Customer Reviews

The Modern Library Writer's Workshop: A Guide to the Craft of Fiction (Modern Library Paperbacks)

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

As a professional writer for over 25 years, I've read many writing books. The Modern Library Writer's Workshop by Stephen Koch is one of the best I've read. Although the subtitle of the book is A Guide to the Craft of Fiction, this is a book every writer who is serious about writing needs to read. Story is a critical element of nonfiction as well as fiction. Unlike many how-to-write authors, Koch avoids taking the superficial, fill-in-the blank approach. His chapters include Beginnings, The Writing Life, Shaping the Story, Making Characters Live, Inventing Your Style, the Story of the Self, Working and Reworking, and Finishing. The pages of this book are filled with ideas that helped me to look at my writing with new insight. If you can afford only one writing book, this is the one to buy.

It's unfortunate that this book is saddled with such an ugly title. It is an excellent tour of all aspects of the craft, and covers the process of revision--and stages of drafts--in considerable depth.

Stephen Koch is a respected author and also an admired teacher (nearly 30 years of teaching creative writing at Columbia and Princeton), and a number of his students have gone on to brilliant literary careers.

Some people scoff at the idea--which Koch supports--that stories are discovered during the writing process. Writers from William Faulkner to Stephen King to Martin Amis (and I bet you've never seen those three in a sentence together before) all claim exactly that--stories are discovered, not planned out like the construction of a cabinet.

Don't pick up this book if you're looking for exercises or assignments. I've taken novel workshops from three accomplished novelists, and none of them focused on 'exercises or assignments.' We were told to go write our books, and then bring in chapters for critiques. In this sense, what Koch has written here is pretty close to how a workshop approaches the problem of building a novel.

For those who want them, there are plenty of books out there with connect-the-dots instructions, and tons of annoying (to me) exercises. The only one I can recommned is Brian Kiteley's "The 3 am Epiphany." I didn't do any of the exercises--I save my writing for writing--but they are clever and stimulating to read.

This is one of the best books on writing I've ever read. I highly recommend it. I'd give it 10 stars if I had the option.
What another reviewer states, as "name-dropping" is actually research. Anyone who has ever written a term paper knows this. In order for the writer, Stephen Koch to include all of the facts and quotes, he had to find them. I thank him for writing this book and for doing all the research required to take it to a higher level. As the back cover states, " If you can't get Vladimir Nabakov, Virginia Wolfe, and Gabriel Garcia Marquez together, The Modern Library Writer's Workshop gives you the next best thing." The quotes from great writers are inspiring. They bring the writers alive.
Like notes from a great writing workshop, I'll continue to re-read this book. This is definitely one book I'll keep accessible on my desk.
If you are interested in other books on writing, I suggest Natalie Goldberg's Writing down the Bones.

I am one of those people who has been writing things for years but never got serious enough to write an actual story. Well, recently I got serious enough. I checked out a stack of writing books from the library as well as pulled out what I already had at home. There was a lot of good advice in these books. But Koch's book described the inner problems I had that were preventing me from progressing, and did so consistenly. It's one of those books that you read and find yourself nodding in agreement as a grin spreads across your face. This book has done more for me in a shorter period of time than any other writing book I've read. My weaknesses were exposed as a common problem of would-be writers, not something wrong with me alone. Though there is no magic formula (and Koch offers none) to apply it's good to know that if you apply yourself diligently enough there is no reason why you can't write that great piece.

You will find, when you start shopping for books on fiction writing craft, that there are many of them. Most are well-intentioned but you will only read them once and the verdict will be: "Thanks for sharing."

Stephen Koch's title is one that many working authors of my acquaintance dip into frequently. It is a motivational work as much as a writing guide, but don't underestimate the value of such a cattle prod, especially if you can't quite find your way into your masterpiece or you are trying to develop your writing as a beginnner.

Perhaps more than people in highly structured occupations, authors can fall prey to procrastination, fruitless self-questioning, and creative blanks. Author, Stephen Koch comes at his subject from the position that a writer writes and that a story reveals itself as the writers works on it. After more than twenty years as an editor and fiction author, I am inclined to agree with him. I have found that his small volume delivers some thoroughly practical advice while at the same time prompting the writer to get on with the process of writing.

Throughout the book, Koch offers quotes about the craft from notable authors. Some people seem to find these inspiring and interesting, and believe they can learn something from accomplished peers. A few I've spoken with do not welcome this content and wish Koch had focused more on craft methodologies.

