Imaginative Writing: The Elements of Craft (Penguin Academics Series) [Paperback]

Janet Burroway (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 032135740X | ISBN-13: 978-0321357403 | Publication Date: June 19, 2006 | Edition: 2nd

Written by best-selling author Janet Burroway, Imaginative Writing — an introduction to creative writing — covers all four genres: creative nonfiction, fiction, poetry, and drama. Imaginative Writing discusses elements of craft common to all creative writing before delving into the individual genres. Each of the first five chapters investigates a specific element of craft–Image, Voice, Character, Setting, and Story–from a perspective that crosses all genres. Chapter 6 explores development and revision and serves as a bridge between the craft chapters and genre chapters. The last four chapters examine individual genres: Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. This unique organization allows students to experiment with creative techniques shared by all genres before deciding which form best suits their imagination. Unique "Try-This" exercises help students develop writing skills, while new “Working Toward a Draft” exercises encourage students to think ahead about the direction and possibilities of their work

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

JANET BURROWAY is the author of plays, poetry, essays, children’s books, and eight novels including The Buzzards, Raw Silk (runner up for the National Book Award), Opening Nights, Cutting Stone, and Bridge of Sand. Her publications include a collection of personal essays, "Embalming Mom," in addition to a volume of poetry, Material Goods, and two children’s books in verse, The Truck on the Track and The Giant Jam Sandwich. Her most recent plays, Medea with Child (The Reva Shiner Award), Sweepstakes, Division of Property (Arts & Letters Award), and Parts of Speech, have received readings and productions in NewYork, London, San Francisco, Hollywood, Chicago, and various regional theatres. Her textbook Writing Fiction, now in its eighth edition, is the most widely used creative writing text in the United States. She is Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor Emerita at the Florida State University in Tallahassee.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Pearson/Longman; 2nd edition (June 19, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 032135740X
• ISBN-13: 978-0321357403
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #40,317 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

73 of 75 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fresh?, August 23, 2003

By 

indypoet "indypoet" (Indianapolis, IN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Imaginative Writing: The Elements of Craft (Penguin Academics Series) (Paperback)

Not to start a war here, but Janet Burroway's book *is* fresh, and it's the best, most comprehensive multigenre text on the market. And it's affordable both for university students and writers who want to use it on their own. No, it's not full of inspirational gobbledygook and gimmicky suggestions to touch the heart of the writer. Instead, it's a very smart book that asks the writer to join in the long histories of the genres it discusses and offers the most succinctly articulated descriptions of techniques and approaches that will not only get a writer started writing but that will also help that writer understand what makes good writing good. The most innovative aspect of Burroway's book is that it takes creative writing as a whole and discusses those basic elements that make all writing good, from the need for concrete imagery that says something to the need for narrative to move and develop across a work. And it offers dozens and dozens of recent examples to illustrate its points. As an anthology alone, this book would be a good read. But Burroway's comments very aptly help a reader to understand what is working well in each of her excerpts. No, it doesn't offer up elaborate metaphors about bones or light or any inner writing child as a way to nurture the soul of the writer. But from my experience as a writing instructor, it's not the soul of the beginning writer that needs nurturing. This book understands quite well the need to nurture the mind of the writer first.

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The THIRD Edition of the Classic Intro to Creative Writing, April 8, 2007

By 

C. J. Singh (Berkeley, California, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Imaginative Writing: The Elements of Craft (Penguin Academics Series) (Paperback)

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Imaginative Writing: The Elements of Craft (third edition)
By Janet Burroway
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Reviewed by C J Singh (Berkeley, CA) Feb 1, 2010

(This is an addendum to my review of the previous edition.)
Janet Burroway's Imaginative Writing: The Elements of Craft, 3rd Edition adds several new short stories, nonfictions, poems, dramas and drops some of the ones in the second edition, keeping the overall page count of the book about the same. Notably enhanced are the chapters on drama and on poetry. The drama section includes several examples of a newly popular genre, the ten-minute play.

Although marketed as a textbook for Creative Writing 101, this book is the best primer for self-teaching. On completing the brief "try this" exercises included, you'll acquire a good understanding of the craft elements and be able to judge whether the comments on your work by other apprentice writers in a workshop are on the mark or not -- yes, even positive, flattering comments ("I loved this image...") can mislead you.

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Imaginative Writing: The Elements of Craft (second edition)
By Janet Burroway
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Reviewed by C J Singh (Berkeley, CA) on April 8, 2007
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Unlike the reviews to date, my review focuses on the current edition.
The overall organization of the book is unchanged. The first part comprises chapters on the five elements of craft common to all genres of imaginative writing: Image; Voice; Character; Setting; Story. The second part comprises chapters on the four genres: Creative Nonfiction; Fiction; Poetry; Drama.

Among the new examples in the second edition are the following: contemporary short stories such as Jhumpa Lahiri's "Interpreter of Maladies," William Trevor's "Sitting with the Dead," Ron Carlson's "Big foot Stole My Wife"; contemporary poems by Billy Collins, Annie Tibble, and Henry Reed: contemporary creative nonfiction by Gayle Pemberton, Bill Capossere, and William Kittredge; contemporary drama by Carol Real, Jim Quinn, and Josh ben Friedman.

Also new are a series of developmental exercises, located in the basic techniques section at the end of each chapter. This series is designed to facilitate readers "toward a finished piece."

Burroway has wisely retained many of the exemplary selections from the first edition such as Charles Baxter's "Snow," Donald Barthelme's "The School, and Robert Olen Butler's "Missing."

Its unique multigenre approach, lucid expositions, and "Try This" prompts make IMAGINATIVE WRITING the best primer for teaching yourself.

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book for the writing classroom, July 26, 2004

By 

Sean Hoade (Las Vegas, Nevada USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Imaginative Writing: The Elements of Craft (Penguin Academics Series) (Paperback)

I couldn't disagree more with the one-star review below. I find this such a useful and helpful multi-genre book that I have adopted it for use in my creative writing class here at the University of Alabama. Just an excellent book!