Review by AadiG -- Creating Literary Stories: A Fiction ...
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AadiG
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Review by AadiG -- Creating Literary Stories: A Fiction ...
[Following is a volunteer review of "Creating Literary Stories: A Fiction Writer's Guide" by William H. Coles.]
William H. Coles is a highly acclaimed short-story and creative fiction writer. His works have been awarded the William Faulkner Prize and the Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction. He runs a website (storyinliteraryfiction.com) where all his short works are available for reading. Coles has attended numerous workshops about writing skills with various authors, editors, and teachers. Creating Literary Stories: A Fiction Writer’s Guide by Coles is a concise but thorough handbook for writers of fiction to understand the pedagogy of literary fiction writing. Writing a fiction, are you? You must give this book a read.
This book discusses the various nuances of writing that authors often ignore in their works. Character development is the most notable feature of good literary fiction. Coles tells us how and why it plays a role in the reader’s experience. I was thrilled to learn for the first time the difference between author, narrator, and character. Coles discusses which writing styles have more impact on a reader. Of course, ‘Show, don’t tell’ is the advice we receive from every fiction-writing guide. Coles, however, delves deeper into the ‘how to show’ part. He demonstrates how replacing nouns and verbs with their synonyms can change the way a reader perceives the text.
What I liked the most about this book is the fact that it is laden with examples that illustrate what the author wishes to convey. Although I don’t agree with the author completely, his arguments are well described and illustrated with examples. He discusses the differences that first-person narrative and third-person narrative have. And his final suggestions regarding different aspects of writing style leave scope for modification as per the writer’s opinion. The theme, as such, is ‘explore to see what suits your writing instincts’. This ‘explore’ advice is about the POV (point of view) choice, dialogues (length, choice of words, diction), narrator choice (omniscient, a character, multiple characters), and other things concerning writing style. The author highlights the importance of thorough characterization, conflict presence, voice consistency…etc.
Consider the sentence formations: “The horse jumped the wall.” and “The stallion cleared the wall by inches, landing in the mud.” The author explains which of the two is best suited for use in a story and why. I know that my perspective about writing stories has changed after reading this book. You will definitely view works of writing differently after you have read this book.
For the sheer amount of pedagogical information the book contains, and that in a simple clear manner, I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. There were only a few errors in the copy I received, and my experience reading it was great. I would say it is a ‘must-read’ for students of creative writing and authors who wish to up their game.
I would have given it a slightly (decimal-point) less rating had the option been available. The reason is that at times, the sentences are unnecessarily complicated and long. This is, of course, subjective to me. Nevertheless, I don’t think it would change the fact that this book is a ‘must-have’.
******
Creating Literary Stories: A Fiction Writer's Guide
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes | on Smashwords
William H. Coles is a highly acclaimed short-story and creative fiction writer. His works have been awarded the William Faulkner Prize and the Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction. He runs a website (storyinliteraryfiction.com) where all his short works are available for reading. Coles has attended numerous workshops about writing skills with various authors, editors, and teachers. Creating Literary Stories: A Fiction Writer’s Guide by Coles is a concise but thorough handbook for writers of fiction to understand the pedagogy of literary fiction writing. Writing a fiction, are you? You must give this book a read.
This book discusses the various nuances of writing that authors often ignore in their works. Character development is the most notable feature of good literary fiction. Coles tells us how and why it plays a role in the reader’s experience. I was thrilled to learn for the first time the difference between author, narrator, and character. Coles discusses which writing styles have more impact on a reader. Of course, ‘Show, don’t tell’ is the advice we receive from every fiction-writing guide. Coles, however, delves deeper into the ‘how to show’ part. He demonstrates how replacing nouns and verbs with their synonyms can change the way a reader perceives the text.
What I liked the most about this book is the fact that it is laden with examples that illustrate what the author wishes to convey. Although I don’t agree with the author completely, his arguments are well described and illustrated with examples. He discusses the differences that first-person narrative and third-person narrative have. And his final suggestions regarding different aspects of writing style leave scope for modification as per the writer’s opinion. The theme, as such, is ‘explore to see what suits your writing instincts’. This ‘explore’ advice is about the POV (point of view) choice, dialogues (length, choice of words, diction), narrator choice (omniscient, a character, multiple characters), and other things concerning writing style. The author highlights the importance of thorough characterization, conflict presence, voice consistency…etc.
Consider the sentence formations: “The horse jumped the wall.” and “The stallion cleared the wall by inches, landing in the mud.” The author explains which of the two is best suited for use in a story and why. I know that my perspective about writing stories has changed after reading this book. You will definitely view works of writing differently after you have read this book.
For the sheer amount of pedagogical information the book contains, and that in a simple clear manner, I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. There were only a few errors in the copy I received, and my experience reading it was great. I would say it is a ‘must-read’ for students of creative writing and authors who wish to up their game.
I would have given it a slightly (decimal-point) less rating had the option been available. The reason is that at times, the sentences are unnecessarily complicated and long. This is, of course, subjective to me. Nevertheless, I don’t think it would change the fact that this book is a ‘must-have’.
******
Creating Literary Stories: A Fiction Writer's Guide
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes | on Smashwords
