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

[Vishnu Priya B]

[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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Creating Literary Stories: A Fiction Writer’s Guide by William H. Coles is a well-sourced guidebook for both novice and experienced literary fiction writers. Contrary to popular belief, good literary fiction is not intensified by real-life events. Instead, Coles quotes that for literary fiction stories to be loved and remembered, they must be “imagined and created by an author”. Many writers are oblivious to this. That is one of the important reasons for the failure of fiction stories.

The book starts by describing the distinction between literary fiction and other forms of fiction like genre fiction, memoir, creative nonfiction, and definitions of important terms like the narrator, narrative, character among many others. I enjoyed his retelling of Little Red Riding Hood, from different point-of-views. It was incredibly fun to read. Particularly, I loved the more realistic crime version of the story:

“Red Riding Hood is kidnapped from the woods near her house. A few hours later, some bones and scraps of skin are found at her grandmother’s house a mile away. The police are called in, and they discover from the gray hairs trapped in grandma’s handwoven throw rug that the wolf did it. The wolf escapes. Red’s mother grieves at the funeral, praying for quick justice.”

I had no idea that a plot could be written in dramatically different versions. While this crime version wasn't as appealing as the original version, I enjoyed his demonstration of the possibilities.

Creating Literary Stories: A Fiction Writer's Guide consisted of two parts. Book one covered various basic elements of literary fiction, such as characters, narration, perspective, and writing in the scene. Book two covered the fundamentals of telling a literary story, engaging the reader, and making the story come alive. With this book, I can't pick a favorite chapter because it has so much information that an amateur would love to know. This is the kind of book you'd want to keep on your shelf for several years after reading, for future reference. Cole says conflict is what makes a story successful and gives it a purpose. This was so enlightening to know, and I loved the way Coles clarified this concept.

This book is precise and organized in such a way that anyone can understand and implement the complex nuances that make a good literary fiction story with some practice. There was nothing I disliked about this book. Additionally, the book was edited to perfection. For the above reasons, I rate Creating Literary Stories: A Fiction Writer's Guide four out of four. As mentioned earlier, this is a great resource for beginner and veteran literary fiction writers alike, irrespective of their experience in writing.

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

I have never come across a book that describes the difference between different kinds of fiction. I wonder what kind of a book it will be. Thanks for a lovely review!

[asteel18]

I've sometimes thought about writing, although I much prefer reading. This sounds like something that might help me write better reviews for fiction though. Every little bit helps. I appreciate your review.