The Art of Fiction: A Guide for Writers and Readers
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Likewise, the way in which Rand breaks down the purpose of every single thing she does is a breath of fresh air. Unbound Worlds Exploring the science fiction and fantasy universe. Such profound depth and meaning is usually missing from most modern fiction books, which is a shame since much more could be achieved if people employed different skills. Stein On Writing Sol Stein. Terry Goodkind told me to buy and read this book. It is an edited transcript of a series of informal discussion sheld with friends and fans in her living room in , finally edited and published in Writing Tools Roy Peter Clark.
Unbound Worlds Exploring the science fiction and fantasy universe. Stay in Touch Sign up. We are experiencing technical difficulties. The Artist's Way Julia Cameron. The Elements of Eloquence Mark Forsyth. Into The Woods John Yorke. On Writing Well William Zinsser. The Elements of Style William Strunk. Bird By Bird Anne Lamott. Read Me First Lisa Stephenson. Writing Tools Roy Peter Clark. First You Write a Sentence. Wonderbook Revised and Expanded Jeff Vandermeer.
The Elements of Style William I. Stein On Writing Sol Stein. Teaching Adolescent Writers Kelly Gallagher. Reflective Writing Mary Woolliams. The Emotion Thesaurus Becca Puglisi. The Sense of Style Steven Pinker. Story Genius Lisa Cron. Writing the Sacred Ray McGinnis. Plain Words Ernest Gowers. How to Write a Sentence Stanley Fish. How Writing Works Roslyn Petelin.
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Apr 23, Sandy Lender rated it it was amazing. Terry Goodkind told me to buy and read this book.
The Art of Fiction: A Guide for Writers and Readers
Now I recommend other writers do the same. Aug 20, Ilyn Ross rated it it was amazing Recommends it for: Ayn Rand is an excellent teacher. Jan 25, Katrina Sark rated it did not like it. A rational writer can stroke his subconscious just as one puts fuel in a machine. For the reader, the process is reversed: In order to leave your reader with those abstractions, you have to provide concretes that will make him conclude: To present a man who acts bravely, is.
The Naturalistic school presents man as helpless… The Romantic school of literature approaches life on the premise that man has free will, the capacity of choice. If so, his life is not a series of accidents. He is the architect of his own life. The reader, by contrast, follows the process of efficient causation: Since my purpose is to show that a man of creative independence will achieve his goal regardless of any opposition, a story in which there is no opposition would not dramatize my message.
I have to devise the hardest obstacles possible, and those of greatest significance to the hero. But if the woman he loves objects to his career and tempts him to give it up, and he risks losing her, that is real dramatization. Then the hero is in the middle of a clash of two values and has to choose the right one.
The more struggle the story involves, the better the plot. It has been said that Broadway is full of first acts. Many people can come up with an intriguing first act but do not know what to do with the play thereafter. By contrast, a good dramatist starts with the third act.
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He does not necessarily write the third act, or the climax, first — but he keeps it in mind. We understand a person if we understand what makes him act the way he does. The key events should be dramatized. The less important material, such as transitions, can be narrated. Do not let it show. Make the exposition part of some statement which has a different point — a point necessary for the progress of the scene.
The snow was as white as sugar. Sep 01, JJVid rated it it was amazing Shelves: Rand offers ample reason to dislike her. Her confidence exudes vanity, her modesty nonexistent, and her book was fantastic. If writing doesn't apply to human choice, it's not worth writing or reading. Sep 26, Dean rated it it was amazing Shelves: One of the two most insightful books ever written for readers and writers of fiction. Jun 30, Zy Marquiez rated it it was amazing Shelves: In the first half of the book Rand cogently creates very practical, and yet methodical approach that narrows down on importance of the subconscious in writing, theme, plot and its development, climax, and characterization.
The latter half of the book focuses on style from a variety of angles, all from her objectivist point of view.
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Throughout the book Rand speaks at length of the two types of writing that exist in her eyes: Naturalistic style catalogues things, which often are inconsequential. On the other hand, romanticist writing employs carefully selected concrete words in specificity to capture the essentials, what really matters, of a scene. Rand juxtaposes the two, offering samples that precisely describe why in her mind one is superior to the other.
Moreover, after showing the reader the pros and cons of each style, Rand speaks at length about how to maximize writing while not overstating words. Imperative as well is the importance of avoiding floating abstractions, choosing instead to gravitate towards making writing more concrete, more specific. She also covers a few issues with style, for instance, narrative vs. Exposition is also covered, as well as flashbacks, transitions, and other notable points.
On the importance of style, Rand notes: In a textbook, the ideal is to communicate one line of thought or a set of facts as clearly as possible. For a literary style, much more is necessary.
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A great literary style is one that combines five or more different meanings in one clear sentence. I do not mean ambiguity but the communication of different issues. Say much more, just as clearly, say it in chords, with a whole orchestration. That is good style. For instance, analyzing one of her passage from Atlas Shrugged, she points out how one passage had four purposes: Likewise, the way in which Rand breaks down the purpose of every single thing she does is a breath of fresh air. The tenets within this book will make readers ruminate upon a much more precise type of writing, one that functions on a deeper level.
Such profound depth and meaning is usually missing from most modern fiction books, which is a shame since much more could be achieved if people employed different skills. The Art Of Nonfiction is a terrific read in its totality. The book is a veritable treasure trove of insights.
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Apr 16, Marco den Ouden rated it it was amazing. I had read pretty well everything Ayn Rand had written during her lifetime but there are some of her posthumously published works I had not got around to.
In , a year after the publication of Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand gathered a group of student readers and writers in her living room for a series of 12 four-hour . The Art of Fiction: A Guide for Writers and Readers is a nonfiction book by Ayn Rand, published posthumously. Edited by Tore Boeckmann, it was published by .
This is one of them. It is an edited transcript of a series of informal discussion sheld with friends and fans in her living room in , finally edited and published in And it is a terrific addition to her works. The book is an adjunct to her collection, The Romantic Manifesto, and is aimed particularly at those who want to write fictio I had read pretty well everything Ayn Rand had written during her lifetime but there are some of her posthumously published works I had not got around to.
The book is an adjunct to her collection, The Romantic Manifesto, and is aimed particularly at those who want to write fiction and those who want to understand the different types of fiction around. In particular she distinguishes between two major schools of literature - romanticism and naturalism. Romanticism focuses on big issues with large than life characters. Naturalism focuses on the average and mundane - the folks next door. She discusses the importance of writing for the intelligent reader - writing descriptively so the reader can form his own conclusions.
Bad writers will use a lot of adjectives but avoid concretes. They'll describe a sunset as beautiful or use other adjectives that describe their personal emotional reaction to what they see.
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She says a better way is to describe concretes and let the reader form his own emotional reaction. So a good writer might say, the sun's brightness faded and flared out into a deep red covering the horizon from end to end before slowly sinking into the sea and winking out. Rand touches on many other issues for writers including characterization, plot, climax, description, how to train your subconscious to come up with plot ideas, and style.
In the two chapters on style, she includes generous excerpts from other authors' works with commentary on the good and bad points about each. She concludes with some short discussions on narrative versus dramatization, exposition, flashbacks, transitions, metaphors, dialogue, slang and obscenities, and journalistic references. She also touches on special forms of fiction such as humour, science fiction, symbolism, fantasy, and tragedy.
All in all, this is really an excellent textbook on good writing practices. It will certainly help any future forays I might make into fiction. Now I have to find a copy of the companion book, The Art of Non-fiction! Apr 04, Cherise rated it it was amazing Shelves: I believe this may be the most insightful book about writing that I have ever read.