Customer Reviews

Revising fiction: A handbook for writers

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

 

 

Revising is complicated enough; however, if one is unable to identify the problem, revising becomes impossible. Many writing problems have to do with structural errors. Madden's book elegantly and clearly defines a myriad of structural elements that might be at the root of such errors and poses each element as a question, such as: "Does the protagonist fail to affect the other characters?" or, "Have you in some way diffused the impact of the climax?" or, "Do passages that reflect your own biases or judgments intrude?" Each question is followed by a detailed answer that includes examples from the writing of Faulkner, James Dickey, Ray Carver, Fitzgerald, V. Woolf, James Joyce, to name but a few. Madden sometimes gives, by way of example, an earlier version of a famous writer's text and compares it to the writer's revised version. For example, Madden discusses the "device of implication" in "...the five versions of the opening of Mrs. Dalloway." I found this book to be invaluable, not only for its practical advice, but for its inherent encouragment. There is nothing like being able to see that one's favorite writers struggled constantly with issues of revision, sometimes even after the publication of a book, such as Fitzgerald's post-publication restructuring of Tender is the Night.

The book is VERY good as a checklist for revising your fiction, but I would ONLY recommend it for confident writers who already have some experience. Of the nearly 200 self-examination questions in it, nearly ALL of them are written in the negative. ("Is your story too this? Not enough that? Does it lack this? Have you failed to do that?")

I wanted to share it with a group of beginning writers, but after reviewing the checklist questions, I found that for most new writers, the overwhelming number of potential negatives would be too daunting and might even discourage them from writing altogether.

A good book but I don't recommend it for beginning writers.

I am trying to maintain a balance between analysis and just putting words on the page. I think both processes are essential. This book is very helpful in that it provides a list of topics, along with applicable examples, that one can wrestle with, then decide to incorporate or simply set aside.

If you are serious about writing literary fiction, then this is a book you must read. It essentially helps you troubleshoot your writing--from concept, to structure, to execution. It uses many examples from famous authors and show the drafts they wrote before revision. This is the only book I've seen where the author is able to do such numerous and direct comparisons between drafts so the reader can see exactly what was changed and why. The book also asks you to consider many aspects of your writing that other books on writing and editing fiction don't even touch upon. I would not recommend this book if you haven't already done a lot of serious fiction writing, because unless you have, you probably won't understand the significance of some of the issues raised in the book.

I am currently teaching Creative Writing: Short Fiction in Iowa, and recently read David Madden's Revising Fiction cover-to-cover after years of having the book sit on my bookshelf. Since I am teaching fiction writing and must address students' problems frequently, I decided to finally read Madden's book. God, how dumb I was to wait decades to read a book so great as Madden's. Some teachers may not wish to overwhelm beginning writers by introducing them to Madden's Revising Fiction because its 185 cautionary writing considerations (and solutions to avoid common writing problems) are too negative. But with no disrespect meant to the 4-star reviewer, to be the best one must learn from the best. Let me analogize. Many piano moms and dads think they will start Little Johnny with a local so-so piano teacher, and if Little Johnny gets really good or shows talent, THEN the parents will get Little Johnny a much better piano teacher (and usually better piano) later. The problem with this logic (and dare I say American) pedagocial theory is that Little Johnny will never get really good or demonstrate any real talent (even if he possesses talent) with an inferior teacher and instrument. On the contrary, Little Johnny will probably flounder and give up piano altogether, or play half-crippled all his life. Had Little Johnny had a really great teacher and great piano (the best tools of a piano student), he would have advanced exponentially. The same holds for creative writing growth. Writers need a great tool like Madden's Revising Fiction.

Madden's book is a treasure of knowledge, and the fact that it is out of print is a tragedy. Prospective buyers would be foolish to pass up this great writing treasure. Why read a plethora of Betty Croker Creative Writing texts when you have Thomas Keller of the French Laundry ready to teach you how to avoid spoiling the soup? I would give this book 10 stars if it were possible, and a big bravo to Keller...I mean, David Madden.

Because I marked up my copy of Madden's Revising Fiction so much (it had that much to say), I ordered a second copy of Madden's book today, July 8, 2011. I wanted to own a clean copy, so I can project many of its time-saving 185 lessons in class when teaching fiction to students. I hope a new edition is published in the near future so I can adopt Revising Fiction for the classroom.

Happy writing to all!

Dr. Ervin Nieves