Customer Reviews

Creating Fiction

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Imagine having 23 professional writing coaches at your disposal - each instructor teaching the fundamentals of writing they've perfected over the years. "Creating Fiction" is the best of nationwide creative writing programs taught by respected novelists and short story writers.

Established authors offer their expertise in these informative essays. Every entry ends with related exercises pertaining to the writing elements you've just learned. In fact, you'll find over 100 writing exercises taught in expensive workshops.

These writing essays tackle the challenging aspects of your writing venture. This in-depth guide to writing covers:

* Thinking About Fiction

* Characterization

* Point of View

* Plot, Structure and Narrative

* Style and Voice

* Revising, Editing and Marketing

Every category provides a variety of essays, offering several unique perspectives to help you perfect your craft.

Creating Fiction is very usable for students and teachers of fiction writing. The primary strength of this book is that the authors give concrete instruction for developing skills as a fiction writer, rather than vague, abstract advice. They tell the reader what works (and what doesn't work) in their classrooms.

Every essay contains examples from classic and/or contemporary published writing--from Shakespeare to T.C. Boyle. Thus, teachers will easily be able to pair these essays, or lessons on the writing theories and practices contained within the essays, with reading assignments. Also, every essay ends with a list of writing exercises that encourage the reader to practice the theories or advice. Teachers and students will be able to use the essays and exercises effectively learn how fiction functions, and apply this knowledge to their development as writers.

Also, because talented fiction writers wrote the essays, they are extremely enjoyable to read. These discussions of fiction theory, which in other books may feel heavy and overdone, are very approachable in Creating Fiction. Undergraduate students (and other beginning writers) will not be frightened or overwhelmed by this book.

Creating Fiction asked various well known writers to write about various topics in writing. Results vary, of course, but there's some great advice in here (mixed with not so great advice - but this happens any time you get a big group of people). I definitely thought that this has a place on most writer's bookshelves (or at least is worth borrowing if you can't find it reasonably inexpensively).

More than most books on writing, I liked that this had 1) a fairly large group of novelists who were queried (so the advice was varied) and 2) assigned them all topics so that articles didn't cluster around one facet of writing (i.e. the plot, character building, whatever). In general, a good read.

I'm enjoying reading these essays about the craft of writing as I pursue an MFA in Creative Writing. This book, as well as Writing Creative Non-Fiction, have become my Bibles as I experiment with my essays using different literary techniques and getting away from a chronological structure. I'd highly recommend this book for anyone interested in learning how to write better. Clear essays, no gibberish, little academic snobbery from this wealth of professional writers.

I have a Friend who is a writer she recommended this book for the activities/homeworks you get at the end of each chapter, it help her enormously when she was in college, so I decided to get it, I'm just starting with the book but the first chapter alone gave me a perspective of different views of a reader/writer.
I will recommended for beginner writers, or for someone a little challenge on his/hers writers skills.
Book came in a very good condition, new.

There are many flattering reviews of CREATING FICTION on Amazon, but I find the book to be filled with friendly chatter that doesnt contain much instruction or helpful information. The one piece of solid advice in this book is Maxwell Perkins' suggestion to read WAR & PEACE several times and forget about how-to-write books.

Well I have not read Ms. Checkoway's book just yet, but I can say from experience that Ms. Checkoway knows writing and how to teach it. As one of my first writing instructors, she gave me tools I still use today. I know that every aspiring writer can benefit from reading "Creating Fiction."