Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft [Paperback]

Janet Burroway (Author), Elizabeth Stuckey-French (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0321277368 | ISBN-13: 978-0321277367 | Publication Date: March 23, 2006 | Edition: 7th

The most widely used and respected text in its field, Writing Fiction, 7e by novelists Janet Burroway and Elizabeth Stuckey-French guides the novice story writer from first inspiration to final revision by providing practical writing techniques and concrete examples. Written in a tone that is personal and non-prescriptive, the text encourages students to develop proficiency through each step of the writing process, offering an abundance of exercises designed to spur writing and creativity.  The text also integrates diverse contemporary short stories in every chapter in the belief that the reading of inspiring fiction goes hand-in-hand with the writing of fresh and exciting stories.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Janet Burroway lectures at Florida State Univerity Susan Weinberg lectures at Appalachian State University

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Longman; 7th edition (March 23, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321277368
• ISBN-13: 978-0321277367
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #125,908 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The EIGHTH edition of a classic textbook, May 5, 2007

By 

C. J. Singh (Berkeley, California, USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft (Paperback)

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Reviewed by C J Singh

In the preface to the seventh edition, Burroway notes that "the idea of a text for writing fiction is itself problematic. Unlike such subjects as math and history, where a certain mass of information needs to be organized and conveyed, the writing of fiction is more often a process of trial and error--the learning is perpetual and, paradoxically, the writer needs to know everything at once. If a text is too prescriptive, it's not true to the immense variety of possibilities; if it's too anecdotal, it may be cheering but is unlikely to be of use." Excellent criteria, emerging from the author's decades of writing and teaching experience. And this book succeeds: it's engaging and it isn't too prescriptive.

Comparing the contents of previous editions, I see that Burroway has experimented with different chapter sequences. In the sixth edition, plot discussion began in chapter 2 (page 30); in the seventh edition, plot discussion is relegated to chapter 7 (page 259). Very well, as the writer "needs to know everything at once" anyway, such experimentation could lead to a better text. Burroway's experimentation is, for the most part, based on the feedback she has regularly received from instructors of creative writing. Moreover, the new sequence reflects the author's emphasis on literary fiction, which, she notes "differs from genre fiction fundamentally in the fact that the former is character-driven, the latter plot-driven" (page 413).

The author clearly prefers literary fiction over genre fiction. (In her definition, genre fiction comprises detective story, science fiction, fantasy fiction, romance, adventure, spy, horror, and thriller.) "Writing literary fiction can teach you how to write good genre fiction, writing genre fiction does not teach you how to write good literary fiction--does not teach `how to write,' by which I mean how to be original and meaningful in words." Agreed. But I wonder why the book is not titled Writing Literary Fiction.

The seventh edition, like the previous editions, includes more than twenty-five short stories, most of them by contemporary writers such as Tobias Wolff, Joyce Carol Oates, and Charles Baxter. These three stories were also in the sixth edition. However, the seventh edition has dropped short-short stories altogether. I found writing short-shorts as a fast-track to learning basic fiction-writing skills. (Inspired by the short-shorts in the sixth edition, I wrote five short-shorts, all of which have been accepted for publication in ZYZZYVA literary magazine's August 2007 issue.) The seventh edition's major short-coming is the dropping of short-shorts.

For teaching yourself to write literary fiction, I recommend: beginning with Burroway's "Imaginative Writing: The Elements of Craft"; next Burroway's "Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft"; followed by Sarah Stone and Ron Nyren's "Deepening Fiction: A Practical Guide for Intermediate and Advanced Writers." (See my amazon listmania list "Writing Literary Fiction: Top Ten Books.")

-- C J Singh

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best!, August 26, 2007

By 

John Bond (Dania Beach, FL) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft (Paperback)

This was the text in my Narrative Fiction Class in my MFA program in the 90s -- and I have kept it on my desk ever since!

This and John Dufresne's The Lie that Tells a Truth are invaluable companions to any writer of fiction.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book, but...., January 23, 2008

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R. W. Raab-Faber (Albuquerque) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft (Paperback)

The others tell about it already. If you can find an earlier edition of the book, save your money and get that. I was angry when I took a higher level creative fiction class and had to upgrade to the 7th edition, when I had a perfectly good 6th edition on my bookshelf. The main differences I can see are the order of the chapters, and some of the short stories used.

All that said, this is a great book with wonderful insight. I would highly recommend it.