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Used book in good and clean conditions. Pages and cover are intact. Limited notes marks and highlighting may be present. May show signs of normal shelf wear and bends on edges. Item may be missing CDs or access codes. May include library marks. Ships directly from Amazon. Used book in good and clean conditions. Pages and cover are intact. Limited notes marks and highlighting may be present. May show signs of normal shelf wear and bends on edges. Item may be missing CDs or access codes. May include library marks. Ships directly from Amazon. See less

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The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers Paperback – June 4, 1991

by John Gardner (Author)

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This classic guide, from the renowned novelist and professor, has helped transform generations of aspiring writers into masterful writers—and will continue to do so for many years to come.

John Gardner was almost as famous as a teacher of creative writing as he was for his own works. In this practical, instructive handbook, based on the courses and seminars that he gave, he explains, simply and cogently, the principles and techniques of good writing. Gardner’s lessons, exemplified with detailed excerpts from classic works of literature, sweep across a complete range of topics—from the nature of aesthetics to the shape of a refined sentence. Written with passion, precision, and a deep respect for the art of writing, Gardner’s book serves by turns as a critic, mentor, and friend. Anyone who has ever thought of taking the step from reader to writer should begin here.

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"It will fascinate anyone interested in how fiction gets put together. For the young writer it will become a necessary handbook, a stern judge, an encouraging friend... In the first half of the book, Gardner investigated just what fiction is. In the second half, he treats specific technical matters. The Art of Fiction is filled with lecture counsel, wise encouragement." -John L'Heureux, The New York Times Book Review

"A densely packed book of advice to all writers, not just young ones... It is serious, provocative, and funny, and I recommend it to anyone who cares about literature."- Margaret Manning, The Boston Globe

"He lays out virtually everything a person might want to know [about] how to say it, with good and bad examples and judgments falling like autumn leaves in a November storm." -William McPherson, The Washington Post

"The next best thing to graduate workshop in fiction writing. Drawing on examples from Homer to Kafka to Joyce Carol Oates, Gardner unravels the mysteries of plot, sentence structure, diction, and point of view." - Book-of-the-Month Club News

From the Inside Flap

ardner was famous for his generosity to young writers, and (this book) is his . . . gift to them. The Art of Fiction will fascinate anyone interested in how fiction gets put together. For the young writer, it will become a necessary handbook, a stern judge, an encouraging friend."--The New York Times Book Review.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Vintage
Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 4, 1991
Edition ‏ : ‎ Reissue
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 240 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0679734031
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0679734031
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.6 ounces
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 14 - 17 years
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.19 x 0.64 x 8.01 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #44,514 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #24 in General Books & Reading
- #56 in Writing Skill Reference (Books)
- #64 in Fiction Writing Reference (Books)

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John Gardner

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John Gardner (1933–1982) was born in Batavia, New York. His critically acclaimed books include the novels Grendel, The Sunlight Dialogues, and October Light, for which he received the National Book Critics Circle Award, as well as several works of nonfiction and criticism such as On Becoming a Novelist. He was also a professor of medieval literature and a pioneering creative writing teacher whose students included Raymond Carver and Charles Johnson.

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Customers find this book to be a great resource for writers, providing a crash course in literature and serving as a good textbook for beginners. They appreciate its readability, with one customer noting the helpful exercises at the end, and find it encouraging and worth the price. The book receives positive feedback for its style and structure coverage, with one review highlighting its comprehensive background information.

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Writing ability Readability Encouragement Style Value for money

66 customers mention "Writing ability"62 positive4 negative

Customers find this book to be a great resource for writers, providing a crash course in literature and offering good pointers about fiction writing.

"...What this book will do: - Give you a good overview of fiction - Help you understand what fiction tries to accomplish, why, and how -..." Read more

"...He was a master teacher and this book definitely shows his skills in conveying the underlying knowledge to others." Read more

"...from reading The Art of Fiction is that it gives the reader a crash course in literature, who many of us that come from a Science, Technical,..." Read more

"...book holds the keys to unlocking the divide between the good and great writer, particularly for those of us who have not had access to the best..." Read more

33 customers mention "Readability"24 positive9 negative

Customers find the book highly readable, describing it as a wonderful tome with good exercises at the end.

