Letters to a Fiction Writer (Hardcover)

~ Frederick Busch (Editor) "It has been quite awhile since I received, but failed to answer, your reply to the novel I sent for your consideration..." (more)
Key Phrases: wannabe writer, wise blood, New York, Flannery O'Connor, John Gardner (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"As a writer," says Andre Dubus, "you are constantly in training. Day after day, alone at your desk, with no one watching you or even depending on you, you take your position on the playing field." Letters to a Fiction Writer, which was inspired by Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet, is a reminder that there is actually a whole community out there sharing your Sisyphean task. These 33 letters are written by authors such as Ann Beattie, John Gardner, Joyce Carol Oates, and Tobias Wolff. Lee K. Abbott (Living After Midnight) addresses the obligation of the fiction writer to "write it all goddamn down." Raymond Carver ponders the relationship between writing and alcoholism (upon recovering from it, he says, "I was so grateful to have my health back, and my life back, that it really didn't matter to me in one large way if I ever wrote anything again or not"). David Bradley discusses the difficulty of being an as-yet unpublished writer: "Most professions," he says, "pay bright prospects to develop their skills.... There are no such positions in writing."

Trying to make it as a writer is discouraging, yes. "If you can stop," recommends Reynolds Price, "you probably should. Try cabinet-making." But if you're all thumbs with a band saw, clasp this book to your breast and don't let go. For in it there are words of wisdom, wit, encouragement, and enticement that are sure to help you through that "strange and particular torture" that comes, according to Nicholas Delbanco, "after four hours of sitting with a paragraph you know to be poor." Of course, the true key to being a writer, say many of the authors included in this anthology, is writing. "Show up for work as dutifully and with as little fanfare as any civil servant," says Rosellen Brown. "Stop thinking of becoming an author," says Stanley W. Lindberg, editor of The Georgia Review, "and work instead to become a writer." And finally, intones Janette Turner Hospital (The Ivory Swing), "When rejection slips or rotten reviews come in ... have one stiff drink, say five Hail Mary's and ten Fuck-You's, and get back to work." --Jane Steinberg

From Library Journal

Busch, the author of 22 books including A Dangerous Profession: A Book About the Writing Life, brings together letters by 33 authorsAamong them Shelby Foote, Ray Bradbury, and Joyce Carol OatesAwho graciously share their thoughts on the art of writing and being a writer. There is always the danger of unevenness in a collection of letters, many of which are personal correspondence, but Busch chooses well. Many aspiring fiction writers will feel that the authors are speaking directly to them. Some, such as Raymond Carver, talk about the dark side of fiction writing, in his case his battle with alcoholism. In this age of E-mail, a letter from a friend seems like a wonderful prize to be savored over and over. This collection gives that same feeling and will be dipped into many times. To inspire and instruct both new and experienced writers, this book is recommended for all libraries.ALisa J. Cihlar, Monroe P.L., WI
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 291 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; 1st edition (June 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393047350
• ISBN-13: 978-0393047356
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,449,995 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding. One "bright moment" after another, June 9, 1999

By	Vaughn A. Carney (Vermont USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Frederick Busch's collection of letters is masterfully conceived and edited. This book should be required reading for anyone who has ever considered writing fiction (as well as for anyone who has ever pondered the degree of self and soul that go into creative writing). The insights into the process of such writing are most illuminating, rather like holding a rare diamond up to the light and being struck by its varied points of brilliance as one turns it from one angle to another.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Comforting, wise, tremendously helpful, April 6, 2004

By	S. Stone (Berkeley, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Letters to a Fiction Writer (Paperback)

After about two decades of writing and teaching, I have an awful lot of writing books. Some books are wonderful straightforward textbooks (like Janet Burroway's Writing Fiction), others are brilliant collections of essays on the art and craft of writing, like Charles Baxter's Burning Down the House or Charles Baxter and Peter Turchi's Bringing the Devil to His Knees or the Julie Checkoway-edited Creating Fiction.

But sometimes what we need are books that amuse, comfort, guide, and inspire us, like Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird or Chekhov's letters or Frederick Busch's collection, Letters to a Fiction Writer. Different writers will respond to different essays in here, but there are some that are among the most honest and helpful pieces imaginable. This is one of the books on my shelf that I consider essential.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Some Good, Some Bad, March 6, 2004

By	David F. Daniels "daveqr" (Nashville, TN USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Letters to a Fiction Writer (Paperback)

While there is some good, specific advice, most of the advice boils down to this:

1. Read a lot
2. Write a lot
3. Don't become a writer, because if you do you'll work in isolation, won't be able to make a living and no one will read your work.

Many of the letters seemed self-conscious to me, and I found myself saying, look, I know you're a writer, but please don't try to impress me with your carefully crafted wisdom. The best IMHO were those written privately, with palpable passion (John Gardner, Shelby Foote, a couple more.) This is not to say the other writers are or were not passionate about their work, but I couldn't feel it here.

Some of the good advice:
1. Stop in the middle of a sentence when you know what is going to happen next.
2. Go against the grain. Add bad characteristics to your good characters, good characteristics to your bad.
3. Avoid cynicism.

For those of you interested in hearing more from published writers, find Don Swaim's library of interviews online. That's a whole college education there.