Customer Reviews

Ron Carlson Writes a Story

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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.

Ron Carlson takes you through the process of writing a short story as he wrote it, with practical steps on things like naming your characters, filling in details when you're stuck, and to keep writing when that second cup of coffee is calling. In fact, that's when some of the best writing occurs: when you stay at your desk writing instead of grabbing that second cup of coffee when things get tough. The book is short but packed with practical advice on how to stay with the process to complete a short story.

It includes his short story "The Governor's Ball." As he says in the book, "The Governor's Ball" was written in a single day and it was a story he remembers how he wrote, so he's able to give a kind of "play-by-play" account of the writing process.

Some of the advice will be familiar to those who've read books of this kind, such as how to write dialogue, using active verbs, and eliminating unnecessary adjectives. But the account of how a writer writes a specific story is unique in my experience and the story itself is a good one to learn from. It's short but a model of the subtleties that make short stories fun to read.

This book is directed at aspiring fiction writers. Since I don't write fiction, maybe I should be reading one of Carlson's novels instead. But I press on anyway. I am compelled by the sample story that Ron delivers in crisp, salty little chunks, like so many goldfish crackers scattered on the path through the dark woods of procrastination. But I am also moved by Ron's writing lessons: tips and truisms, warnings and reminders, all of it frank and funny and right, because each one is tied to the wagging tale of the story he's telling.

Ron's emphasis is on process, not craft, and hence on intuition and accident more than control. Writing is discovery; you need to listen to your characters, not tell them what to do. Writing dialogue, Ron tells us, is "like playing tennis against a real partner. It's not like playing tennis against a wall." Craft alone would be mastering the wall; but process means creating characters who feint, parry, and giggle uncontrollably, keeping the writer on her toes.

A lot of the book isn't about fiction writing at all. It's about time management. In a sharp little chapter called "Coffee," Carlson writes, "No one among us suffers the radical appreciation for coffee that I do. It calls to me, but I have learned not to listen." Coffee takes you out of your seat; it breaks concentration; it persuades you that "you might be smarter in the next room." And every coffee machine has a vacuum cleaner as its neighbor. Or an email account. Or a Face Book page.

This is a quick, fun, and enlightening read, a great book for anyone who likes to write, or to read about writing. I recommend it with a cup of Joe.

[...]

Years ago, I used to stay in a B&B next to the British Museum where literary workers stayed and often left their bound galleys on the "exchange" bookcase in the sitting room. On one trip, I picked up a collection of stories by Ron Carlson. The story that stuck with me -- for years -- was a story about a guy losing a mattress from the top of his truck on an overpass, and watching it fly away. Now he has written a book called "Ron Carlson Writes a Story" -- and it's about THIS story! From the things that were going on in his life before, to the first sentence, to the luminous ending, I can go right through it with him. It's actually a thrill.

Ron Carlson Writes a Story is one of the more practical books on writing that I've had the chance to read. The book details precisely what is described by the title--Ron Carlson writes a story. Many books on writing use excerpts of stories as examples of various points (strong voice, showing versus telling, etc), but Ron Carlson takes it a step further by detailing every stage of the process he went through to write one single short story (titled "The Governor's Ball," which is included in its entirety at the end of the book). In other other words, we get to read what went through Ron Carlson's mind as he went about writing this story, and it's really nice to read his train of thought and how he felt about all the nuts and bolts of "The Governor's Ball."
This book is short and to-the-point, and makes for a quick read. I was able to go through it in an afternoon, but I think it would be a nice book to go back to every now and again. I liked how he worded the process of writing his story. It wasn't just churning out scenes to fulfill a list of points for the sake of a plot. Ron Carlson instead views it as a process of entering the world of the story and finding out what will happen. All characters have their hopes and fears, and what may be best for writers to do is just slow down a bit and see what becomes of these characters.
I also liked his emphasis on how writers should continue to write another twenty minutes after they get the desire to take a break. His experience is this is when he gets his best writing in--that extra push to go a little deeper into the story really breathes life into it, he explains.

Carlson dissects the process in which he engaged in order to write his compelling short story "The Governor's Ball." In so doing, he frees us from the short story formula (you gotta start with an outline!) we may all have been taught and reminds us that a good story writes itself. In the process, he suggests, the author finds him or herself just as engaged and just as surprised by plot twists as does the audience. This is a refreshing, understandable, encouraging and realistic effort that should help bring out the story in each of us.

Mr. Carlson prompts me to want to write more and to read more - of Ron Carlson.

Reading this book was like being held by the hand by a gifted writer as he shared his secrets. While the secrets are known and shared by others, they are hard to do despite their relative simplicity. I've found that by following them, I've had more success as a writer, feel more like a writer, and over time came to enjoy the writing process more and more.

Thank you, Ron Carlson!

I read Carlson's Five Skies just a few weeks ago and loved it. When I saw that he had written a book on how to write I was happily surprised. Ron Carlson Writes a Story does not disappoint. It is the single best book on how a writer creates something out of nothing that I have ever come across.

This is a wonderful book about the process of writing a short story. Carlson demystifies the process and helps guide the beginning writer through completing a short story. Any one in the early part of their writing will learn a lot, and even those who are more experienced will gain from Carlson's wisdom. He's an excellent writer and teacher. I was fortunate enough to hear him lecture about the writing process before he created this book, and I use excerpts of it when I teach fiction writing. It's a great investment. If you haven't read his fiction, check out Ron Carlson, especially "The Ordinary Son" and "Big Foot Stole My Wife."

A book on the making of a story, not the creation of a novel, but a story by Ron Carlson. When I grabbed this short book I wondered "Who is Ron Carlson", and as a writer, "why should I care about how Ron writes a story"?

Ron's style is clever and personal. He offers a few writing exercises as mini-challenges, but the essence of the book is a tale of how Ron wrote a very brief, rather shallow short story.

Things I liked about this little book: Ron writes as if he is talking to the reader personally, like a phone conversation; Ron has a sense of humor and shares his internal desire to postpone the writing (something that every writer experiences).
Things I didn't like: There isn't much substance here, just flow of consciousness as he moves through the process of writing.

Looking for a book that builds internal camaraderie with a short story writer? Then maybe this book will bond you and make you feel good.
Looking for more substance? Something to challenge your thoughts or provide mechanisms for moving through the writing process? Don't look here.
His recommendations amount to: Stay in the room, keep writing, let the characters drive the process, and don't stop for coffee.
Any writer knows that 'writing' is an action, not a thought. Until the words get onto paper or your electronic screen, they aren't written.

So writers, if you want to write, then stop thinking about writing and put some words on some paper. If you want to postpone writing and read about how one man writes a story, then pick up this little book.