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The Story Behind the Story: 26 Stories by Contemporary Writers and How They Work
This big, beautiful anthology of short fiction is for readers, writers, and anyone curious about the mysterious processes of literary minds. All contributors have been recent faculty members of the prestigious Warren Wilson Low Residency Program, including such literary favorites as Margot Livesey, Charles Baxter, Robert Boswell, Jim Shepard, Antonya Nelson, David Shields,...more
Paperback, 480 pages
Published
January 17th 2004
by W. W. Norton & Company
(first published January 2004)
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This is too good for me to have invented it, but I don't know where it comes from (anyone?)
A short story is a novel on its way to becoming a poem
Well, maybe. Reading short stories is not everyone's favourite form of entertainment. You have to do many things, and you might not be bothered to do them, because you only have 30 pages to do 'em in. Whereas if you were in the middle of a 400 page novel, you would do 'em. You know, like figure this, deduce that, love this, hate that, sneer, bark.
This...more
A short story is a novel on its way to becoming a poem
Well, maybe. Reading short stories is not everyone's favourite form of entertainment. You have to do many things, and you might not be bothered to do them, because you only have 30 pages to do 'em in. Whereas if you were in the middle of a 400 page novel, you would do 'em. You know, like figure this, deduce that, love this, hate that, sneer, bark.
This...more
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Anybody who wants to write short stories should get this book. One of my fascinations is to hear how other writers go about the process of creating a short story, and this book gives you glimpses into several authors' creative minds. Twenty-six short stories by unique writers, followed by an essay on the birth of each story by its author: priceless.
More hits than misses (by a lot). Each short story is followed by a page or three on which the author of the preceding short story talks about its inspiration or meaning. As someone who loves writing, I found the essays as interesting as the stories in most cases.
Apr 16, 2011
Brian
is currently reading it
Well, I bought it because it sounded interesting and "City Codes" closed the deal when it looked like it was going to actually discuss the building code--which it didn't.
We'll see if the rest of the book is interesting.
We'll see if the rest of the book is interesting.
Some of these stories were really great (Christopher McIlroy's, Jim Shepard, Robert Boswell), some were solid, and some left me a bit cold. But I liked all the essays that followed the stories, and I have high hopes for using this as a course text for the upcoming beginning short story writing class I'm teaching. We will see....
A fantastic anthology of amazing writing from exceptional authors. This book is a must read for any literary major or anyone with hopes of becoming a writer themselves one day. What makes these stories great is the discussion after the story with the author. The authors go into great detail about their inspirations, writing style, and the evolution of the stories. Boasting a wide array of authors and each story having its own unique voice The Story Behind the Story is as close as a reader can ge...more
I wasn't thrilled with this particular book. I felt like some of the stories were written, maybe even still in draft format at this point, solely for the book. They didn't strike me as stories that would succeed generally, with the exception of A Walk in Winter, the last story. I think there are probably better instructive books on short story writing. Better yet, just go buy books of short fiction by Hemingway, Fitzgerald, etc.
Not every story in this book is good. That's part of what makes it so excellent. This is a great book for an aspiring writer. The mix of good and bad stories is great for learning what does and doesn't work in writing.
Mar 10, 2009
Patty
added it
This is an interesting collection of stories in that it makes you realize that having a writer expand on their process of writing a story isn't always as illuminating as it might seem.
Offers some insight into individual writing processes that may/ may not aide aspiring writers. But there are truly great stories in this anthology and even greater stories behind them.
A solid collection. A few that were mind-blowing, more that were okay.
Apr 19, 2013
Sherri
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