Review by ReyvrexQuestor Reyes -- Creating Literary Stor...
Posted: 21 Dec 2019, 07:20
[Following is a volunteer review of "Creating Literary Stories: A Fiction Writer's Guide" by William H. Coles.]
William H. Coles is undoubtedly one of the qualified sources of pertinent information for writing literary stories. In his book, Creating Literary Stories: A Fiction Writer’s Guide, his wisdom culled from experience and erudition in the field of writing could be more than substantial for this purpose. He was the recipient of many awards, one of which was the Flannery O’ Connor Award for Short Fiction. Although even without these endorsements, we can always take him at his word. His numerous writings are easily readable and true to the tenets he is espousing. It was commendable, though, that aside from creating these masterly pieces, he had embarked on creating authors as well, authors that will be endowed with the literary acumen outlined in this fiction writers’ guide.
The mechanics for writing fictional stories is not as simple as putting facts and dialogue into the narrative. This handbook tells of how significant the dialogue could be in advancing the story, developing the character, and moving the plot, among its other purposes. And hence, it should be given considerable attention. Whereas character could be the fabric by which the literary content was woven. It related together plot, setting, or theme. The handbook cautioned about the intricacies for choosing the mode by which a story would be made to unfold. Would it be by the first-person confessional type, the second-person, the third-person, or by the narration of an all-seeing eye that is in every character’s mind, or in every nook of the setting? These were among the topics discussed in this writer’s handbook that consisted of Book One and Book Two, plus an Appendix.
Writers, they say were made, not born. However, there was that innate talent in each of us just waiting to be tapped. For instance, the inherent imaginative and creative faculties of our minds could be nurtured further, enhanced into producing the effective fictional pieces with proper writing tools. And these beneficial guidelines for good writing might just be what we will be needing to boost our writing skills to another level, if not put us into the league of Shakespeare, Dickens, Hemmingway, Tolkien, Wells, and other great names in Literature.
Creating Literary Stories: A Fiction Writer’s Guide is a boon to every writer of fiction no matter where in the level of development he or she may be. It won’t do any harm if you were reminded of the essentials again after some time. Or it would be reassuring to know that some of the principles outlined in this handbook had been similar to what you had been applying all along. Thankfully, it will be a plus factor if you just happen to come across these ideas for the first time.
I will recommend this book for the reading of aspiring literary fiction writers. Although this book surely has a similitude to an instructional manual that it is, Coles makes it lively with illustrative examples to stress his point. I look up to this review as a very gainful experience. The errors were too few to mention, and so I award this rating of 4 out of 4 stars.
******
Creating Literary Stories: A Fiction Writer's Guide
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes | on Smashwords
William H. Coles is undoubtedly one of the qualified sources of pertinent information for writing literary stories. In his book, Creating Literary Stories: A Fiction Writer’s Guide, his wisdom culled from experience and erudition in the field of writing could be more than substantial for this purpose. He was the recipient of many awards, one of which was the Flannery O’ Connor Award for Short Fiction. Although even without these endorsements, we can always take him at his word. His numerous writings are easily readable and true to the tenets he is espousing. It was commendable, though, that aside from creating these masterly pieces, he had embarked on creating authors as well, authors that will be endowed with the literary acumen outlined in this fiction writers’ guide.
The mechanics for writing fictional stories is not as simple as putting facts and dialogue into the narrative. This handbook tells of how significant the dialogue could be in advancing the story, developing the character, and moving the plot, among its other purposes. And hence, it should be given considerable attention. Whereas character could be the fabric by which the literary content was woven. It related together plot, setting, or theme. The handbook cautioned about the intricacies for choosing the mode by which a story would be made to unfold. Would it be by the first-person confessional type, the second-person, the third-person, or by the narration of an all-seeing eye that is in every character’s mind, or in every nook of the setting? These were among the topics discussed in this writer’s handbook that consisted of Book One and Book Two, plus an Appendix.
Writers, they say were made, not born. However, there was that innate talent in each of us just waiting to be tapped. For instance, the inherent imaginative and creative faculties of our minds could be nurtured further, enhanced into producing the effective fictional pieces with proper writing tools. And these beneficial guidelines for good writing might just be what we will be needing to boost our writing skills to another level, if not put us into the league of Shakespeare, Dickens, Hemmingway, Tolkien, Wells, and other great names in Literature.
Creating Literary Stories: A Fiction Writer’s Guide is a boon to every writer of fiction no matter where in the level of development he or she may be. It won’t do any harm if you were reminded of the essentials again after some time. Or it would be reassuring to know that some of the principles outlined in this handbook had been similar to what you had been applying all along. Thankfully, it will be a plus factor if you just happen to come across these ideas for the first time.
I will recommend this book for the reading of aspiring literary fiction writers. Although this book surely has a similitude to an instructional manual that it is, Coles makes it lively with illustrative examples to stress his point. I look up to this review as a very gainful experience. The errors were too few to mention, and so I award this rating of 4 out of 4 stars.
******
Creating Literary Stories: A Fiction Writer's Guide
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes | on Smashwords