"...Part I, the discussion and overview of fiction, is engaging and helps contextualize the advice presented: where on the spectrum of the written word..." Read more

"...good fiction, where he talks about common errors, technique and plotting at length...." Read more

"...I also found it hard to focus & difficult to read... And that's hardly ever the case with me since I'm an avid reader and I hold a master's deg in..." Read more

"...I say all of this to make clear that anyone, literally, can read and understand this book, gaining invaluable knowledge about the craft of writing...." Read more

6 customers mention "Encouragement"6 positive0 negative

Customers find the book encouraging, with one noting the author's maddeningly confident advice.

"...Gardner's voice is challenging, nurturing and extremely informative for those who have a passion to jump on the path for mastering the art of story..." Read more

"...and he makes some scathing comments which you'll probably find very reassuring...." Read more

"He is maddeningly confident about his advice - you are at his mercy here and learn you will!..." Read more

"...believe me, I have read a lot, this one is the most understanding, compassionate, encouraging and inspiring...." Read more

6 customers mention "Style"6 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's style and structure, with one customer noting how it covers the ramifications of style choices, while another mentions its high-browed approach.

"...Style and structure are covered, with especially good lessons on diction and proper sequencing of signals in the test..." Read more

"...examples and arguments to display the benefits and/or ramifications of style choices, narration, description, characterization and story structure...." Read more

"...He takes a refreshingly old school perspective...he truly believes in the art, magic, truth of fiction and the importance of being professional when..." Read more

"...Lots of overall background and useful, constructive information on writing (it is a text book)." Read more

5 customers mention "Value for money"5 positive0 negative

Customers find the book worth its price.

"...-EDITING FOR THE FICTION WRITER, a book I have read twice and enjoyed a great deal. I had to give Gardner a try...." Read more

"...of technique and approach, the exercises at the end, are all valuable. I have given away several copies of this, but always keep my own close at hand." Read more

"...just starting to gain recognition, but his book is timeless and worth the price." Read more

"Great price" Read more

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Miri
The Best Starter Writing Book Out There
Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2016
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Anyone who's serious about writing a book needs to start here. Gardner's advice on maintaining the "fictional dream" for the reader--that is, suspension of disbelief, immersion--is top notch. Part I, the discussion and overview of fiction, is engaging and helps contextualize the advice presented: where on the spectrum of the written word we are trying to fit into, what it aims to accomplish, what it needs to accomplish that, and how we go about creating it as writers.

Part II covers the common pitfalls and offers technical advice. Style and structure are covered, with especially good lessons on diction and proper sequencing of signals in the test (stimulus, involuntary reaction, voluntary reaction--which may be thought of as cause & effect and is explained in greater depth in Dwight V. Swain's book as Motivation-Reaction Units), with solid explanations for why mistakes here harm the fictional dream and why it is important to get it right. Also covered are the "clumsy writing" mistakes such as characters looking in mirrors to shoehorn description into the text, as well as melodrama, which relies on cheap sleight of hand in writing as opposed to real drama. I loved the section on vocabulary, which explained the problem with writing-by-thesaurus while emphasizing the importance of expanding ordinary vocabulary that include more uncommon words (such as technical architectural terms like "lintel," which, while uncommon, are a benefit to writing) as well as brand names.

What this book will do:
- Give you a good overview of fiction
- Help you understand what fiction tries to accomplish, why, and how
- Explain the common clumsy mistakes and how to avoid them
- Provide you exercises
- Entertain you with Gardner's engaging writing voice (so it doesn't feel like a manual)

What this book won't do:
- Help you understand nonfiction and how to write it
- Cover the common mistakes in-depth
- Give you genre-specific advice
- Cover anything related to self-publishing
- Explain the business of writing
- Take the place of critiquers, beta readers, or editors

This is a great intro to writing craft book. It should, at the very least, help you understand what you're trying to do and identify your weaknesses so that you may find more narrowly tailored resources to help you. I find myself referring to the passages I highlighted quite often, both in the paperback and the Kindle version.

FWIW, the Kindle version is now searchable. When I first bought it, it was not. The search function is a *great* help.

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48 people found this helpful

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An American
Good Guide to Writing in General
Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2024
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What Gardener says about fiction can equally apply to writing any good prose. He was a master teacher and this book definitely shows his skills in conveying the underlying knowledge to others.

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A.Rosaria
A voice from the past
Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2011
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Reading this book one needs to take into account it's written in a very different time than now. The publish world changed drastic from that time to ours, most in the book about publishing is dated or not relevant. Mr Gardner his view on the world is also from another era, a time with less political correctness, the way he explains certain things can seem insensitive to some (not me).

What's still current in this book and is the most relevant, is how he explains the art of writing. This book is not a how to write instruction book, but more the why one writes and should write in the way he explains. I don't agree with everything he writes, but I understand what he tries to say.

