What If?: Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers (2nd Edition) [Paperback]

Anne Bernays (Author), Pamela Painter (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0321107179 | ISBN-13: 978-0321107176 | Publication Date: December 4, 2003 | Edition: 2

Organized by the elements of fiction and comprised primarily of writing exercises, this text helps students hone and refine their craft with a practical, hands-on approach to writing fiction.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

An essential to any writer's library, What If? is comprised entirely of specific exercises intended to help the reader master the art of writing fiction. The exercises isolate the various elements of fiction - dialogue, plot, characterization, point- of-view, etc. - and present specific problems to solve through writing. Directed toward both beginners and professional writers, this book addresses topics such as discovering where to start and end a story; learning when to use dialogue and when to use indirect discourse; transforming real events into fiction; and finding language that both sings and communicates precisely. For those interested in writing fiction. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Anne Bernays, a novelist and writing teacher, is the author of eight novels, including Professor Romeo and Growing Up Rich, as well as two works of nonfiction, including The Language of Names written with Justin Kaplan and What If? written with Pamela Painter. Her articles and essays have appeared in numerous major publications, among them The Nation, the New York Times, Town & Country, and Sports Illustrated. She lives in Cambridge and Truro, Massachusetts with her husband, Justin Kaplan. They have three daughters and six grandchildren.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 528 pages
• Publisher: Longman; 2 edition (December 4, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321107179
• ISBN-13: 978-0321107176
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (67 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #308,954 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

78 of 82 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exercises Galore, January 9, 2002

By 

Russell Diederich (Littleton, CO United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: What If? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers, Second Edition (Paperback)

If you did one exercise a day from Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter's "What If?" you would be writing for more than a third of a year. The book is packed with 115 exercises. The goal of a writer is to write, preferably every day. This book not only provides exercises, it also includes discussions of writing before each exercise to teach the skills necessary to become a good writer. Bernays and Painter finish off their book with 24 short stories, from a variety of authors, to provide the reader with examples of the lessons.

The book is split up into fifteen different sections (two of these are devoted to the short stories and short-shorts), each with several exercises. Each section discusses a particular part of story writing including, beginnings, plot, POV, characterization, dialogue, styles and rewrites. I found the majority of the exercises useful, and nearly all of the lessons and discussions worthwhile. There where even a few "Ah-ha!" exercises that instantly solved, or gave me ideas on how to tackle, a problem that I'd been dealing with.

This book can be used in two ways. The first is to use it to strengthen your weaknesses. If you feel that your writing is lacking in a certain area, you can focus entirely on the lessons and exercises to improve that area. The second way to use this book is to read it straight through for the lessons and advise while using the exercises to further your writing. Either way, I believe that any writer will find "What If?" a useful tool.

41 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Two very enthusiastic thumbs up!, December 23, 1998

By 

[e-mail] Les Edgerton (Fort Wayne, IN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: What If? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers (Paperback)

I teach creative writing in the UCLA Writer's Program (online) and always recommend this book to my students as one of the two best books (along with Janet Burroway's "Writing Fiction") on the craft of writing ever penned. I have used the information in this book time and again in writing my own novels and stories ("The Death of Tarpons" (novel), "Monday's Meal" (story collection), "Over Easy" (thriller forthcoming from Random House, 1999). A more intelligent book than this has yet to be written. If you aspire to create memorable, quality prose, you must buy this book! It will aid you throughout your writing career in thousands of ways. Five stars is not enough to award this book, which I'm sure is destined to become a classic if it is not already considered so.

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Please don't let it go out of print!, January 19, 2000

By 

Susan Ito (California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: What If? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers (Paperback)

I have been teaching writing and using this book for over five years. It has been beyond invaluable for me and my students, and I don't know how I am going to live without it.

The earlier, brown version is not the greatest, but the "Revised and Expanded" 1995 edition (blue cover) is fabulous. We were supposed to get a new 2000 edition in January, but now I heard that Prentice-Hall has decided not to do the new edition. So "What If?" is now out of print. NO!