Writing Fiction: The Practical Guide from New York's Acclaimed Creative Writing School (Paperback)

~ Gotham Writers' Workshop (Author) "Hello, you look familiar..." (more)
Key Phrases: major dramatic question, informal voice, published short fiction, The Great Gatsby, New York City, The Catcher (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The faculty of the Gotham Writers' Workshop-which now has 6,000 students not only in New York City but around the world (with online classes)-use an original approach in this how-to: Raymond Carver's classic story "Cathedral" (reprinted in the book) serves as a basis for their discussion of technique. The contributors are not household names, but all are published authors of fiction. Chapters touch on all the essentials: character development, pacing, dialogue and revision ("Real Writers Revise" the chapter title exhorts). All expand on the idea that "good writing comes down to craft far more than most people realize," while also reminding aspiring authors that "rules are made to be broken." The writing is fresh and full of concrete advice (e.g., "Desire is in the heart of every dimensional character"), and exercises allow students to explore what they have learned. This is an excellent starting place for someone exploring the art and craft of writing fiction.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"A valuable book for aspiring writers and aspiring teachers...I highly recommend this text." -- Jonathan Ames, author of The Extra Man

"Here is an honest, engaging guide with lessons every writer, at any stage, will benefit from." -- Jhumpa Lahiri, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Interpreter of Maladies

"I've clearly found a new book to use in my own writing classes. This is a fine guide." -- Chuck Kinder, Writing Program Director, University of Pittsburgh

"It's an incredible book, not just for the aspiring writer but for the ardent reader as well." -- Michael Ray, Senior Editor, Zoetrope: All-Story

"The strength of this book is its accessibility: It explains the basics of writing fiction in a simple, easy-to-understand manner" -- The Writer Magazine, April 2004

"Writing Fiction is a boon for established and aspiring writers alike..." -- Katherine Hall Page, author of the Faith Fairchild mystery series

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA; 1 edition (August 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1582343306
• ISBN-13: 978-1582343303
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #11,365 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

114 of 120 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Read Cleaver's book first, March 18, 2006

By	Charles Sniadecki (Beavercreek, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

GWW's book on fiction writing is good for conveying the nuances of artistic style, but I think it misses some of the fundamental points of story telling. The book describes character, plot, point of view, voice, setting, and theme from the point of view that you are writing literary fiction - opposed to genre fiction. In other words, there is more emphasis on writing flowing prose than a driving story. This is well and good, but without a solid story, the odds of a book being successful are low. I would recommend that you read Jerry Cleaver's book, Immediate Fiction, before reading the GWW book. I've found Cleaver to be a lot more useful in getting that first draft written. Cleaver emphasizes that plot is the story's foundation and must be focused upon first and foremost. GWW argues that plot is something that emerges as you write - you write a draft, and then figure out what the book is about. In my opinion, the Cleaver method is much more efficient for getting to the end goal of an entertaining story (entertaining = successful). Several additional Cleaver axioms on storytelling that GWW fails to communicate are:

1. You must write badly first. The less you care, the better you write. Overwrite and cut later. Start with just action and dialogue - add exposition in later drafts.
2. Identification is why the reader reads and why the writer writes. Write a story where the reader can identify with the character's conflict.
3. Conflict is key. The fundamentals of a good story are conflict, action and resolution. Story = conflict + action + resolution. Conflict = character want + obstacle. Action = emotion + showing. You will never have writer's block if you understand the driving goals of your characters, and the obstacles that prevent the resolution of these goals - just ask yourself what the character would do next to achieve his or her goals in light of the current circumstances, and go from there. Once the character achieves his or her driving goals (conflict resolution), end the story.
4. If the characters are having a good time, the reader is not. During conflict, things should get progressively worst for the characters, thereby revealing the character's meddle, progressing the plot, allowing reader identification (identification = vulnerability), etc.
5. Scene is the purest form of showing. Use scenes to focus on the active ingredients of dialogue and action - minimize exposition (blocks of `telling') such as excess setting descriptions or explanations for the reader.
6. Good action and dialogue accomplish three things without exposition - they set scene, they reveal character and they move plot. Make sure all action and dialogue are doing these three things.

And there's a lot more good advice in Cleaver's book, but these are the core rules. The key message is that writing a good story is a craft that can be learned and mastered by anyone - not art restricted to the gifted! I can tell you from personal experience that if you follow Cleaver, writing becomes much, much easier.

I would also recommend Steven King's On Writing for a good, no non-sense advice on writing. King's fundamental rule - if you want to be a writer, you have to write and read significant amounts on a daily basis (2,000 words a day, every day, without exception). Otherwise don't even bother - sobering, but true.

Bottom line, my recommendation is to go with Cleaver's advice for writing first drafts and the GWW advice for polishing later drafts.

58 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extremely helpful, October 19, 2004

By	A reader - See all my reviews

This is a great book. It is well organized, concise, and easy to read.

My biggest problem in writing is disorganization. I have many ideas but I prioritize and organize them poorly. I plant so many trees that I forget about how the forest will look. This book helped me by providing a framework for building fiction. It discusses the major components of fiction: character, plot, theme, voice, etc. Then it tells you what the choices are for each. Then it provides you examples of authors who have made each of the choices, and it discusses why they did so. Raymond Carver's short story "Cathedral", in the back of the book, is analyzed throughout.

This book has even improved my READING skills. Now when I read a novel I ask, "why did the author choose to throw in that detail? Why did he use the first person instead of third?"

Great, great book. Highly recommended.

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book on writing fiction I've come across, June 14, 2005

By	Mr. T - See all my reviews

Shopping for and reading books on creative writing is a long and sometimes painful process. Some books get great reviews and are interesting to read, but don't have much actual writing instruction. Rather, the reader is encouraged to just sort of "go with the flow" or "follow where the story takes you".

Not so with the Gotham Writer's Workshop book on writing fiction. This book has a great balance of solid, no-frills writing instruction, along with exercises entitled "Your Turn". Your Turn means exactly what it sounds like - after reading and learning about one of the fundamentals of fiction, you can try to incorporate it into your own work. The exercises are short and focus just on what's been covered.

What I liked most about this book is every subject of writing is covered, and covered well. In the beginning you'll start by developing a writing schedule, creating a character, giving them a name and most importantly, a strong desire. One of the first thing the book teaches is that passive characters who don't really want anything usually don't make for exciting reading.

The chapters progress, touching upon plot, description, Point of View (a great chapter that isn't given enough focus in most other writing books), and at the end the book even shows you how to get your work into print, and gives you a heads-up about any potential stumbling blocks along the way.

One of the things that makes the book so good is that the book is written by a collection of authors, each one covering their "specialty" . All of the writers are accomplished fiction instructors and writers and certainly know what they are talking about.

When appropriate, examples are taken from famous works such as The Great Gatsby to prove or illustrate a concept. This is very helpful. In addition, the text includes a short story, Cathedral, which is analyzed throughout.

The book lays down the "rules" of fiction, but also encourages you (once you're familiar with them) to break them occasionally as you gain experience and knowledge.

This is a terrific book, and if you want to write fiction, it is a must have.