I'm much a different writer than him. He was a literary writer and I'm a genre writer. He had not that a high of opinion of genre writers. Still the approach of writing may be different, but what he says about the art of writing is important for all writers that they should at least take notice of it. Your work needs to be made in the best possible way you can create it, without trying to cut corners or settle for less. His words are great for understanding the craft and the reason why somethings should be done and others shouldn't.

I advise this book to all that want to learn more about writing fiction in itself, if it's an instruction book you want, you be best picking up another book.

A.Rosaria, Author of "Finitum"

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13 people found this helpful

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William
This is a must read for ALL writers, not just fiction writers!
Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2017
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This is a must read for ALL writers, not just fiction writers! Although, in places, a bit technical, for any writer, not just new writers, for anyone who wants to master their craft, this is a must read book.

What can be said about Gardner that hasn't been said yet? One of the best books on writing about writing that I have read. Comparable to Stephen King's, On Writing. Yes, it is that good. In Part I Gardner lays out a compelling treatise about the genre of fiction, what it is and why it is important. In Part II he discusses the how-to of writing good fiction, where he talks about common errors, technique and plotting at length. One of the benefits from reading The Art of Fiction is that it gives the reader a crash course in literature, who many of us that come from a Science, Technical, Engineering and Math (STEM) background are sorely lacking in. This said a writer who has grown up in the sciences, or engineering, or business worlds will find this book very useful in "catching up" a bit to our friends who have read all of classics and can retell significant scenes as though they were there. Again, this is a must (must) read for ALL writers, not just fiction writers.

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18 people found this helpful

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Product Reviewer
Go ahead if you are into writing fiction.
Reviewed in India on March 17, 2018
Verified Purchase

Great book, has practical advice for young writers. Also discusses literary aesthetics theory by giving relevant examples.

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Client d'Amazon
tres bon livre
Reviewed in France on January 22, 2017
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A recomander à tout personne qui desire ecrire la fiction, je n'ai pas terminé à lire, car je vien de déménager

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R.D.Salmon
For writers of any age - A gem
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 1, 2025
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This is the best book about writing that I have read so far. I recommend it to any writing friends. It is making the process of my second novel a thoroughly enjoyable one. If you want to write, paying attention to the contents of this book will save you a lot of time, effort and avoidable mistakes. This book really feels like a master class in creative writing. We are so lucky that Gardner got it down before his untimely death.

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Michael Forester
Recommended by James Hynes.
Reviewed in Mexico on May 15, 2017
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I came to this book by recommendation of lecturer James Hynes. I highly recommend his audio lecture, wich you can find on audible: Writing Great Fiction. That one will give you great insight into the craft of writing and reading in a great manner. Cheers!

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Lyn Alexander
not much to add
Reviewed in Canada on April 9, 2010
Verified Purchase
I haven't much to add to the five-star reviews already posted. Yes, to everything. This is just to say that I have had the Gardner book since its first printing and have read it probably ten times cover-to-cover, and each time I open it there's something new to think about.

The young sprogs (this is an assumption) who cannot see the value of this book are of an impatient generation; I suspect that they feel it isn't necessary to read much before they start writing, or to dig into the subject of creative writing before they begin to create. On the contrary, writing a novel is one of the most daunting activities known, and the deeper the writer's preparation, the more significant his/her output. If the preparation has no depth, the product will be shallow.

This is a book about words, using words, imagining words, how important authors have used words, the philoosophy of words and yes, much about writing. It is not a 1,2,3, list of how to write. Writing fiction is not a matter of bashing out words. There is a deep philosophy in creative writing, and every sensitive writer of fiction develops his own philosophy which leads to style. John Gardner approaches the subject from this aspect. Read it, read it again, and expand your mind.

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Top reviews from the United States

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5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Starter Writing Book Out There

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Guide to Writing in General

4.0 out of 5 stars A voice from the past

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a must read for ALL writers, not just fiction writers!

Top reviews from other countries

5.0 out of 5 stars Go ahead if you are into writing fiction.

5.0 out of 5 stars tres bon livre

5.0 out of 5 stars For writers of any age - A gem

4.0 out of 5 stars Recommended by James Hynes.

5.0 out of 5 stars not much to add

The Best Starter Writing Book Out There

Good Guide to Writing in General

A voice from the past

This is a must read for ALL writers, not just fiction writers!

Go ahead if you are into writing fiction.

tres bon livre

For writers of any age - A gem

Recommended by James Hynes.

not much to add