12 Short Stories and Their Making

Overview

How did they do it? Twelve spellbinding stories, followed by interviews with the authors about inspiration and craft.

Here is a fascinating and enlightening book for fiction readers and writers alike. Written by some of our most powerful contemporary authors, the twelve stories gathered here were selected as striking examples of one of the six elements of the craft: character, plot, theme, structure, voice, and setting. They draw the reader into worlds that seem miraculously ...

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Overview

How did they do it? Twelve spellbinding stories, followed by interviews with the authors about inspiration and craft.

Here is a fascinating and enlightening book for fiction readers and writers alike. Written by some of our most powerful contemporary authors, the twelve stories gathered here were selected as striking examples of one of the six elements of the craft: character, plot, theme, structure, voice, and setting. They draw the reader into worlds that seem miraculously whole. How was this accomplished? In interviews that center on the aspect of craft each story exemplifies, the authors describe the challenges they faced and reveal the often disorderly process behind the seamless finished work.

The volume includes stories by and interviews with Sandra Cisneros, Kim Edwards, George Garrett, Ellen Gilchrist, Gail Godwin, Allan Gurganus, Charles Johnson, Walter Kirn, Jhumpa Lahiri, Ursula K. Le Guin, Elizabeth Tallent, and Tobias Wolff.

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Editorial Reviews

Library Journal
This anthology is sure to delight readers of the short story form. Each of the 12 stories featured includes a companion interview with the author-among them such renowned names as Ellen Gilchrist, Tobias Wolff, Sandra Cisneros, Allan Gurganus, and Jhumpa Lahiri-that offers a richer understanding of the author and the inspiration behind and development of each story. Selected by editor Mandelbaum (Garrett in Wedlock), the stories are not just examples of good-quality writing but also outstanding use of such fiction-writing elements as character, setting, plot, point of view/voice, structure, and theme. Ursula Le Guin's "Sur," for example, demonstrates how using Antarctica as a setting lends the story its sense of custom, language, and mood and thus brings the work to life. This unique collection will appeal to aspiring short story writers and is a great read for those who enjoy this literary form. Recommended for public and academic libraries.-Susan McClellan, Avalon P.L., Pittsburgh Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780892553129
  • Publisher: Persea Books
  • Publication date: 9/21/2005
  • Pages: 324
  • Sales rank: 645,658
  • Product dimensions: 5.40 (w) x 8.30 (h) x 0.90 (d)

Meet the Author

Paul Mandelbaum is a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, a former managing editor of Story magazine, and the author of Garrett in Wedlock: A Novel-in-Stories.
He teaches writing and literature at Emerson College's Los Angeles Center and in the UCLA Extension Writers' Program, and lives in Culver City, California.

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Table of Contents

I Character
The hoaxer 3
Prowler 28
II Plot
The story of my life 57
A record as long as your arm 89
III Point of view/voice
China 123
Condolences to every one of us 157
IV Setting
Sur 185
The third and final continent 212
V Structure
Dream children 245
Smorgasbord 270
VI Theme
Rich 297
Never marry a Mexican 329
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