The Stuff of Fiction: Advice on Craft (Paperback)

by Douglas Bauer (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
To read Douglas Bauer's lovely ruminations on the art of literary fiction is to be transported back to those intimate seminars one never quite appreciated enough in school. How refreshing it is to read a book about fiction writing that speaks of nothing so crass as hooking readers or marketing oneself or conforming to genre specifications. Instead, Bauer contemplates one element of fiction per chapter, opening with openings and ending with endings. What he finds, whether developing dialogue or character or sentiment, is that it is crucial to say neither too much nor too little. A writer must have the balance of an acrobat, and be able to navigate the gray zones. An opening should "beckon" readers. Dialogue works best when one eliminates many of the words. "Villainous, ignoble, antiheroic characters" should be presented sympathetically; "admirable, noble, heroic characters" should be flawed. "Any ending that succeeds both culminates and at the same time continues the story," he says. While "schlock is primarily interested in the breathless depiction of the drama," Bauer (and literary fiction) is interested in "the richness of the resonance." And though he has written a primer on the craft, bad news: "No amount of tweaking and altering ... can rescue a piece of elementally flawed writing." The book contains excerpts from the works of William Kennedy, Denis Johnson, Alice McDermott, E.B. White, Toni Morrison, and others. --Jane Steinberg

From Library Journal
Drawing on lectures for the Bennington College Writing Seminar, where he is a core faculty member, novelist, essayist, and lecturer Bauer (Dexterity) presents a unique and refreshing approach toward writing realistic fiction, arguing that while the process of writing is a craft and ultimately a business that can be learned, talent must be the underlying foundation. Talent comes from within, he argues, but it can be nurtured and developed through determination, rigorous daily practice, and the habit of reading widely with a discriminating eye. Bauer proceeds through the usual steps, discussing plot and character development, dialog, setting, and resolution, but the way he dissects selected samples of contemporary fiction to reveal the architecture of the passage will inspire his readers to deeper critical attention and thought. Unfortunately, though Bauer's lectures both stimulate and challenge, in print he can be wordy and esoteric. Recommended for libraries supporting writing workshops and programs. Denise S. Sticha, Murrysville Community Lib., PA
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: University of Michigan Press (December 20, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0472067338
• ISBN-13: 978-0472067336
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,477,839 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Illuminating for any writer or reader of realistic fiction, January 16, 2001

By	Judy Karasik (Vinci, Italy) - See all my reviews

If you want to understand more about how a good piece of realistic fiction is put together, read this book. It provides both rules and the wisdom to make it clear that if a writer is on the right track, he or she can go ahead and break those rules.

*The Stuff of Fiction* explains to ordinary readers what has gone wrong when a book suddenly turns unsatisfying (for example, when it doesn't know when to end), the book gives new writers a set of guidelines to keep in the back of their heads while they are slaving away, a kind of frame to check the day's work against, and the book offers experienced writers a welcome articulation of the things they have been trying to do since they began this strange line of work.

The book explains how to start a story (maybe at the beginning, maybe not), how to write dialogue that doesn't thud or crawl on the page, how to create characters with mixed blessings and curses (like a human being in other words), how to give drama its necessary subtlety, how to create sentiment not sentimentality (a discourse on how to write with taste, which is kind of like explaining how to play jazz, but amazingly it really works), and how to end a story. Bauer uses examples effectively--taking apart work from Denis Johnson, Toni Morrison, Alice Munro, and yes Wm. Shakespeare--and writes directly but also elegantly.

Douglas Bauer is the author of three novels, each of which I loved (he never does the same thing twice, but since the prose always contains the same steely twists, you know it is the same guy), and teaches at the Bennington MFA Program.

Writing programs, take note--instructors can cut to the chase by judicious use of this handy and straightforward volume. I won't say it's the Strunk and White of contemporary realistic fiction writing--only time can tell that--but it's as close as I can imagine. Full disclosure requires me to say that I know Douglas Bauer personally, but honestly, I would say all of this if I didn't know him. It is a terrific and useful volume.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars for all writers, January 26, 2001

By A Customer

What a beautiful book! I can't remember when I've read such an eloquent work about the craft of writing, making me wonder why any of us pay any attention to advice about writing which arrives in less artful form ("the long half-life of sorrow" is one of the many well-turned phrases which clings to memory). This essay collection (nonfiction writers have as much to gain as fiction writers from reading the book) is elegant, compelling, succinct, and breathtakingly clear without being condescending. The author (who also writes gorgeous fiction) covers all of the most important aspects of craft--openings, dialogue, character, high events (dramatic moments), sentiment vs. sentimentality, and closings, and includes advice from the best of the other writing "gurus" and wonderful passages of first-rate literature to illustrate points made. The Stuff of Fiction is truly a book for writers at all levels. I felt an immediate need to underline when I began reading; the book made me seriously re-think a novel on which I'm currently working. What more could a writer ask.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, July 6, 2001

By A Customer

For the beginner or the serious amateur or anyone serious about writing fiction, this is the book to read.