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What If? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers Reissue Edition

by Anne Bernays (Author), Pamela Painter (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars 59 customer reviews
ISBN-13: 978-0062720061
ISBN-10: 0062720066
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 256 pages
  • Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks; Reissue edition (November 20, 1991)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0062720066
  • ISBN-13: 978-0062720061
  • Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 0.6 x 8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (59 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #80,122 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsTwo very enthusiastic thumbs up!
By Ledger7633@aol.com Les Edgerton on December 23, 1998
Format: 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.
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5.0 out of 5 starsGreat book for a college class
By Jeff C. Vande Zande on December 16, 2003
Format: Paperback
I teach short fiction writing at a college in Michigan. I've used the first edition of this book for four semesters, and I just had a chance to peruse the second edition. Great stuff! The exercises in this book teach the elements of story writing, but they do it in an interesting and interactive way. Students will learn about Starting in the Middle, Strong Dialogue, Conflict, Endings, Titles, Naming Characters, the Internal Life of Characters, and much more. I use the text in an introductory course, so I don't get to all of the exercises. Some cover more advanced issues than others, but this book is helpful to almost any level of fiction writer. I am a writer too, and every time I use the book with my students, my own stories get a little stronger. If you're a fiction teacher, try this book. If you're a writer looking to advance your skills, this book could also be a big help. You'll find stuff that goes beyond the routine fiction-writing advice.
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5.0 out of 5 starsPlease don't let it go out of print!
By Susan Ito on January 19, 2000
Format: 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!
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5.0 out of 5 starsBetter than jumper cables
By Kindle Customer on July 23, 2000
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
This is a good one - witty and readable, with substance on every page, very good exercises and many valuable comments on craft from outstanding fiction writers. After reading about half of it, I wanted to quit my job and start writing a novel right then, but that's not an option, so I settled for reading it straight through and am now going through it a chapter at a time, doing the exercises in the order they are presented. Bernays and Painter are both obviously wonderful teachers, and for those of us who don't have access to classrooms like theirs, this generous and encouraging text is the next best thing. One caution: This isn't a book for any writer who isn't planning to work at it!
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5.0 out of 5 starsExcellent refresher or learning tool
By Kristen Tsetsi on May 14, 2005
Format: Paperback
I've been writing for years and earned my MFA a few years ago and have loved "What If" since it was introduced to me in my intro to creative writing class. It's great for beginners to exercise their creativity, fun for people with more writing experience because the assignments allow for creative expansion as well as improvement and various method training, and if I'm ever having a down time when I just don't know what to write but feel the need to get something on paper, the book is perfect inspiration, and sometimes has the tendency to get me started on a story I didn't know I had in me. Even if it seems elementary, it's hardly that...each exercise can be done once yearly, and every time it's done it will be tackled differently and with growing talent and skill.
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5.0 out of 5 starsYou don't have to be writing the great American novel
By A Customer on August 13, 1999
Format: Paperback
to appreciate the writing jumpstarts presented in "What If?" However, the exercises outlined in this book will have you writing, and more importantly, thinking like a writer. More than 75 exercises for the beginning to advanced writer. Welcome this helpful source to your library!
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5.0 out of 5 starsFunctional & Fun
By J. L. Eddy on August 30, 2005
Format: Paperback
"What If" differs from many other how-to writing books in that the writer will spend more time writing through the book than actually reading it - that is if the writing exercises at the end of chapter are completed. The chapters are bite-size, informative and to the point. Thus the information the book brings, coupled with the exercises, makes it functional and at the same time fun.

If you enjoy writing fiction, this book is a plus as it breaks down fiction writing point by point. And who knows, doing the exercises may just lead to that short story or book lurking around in the shadows of the imagination.
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5.0 out of 5 starsInspiring!
By Louise Veen on December 2, 2005
Format: Paperback
This book is for anyone who writes, anyone who wants to write. It is for anyone who teaches creative writing, anyone who wants to teach creative writing.

"What If?" could be useful at virtually any grade level from 5th grade (about ten years old) up through graduate school.

Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter are completely in-tune with the writing process and are aware of difficulties one may encounter when trying to create fiction.

Also, you could compile an outstanding reading list from the writers who Bernays and Painter have cited. A list gathered from their references could be used for personal enrichment or to help create a syllabus-or both!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsHelps you reexamine your book, your writing style, and basically your...

This book explores a wide variety of ways to see your own story differently and from different angles and to examine it on different planes. Read more

Published 23 days ago by Chelsea Ivy
4.0 out of 5 starsFour Stars

Fun ideas for my creative writing students.

Published 1 month ago by shoesarei
3.0 out of 5 starsGood -- but be careful.

This book was my required text for my creative writing class. At least, that's what I thought until after I bought it. Read more

Published 3 months ago by lucylu
1.0 out of 5 starsS***tiest book in print. Was assigned it for graduate ...

S***tiest book in print. Was assigned it for graduate school and read the bare minimum of what I needed for class.

Published 6 months ago by Amazon Customer
3.0 out of 5 starsIt doesn't matter how good this book is

It doesn't matter how good this book is, if you don't do the exercises you won't benefit from the collected knowledge of the authors. Read more

Published 7 months ago by paul billingham
4.0 out of 5 starsBuy this edition. It's great, even if it's not a textbook.

Early edition of a book that has become a textbook in some colleges (thus, the current edition is priced much higher; my acquaintances in academia tell me that is because new... Read more

Published 9 months ago by pro_crustes
5.0 out of 5 starsBuy this!

The women who wrote this book are talented writers and intellectual teachers. I was a student of Pamela Painter, and we used the latest version of What If, but because it was such... Read more

Published 11 months ago by Sarah L Sassone
4.0 out of 5 starsFour Stars

good

Published 13 months ago by Leslie C. Coover
5.0 out of 5 starsPractical writing prompts

I can recommend Bernay's book to teachers. It includes exercises for individual students as well as a few for groups. Read more

Published 15 months ago by Firefly13
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Useful tips, great exercises... A must for my writing class and my own writing.

Published 16 months ago by Jennifer

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