My experience in finding this book, is just like the other reviewer, I was buying some books, and I was recommended this title.
With a name such as "Ron Carlson writes a story", I really had no idea what to expect. Who is Ron Carlson? I have never heard of this person in my life, is the idea of him being able to write a story worthy of a book, is it a man's triumph over the written word? No, it is a behind the scenes look at the making of a story.
Fortunately, the price was just ten dollars, a very low amount for something that could be of use. I love short stories, and I love writing, my reason for buying this book, was the possible glimpse inside the mind of a writer.
I am writing this review, because this is a great book, and the page here gives very little to go on. The author is a very gifted writer; his thoughts come through clearly, and cite countless ideas, and suggestions that will change the way you work.
I knew buying this, that it was more of a "making of a story" book, not a "how to write" book, hopefully potential buyers note this as well. Ron goes sentence by sentence (or paragraph) and explains what he is thinking while he wrote it. He analyzes only the finished story, not the first draft, we don't get to see him struggle on what elements he decides to keep and why, just how the story came to be, and why he does the things he does.
He also gives off ideas, how he approaches a tough spot, when the author gets stumped, what he likes to do, and gives off examples. I learned a lot from this book, it wasn't mind bending, it didn't change my world, but it did help, and it can help you too. The author writes with conviction, he prose leaps off the page, his characters are amazing, most every character he introduces in the story, I immediately wanted to know more about them.
Ron writes very organically, his story is told with no outline, it just flows, and through reading this book, you can get an idea of how powerful that is, and how powerful that can be. He creates a world I want to visit, and creates characters I want to meet, and learn more about.
If I have to give a downside to this book, it would be the lack of attention dedicated to story. Even the short story is not really a story; it's more of a vignette, a scene, a fond memory of things past. Be that as it may, I cannot fault this book on not addressing this topic; there are countless other books that focus on nothing but story. Though, it would have been nice.
In the end, if you are only going to pick up one book on writing, this is not that book. But if you have a passion for writing, you can do no wrong in buying this book.