While he covers various bases, it's certainly true that other guides will offer a much more thorough technical treatment of character, narrative, plot etc. Yet, writing is not all about a "correct formula". One of the most helpful aspects of Koch's approach is that of mentoring. He strikes a careful balance between prodding, practical help, introductory information about technique, ways into a writing mindset, and the fundamentals of good story-telling. His is the style of an accomplished teacher with a passion for his subject.

If you are looking for a highly technical guide to the craft, this may not be your best choice. I recommend this title to the serious beginner who would welcome some commonsense practical guidance, along with motivational material, and to the seasoned author who enjoys reading what notables have to say about certain topics. There are trendier works available, and those that are more specific and technique-focused, but this is among the best of the broad, general guides.

In my time, I've read plenty of writing books. To be honest, few of them offer terribly unique advice. Some prescribe goofy meditations, guided writings on uninspiring topics, or bizarre activities meant to "unlock your creativity". Some prescribe pretty much the same information as Koch's book here: things like, you have to create & defend your writing time. OK! Nothing anyone who has participated in NaNoWriMo before doesn't know.

The difference with this book, and the reason that I've given it five stars, is that it didn't at any point stall me with a "homework assignment", and the prose didn't feel dry to me. I wanted to keep reading, instead of struggling to reach the end of each chapter and feeling like the book was a chore.

One reason that I have a lot of writing books is that a lot of them are boring, or stop you fifteen pages in (and every twenty pages thereafter) with a project you're supposed to do before reading any further. (I don't want to do your stupid set of guided meditations and accompanying journal entries: I want to *write*, the things that *I* am thinking about and needing to write, and I just want some good advice on how to go about it, and not just from people who are failed writers except in terms of getting a book or some freelance articles published). The advice in this book comes from authors of classics and of extraordinarily successful popular novels, drawn from works and quoted from interviews. These are proven success stories.

(However, I would like to add, as popular and influential as Hemingway has been, writers of books like this one never do seem to take into account that one must deviate from his model at least a little bit, if one does not wish to wind up suicidal.)

I have read many (really many) books on the craft including Gardner's classics, and I must say that Koch's brilliant treatment of the craft sums it all up admirably while his use of quotes is very illuminating. If I had to settle for one and only one book on writing, this would be it.

Like another reviewer, I too am working on a novel, unpublished, and have read many, many "how-to" writing books, not to mention all the writing conferences and classes. This is undoubtedly the best published source by far. Why? Because instead of just giving the general basics of the craft: Plot, character, voice, etc., he gets into the gray areas in a very unique way. The real difference between story and the dreaded plot, for example, or learning how famous authors manage the tough stuff. Reading this book inspires IMMEDIATELY. I jumped up to grab a pencil and paper so many times while reading it to jot down ideas and notes. If you're only going to buy one writing book, BUY THIS ONE. :) (p.s.--I usually don't feel compelled to write these reviews. For this book I made the exception).

The Modern Library Writer's Workshop is a book about the art of writing narrative prose. Koch believes passionately that writing can be taught, and he has assembled a text that sets about doing just that. Though written for the beginning writer, Koch believes every writer, however proficient, can find herself at a place of new beginnings, or a place of uncertainty, and can find something of value here that will give great comfort and inspiration as she begins again. Koch captures the urgency a new writer feels simply to begin. I loved this recognition and his admonition to "plunge into it (the writing). And you must do it now." I loved the permission Koch seems to give to take ample advantage of one's own memory, power of observation, reading preferences and desire to write as ways to help shape the writer's life. He urges us to write every day and to treat writing as a job, even if we have another job. A writer's life is hard, but possible. We can learn to shape the story and make the characters come alive, and to do that we need to pay attention to the story, the structure and the plot. We must know the difference between story (the account of the sequence of events) and plot (what makes the story move). Structure is what joins the story and the plot. Koch shows us how to organize the plot by developing the characters and the conflicts they experience. This makes the story come alive and feel cohesive. The use of drama and improbability to uncover the meaning of the story is especially helpful for me, as a nonfiction writer. " Finally," Koch says, "truth in even the most fantastic fiction--that is, its authenticity--rests somewhere, somehow on bedrock of facts." This is the heart of his work for me, and gives the craft its superb ring of truth.

This book was recommended to my by a famous and fabulous author;David Wroblewski- he spoke in Durham NC about his novel, "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle" recently. He writes beautifully and story-tells evocatively, full of feeling and movement. My experience with the book has been successful though I have not finished reading it, (I savor good books). The book goes into some detail about writing choices that are important. I carry the book with me everywhere. A great find for a new writer.