Review of Creating Literary Stories: A Fiction Writer's Guide

[Cristina Corui Mihailescu]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Creating Literary Stories: A Fiction Writer's Guide" by William H. Coles.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Have you ever tried to write a literary story? Have you ever imagined yourself receiving world fame as an accomplished writer? If so, this book is a necessary guide in your way to fame. CREATING LITERARY STORIES: A Fiction Writer’s Guide by William H.Coles is a clear, well-structured book that allows anyone to understand the basics of fiction writing.
The guide is composed of two main parts. Book one explains in 12 chapters what the literary story means in fiction. It details the notions of character, narrator, dialogue, conflict, point of view, time, and many others. The author uses clear definitions and exemplifies each in such a way that even a person who is not acquainted with literary theory can understand them. Book two shows the reader how to create a literary fictional story and what mistakes they should avoid doing.

Although I have read several books on this topic and attended creative writing courses, I have to admit that William H.Coles has thrown light on many concepts. For instance, the fact that the author creates the narrator who tells the story from within the limits of the story world. When one uses the first person singular as a unique point of view, the potential of the story is limited to this selective filter. Potential writers are advised to avoid the use of non-supportive similes and metaphors in telling stories. In addition, the dialogues should not only sound natural but also must serve the purpose of story development. Management of time, internal logic and credibility are crucial for any writer to be able to maintain the story illusion.

William H.Coles considers that too many stories written nowadays belong to the literature of self, that is authors tend to tell their own stories of life under the guise of fiction. Another trend encouraged even by academics is writing the story in the second person, although this way of writing not only confuses and alienates the reader but also fails to develop strong characters with clear motivations and desires.

According to William H.Coles, among the things that a beginner in writing should not do are: starting with a flashback, a negation or a verb in the past perfect tense. Other useful pieces of advice are to use a thesaurus for avoiding wrong word choices and to master the grammar rules of the language before attempting to break those rules. At the end of the last chapters, there are also a set of questions to which a potential writer should be able to answer about their creation, to show they are on the right way.

What I liked most about this guide is the author’s style. From time to time, he uses figures of speech like metaphors:” Moral principles are the cardiovascular system of a literary fictional story” or the comparison of using multiple points of view in a story (which do not give a blended effect) to fruits in a bowl consumed separately ”with sometimes memorable and always distinct individual effects”.

The book was professionally edited, I found only a few typos. The aim of the book was achieved as the author used a clear structure with notions well-arranged for easy understanding. Therefore, I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars and I truly recommend it to anyone who studies literature or wants to become a writer.

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Creating Literary Stories: A Fiction Writer's Guide
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[markodim721]

It is great that someone with rich experience has shared this with beginner writers in the form of a book.

[MsH2k]

The author raises an interesting point about writing “literature of self.” Sometimes fiction is indeed a thinly veiled memoir. This sounds like a very useful book for aspiring writers. Thank you for your thorough review.

[Emmanuel Okotie]

The author definitely has done a great job in this book. And I think those interested in improving on their writing skills would benefit tremendously from this book.
Great review.
Nicely done.