On Writing Fiction: Rethinking conventional wisdom about the craft

The pieces of a satisfying novel or story seem to fit together so effortlessly, so seamlessly, that it's easy to find yourself wondering, "How on earth did the author do this?" The answer is simple: He sat alone at his desk, considered an array of options, and made smart, careful choices.

In On Writing Fiction , award-winning author and respected creative writing professor David Jauss offers practical information and advice that will help you make smart creative and technical decisions about such topics as:

  • Writing prose with syntax and rhythm to create a "soundtrack" for the narrative
  • Choosing the right point of view to create the appropriate degree of "distance" between your characters and the reader
  • Harnessing the power of contradiction in the creative process
In one thought-provoking essay after another, Jauss sorts through unique fiction-writing conundrums, including how to create those exquisite intersections between truth and fabrication that make all great works of fiction so much more resonant than fiction that follows the "write what you know" approach that's so often used.

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On Writing Fiction: Rethinking conventional wisdom about the craft

The pieces of a satisfying novel or story seem to fit together so effortlessly, so seamlessly, that it's easy to find yourself wondering, "How on earth did the author do this?" The answer is simple: He sat alone at his desk, considered an array of options, and made smart, careful choices.

In On Writing Fiction , award-winning author and respected creative writing professor David Jauss offers practical information and advice that will help you make smart creative and technical decisions about such topics as:

  • Writing prose with syntax and rhythm to create a "soundtrack" for the narrative
  • Choosing the right point of view to create the appropriate degree of "distance" between your characters and the reader
  • Harnessing the power of contradiction in the creative process
In one thought-provoking essay after another, Jauss sorts through unique fiction-writing conundrums, including how to create those exquisite intersections between truth and fabrication that make all great works of fiction so much more resonant than fiction that follows the "write what you know" approach that's so often used.

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On Writing Fiction: Rethinking conventional wisdom about the craft

On Writing Fiction: Rethinking conventional wisdom about the craft

by David Jauss
On Writing Fiction: Rethinking conventional wisdom about the craft
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On Writing Fiction: Rethinking conventional wisdom about the craft

On Writing Fiction: Rethinking conventional wisdom about the craft

by David Jauss

Overview

The pieces of a satisfying novel or story seem to fit together so effortlessly, so seamlessly, that it's easy to find yourself wondering, "How on earth did the author do this?" The answer is simple: He sat alone at his desk, considered an array of options, and made smart, careful choices.

In On Writing Fiction , award-winning author and respected creative writing professor David Jauss offers practical information and advice that will help you make smart creative and technical decisions about such topics as:

  • Writing prose with syntax and rhythm to create a "soundtrack" for the narrative
  • Choosing the right point of view to create the appropriate degree of "distance" between your characters and the reader
  • Harnessing the power of contradiction in the creative process
In one thought-provoking essay after another, Jauss sorts through unique fiction-writing conundrums, including how to create those exquisite intersections between truth and fabrication that make all great works of fiction so much more resonant than fiction that follows the "write what you know" approach that's so often used.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781599632629
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date: 07/22/2011
Pages: 256
Product dimensions: 5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

David Jauss is the author of two short story collections, Black Maps and Crimes of Passion , and two collections of poems, Improvising Rivers and You Are Not Here. His fiction and poetry have appeared in numerous magazines and been reprinted in such anthologies as Best American Short Stories , Prize Stories: The O. Henry Awards , The Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses , and elsewhere. He teaches at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and chairs the M.F.A. in Writing Program at Vermont College.

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