or reinforce the credo of her fans.

It is way more valuable, for it is a candid sharing of accumulated cognition, a march of intellect of somebody who has the gift of one of the most precious forms of communication of human existence: the imparting of knowledge and understanding of excellence onto others, not in the abstraction or with self-serving generalities, but with enough of a concrete of information that is powerful enough to stimulate the positive creativity in others, whatever form or shape that may take in the end.

This is an excellent book with many, many suprises. While this may look like a rehash of the Romantic Manifesto, one of the editors stated goals was to remove any material that is a direct copy of that book. It is new material and very exciting to read through. While the title seems to imply it is more for writers, I found that most of it is aimed at anyone who likes reading good fiction. This is a great addition to Ayn Rand's list of works.

You have to ignore the megalomania ("In regard to precision of language," says Rand, "I think I myself am the best writer today.") If you can do that, and ignore also her limited choices of the great authors, there is some real gold here.

What I found extremely useful were the tips on how to handle exposition. This is the problem where an author has to disclose huge lumps of information to the reader, while keeping it in the context of the story, the conversation and keeping it unobtrusive. Her practical examples "do this, not this", such as, "Miss Kensington, get these bills out immediately! We're late again on our payments" rather than "Miss Kensington, our business is experiencing a downturn due to the recession and we are late on all our payments as a result" is clear and helpful. Her section on "not showing your seams" is also good.

There's a lot of practical advice on starting with your plot-theme (and woe unto you if you have none) that can help anyone write better. I like this book, along with Ursula LeGuin's Steering the Craft, for writing technique. Le Guin's is good for language and creativity. Rand's is one of the best for engineering the girders and struts that have to be underneath any piece of great writing.

Her brilliant analysis of Hugo's "Hunchback of Notre Dame" alone is worth the price of this book.

I've been a fan of Ayn Rand since 1966. What a delight and surprise to find this new book with so much clarified in the art of her own writing and thinking.

This is a real how-to book for the aspiring writer. I recommend it highly. Even if you don't agree with Rand's philosphy, you will learn how to construct plot. And remember, plot sells!

"In regard to precision of language I think I myself am the best writer today." (P. 10)

OK-this is Ayn Rand, so you either love her or hate her. But you do have to admit that she is one the world's clearest thinkers. She not only knows what she believes, but she also knows how to explain it, and explain it very well. This is exceptional when you consider that English is a second language.

Moreover, her main qualification is writing the second-most influential book in America, with the Bible being number 1, "The Road Less Traveled" at 4, "Lord of the Rings" at 5, and "The Book of Mormon" at 8. That is no small feat, considering that "Atlas Shrugged" is over a thousand pages long, and beat out "Gone With The Wind," "Man's Search For Meaning," and "To Kill M Mockingbird."

She covers the four topics of theme, plot, characterization, and style, and uses her keen mind to analyze the critical elements. You get a good feel for how good a writer Rand is when you compare her streamlined prose with Thomas Wolf's raunchy vomiting.

There is nothing new, per se, in this book. She has the gift of getting to the essence of an issue. She also covers twice as much information in about half the page space. You do not get bogged down in verbal circumlocutions.

I would suggest reading this book, then reading "Philosophy: Who Needs It?" and then "The Romantic Manifesto." There are deep ideas behind her faction, and this book is a summation of her intellectual point of view. As a Mormon, I disagree with much of her philosophy. However, if someone has a good idea, I am honor bound to recognize it. "If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things."

Rand's strength is that she is operating from a philosophic point of view. We really do not have philosophic fiction writers, outside of C. S. Lewis, Nietzsche and Sartre. This is not to say that other authors do not have ideas, but that they are not operating from a certain point of view. This is why Rand is so engaging: instead of presenting a mental muddle, she actually has a point to what she writes. Hence her precision in language.

A book that I imagine people who are attached to subjectivism will have major problems with but even I, a religious Jew, was able to make good use of this book. There is much people can learn from objectivism. With this book in particular, one can find a better time getting the "inspiration" they need for writing fiction. One can have a much better time analyzing and appreciating fiction from reading this book as well.

This book came from casual lectures that Rand gave in her living room, put down to paper much later. It is a good lecture series and of use to anyone from a person suffering writer's block to a person who wishes to explore different viewpoints on writing well.