or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
or
Amazon Prime Free Trial required. Sign up when you check out. Learn More
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Elements of Fiction Writing - Description
 
 
Tell the Publisher!
I'd like to read this book on Kindle

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Elements of Fiction Writing - Description [Paperback]

Monica Wood (Author)
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)

List Price: $12.99
Price: $8.97 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
You Save: $4.02 (31%)
  Special Offers Available
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
Only 6 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).
Want it delivered Tuesday, January 31? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details
Textbook Student FREE Two-Day Shipping for Students. Learn more

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Hardcover --  
Paperback $8.97  

Book Description

0898799082 978-0898799088 July 15, 1999
Description is most powerful when it's visible, aural, tactile. Make your descriptions fresh and they'll move your story forward, imbue your work with atmosphere, create that tang of feeling that editors cry for and readers crave.





Monica Wood helps you squeeze the greatest flavor from the language. She segments description like an orange, separating its slices to let you sample each one.





You'll learn about:



  • Detail, and how you can use description to awaken the reader's senses of touch, taste, hearing, smell and sight

  • Plot, from advancing story using only relevant description–and how to edit out sluggish, reader-stopping writing

  • Style, and the use of description to create a mood that matches your story's content

  • Point of view, how selecting omniscient, first person or third person limited narrative influences the descriptive freedom you have

  • Creating original word depictions of people, animals, places, weather and movement




Wood teaches by example, developing stories with characters in various situations, to show you how you can apply description techniques.





You'll also see samples of work by such noted writers as Mark Helprin, Anne Tyler and Raymond Carver. And you'll find the dos and don'ts, lists and descriptive alternatives to common verbs and nouns, and tips for editing your work.


Special Offers and Product Promotions

  • Buy $50 in qualifying physical textbooks, get $5 in Amazon MP3 Credit. Here's how (restrictions apply)

Frequently Bought Together

Customers buy this book with Elements of Fiction Writing - Beginnings, Middles & Ends $8.73

Elements of Fiction Writing - Description + Elements of Fiction Writing - Beginnings, Middles & Ends
  • This item: Elements of Fiction Writing - Description

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

  • Elements of Fiction Writing - Beginnings, Middles & Ends

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details



Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Description is most powerful when it's visible, aural, tactile. Make your descriptions fresh and they'll move your story forward, imbue your work with atmosphere, create that tang of feeling that editors cry for and readers crave. Monica Wood helps you squeeze the greatest flavor from the language. She segments description like an orange, separating its slices to let you sample each one.

You'll learn about:

- Detail, and how you can use description to awaken the reader's senses of touch, taste, hearing, smell and sight

- Advancing story using only relevant description--and how to edit out sluggish, reader-stopping writing

- Style, and the use of description to create a mood that matches your story's content

- Point of view --how selecting omniscient, first person or third person limited narrative influences the descriptive freedom you have

- Creating original word depictions of people, animals, places, weather and movement

Wood teaches by example, developing stories with characters in various situations, to show you how you can apply description techniques.

You'll also see samples of work by such noted writers as Mark Helprin, Anne Tyler and Raymond Carver. And you'll find the dos and don'ts, lists and descriptive alternatives to common verbs and nouns, and tips for editing your work.

About the Author

Monica Wood is the author of the novel Secret Language. Her frequently anthologised short stories have appeared in such publications as Redbook, The North American Review, Yankee, Tampa Review and Manoa. Her stories have been read on public radio, nominated for the National Magazine Award, and given special mention in the Pushcart Prize. A native of western Maine, she now lives in Portland.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 176 pages
  • Publisher: Writers Digest Books (July 15, 1999)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0898799082
  • ISBN-13: 978-0898799088
  • Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.5 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #142,146 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

 

Customer Reviews

31 Reviews
5 star:
 (17)
4 star:
 (10)
3 star:
 (3)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (31 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Reference Guide for Writers, New and Old, July 25, 2003
This review is from: Elements of Fiction Writing - Description (Paperback)
This is one of those books that people don't really think they need, until they pick up a copy and start flipping through it. Description is one of the most fundamental things a writer has to do, yet so many people who write do it poorly.

Monica Wood takes the idea of description, and makes it an easy to use 'technique' in your writing. This is a necessary guide for all of us who like to write. The idea of show, don't tell, is pushed here, but not to the point of being obnoxious. Wood shows how to use all of the senses in your descriptions to make your reader feel as though he/she were there. That's key. 'A big, red house..' isn't description. ...a house the color of dried blood, with a roofline so tall that the clouds seemed to have to part to get around the peak..' now that's description!

I have a few reference, or technique books on my shelf, and this one is one that I open most often. I want to make sure my readers understand where they are and what they're seeing, smelling, and feeling in the story. This book teaches the reader how to do just that.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


46 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars "A man thinking about death is not a story..., July 11, 2004
By 
J A W (Norman, OK United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Elements of Fiction Writing - Description (Paperback)
A man building his own coffin is," this is one of the examples of wisdom in Monica Wood's book. Much of this material is common sense, if you think about it, but Wood puts it into words that help us think through our own thoughts. She asks us to focus our descriptive style through character, and relate how the scenes and settings impact the characters or are how they are interpreted by the characters. Make the metaphors and adjectives character inspired, not author inspired.

She organizes her book around chapters that deal w/ Description in relation to Dialogue, Forward Motion, Point of View, ect, so this would be a handy resource to pull off the shelf if you are stuck in any given scene, and you want advice for better ways to convey the characters and to move the plot. She gives examples of good description and bad description, and if you're like me, you'll cringe reading the bad examples because they look so familair in my own writing. The only reason I don't give it five stars is I would have liked to have seen more descriptive examples from different genres, instead of incessant "modern-era Great American novel" type of prose. Some addenums on science fiction, fantasy, horror, mystery, historical fiction, would have helped.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Description, June 7, 2005
By 
book lover (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Elements of Fiction Writing - Description (Paperback)
**Summary: Description is a great book for the aspiring author who has already studied Stein on Writing or Self-Editing for Fiction Writers

I've read many books on writing novels, books that pound in messages like show-don't-tell and avoid flashbacks like the plague. Stein on Writing and Self-Editing for Fiction Writers were great books for me when I was writing my first manuscript - and I still refer to them regularly - but now I want to advance my writing further.

Description is great for that. Instead of saying "Show-don't-tell," description teaches methods for creating a balance between showing and telling. While Wood doesn't recommend using flashbacks, like most other books, she provides tools to make flashbacks more seamless. I like her balanced approach, and I consider this a great book for the slightly more advanced author.

I only gave this book four stars because I didn't think that the examples she used were the epitome of great writing, but her examples always got her point across.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews











Only search this product's reviews



Inside This Book (learn more)
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
descriptive interruptions, reminiscent narrator, dialogue tags, indirect dialogue, descriptive style, omniscient narrative, omniscient point, dialogue sequence, omniscient narrator, inexperienced writers
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Version Two, Abby Ross, Version One, Walter Clayton, Paul Revere, Ten Acre Woods, Anna Tremblay, Boston's North End, Drake Street, Maple Street, Miss Kenton, Social Security Administration, Quebec City
New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats
Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Search Inside This Book:

Citations (learn more)
This book cites 17 books:
See all 17 books this book cites




Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   
Related forums





Look for Similar Items by Category


Look for Similar Items by Subject