In a splendid display of show-and-tell, 25 writers tell a story and lift the curtain to reveal how they did it. This big anthology of short fiction...
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Nov 15, 2011
Paul
rated it: 
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 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 More...
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(4 people liked it)
Sep 12, 2011
Sarah
rated it: 
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.
Jul 12, 2011
Jennifer
rated it:
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
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.
Mar 22, 2009
Stacey
rated it:
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....
Nov 09, 2011
Alison
rated it:
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.
Apr 23, 2008
Sirdarksol
rated it:
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
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.
Apr 19, 2010
Arnold
rated it:
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.
Mar 05, 2008
Cardee
rated it:
A solid collection. A few that were mind-blowing, more that were okay.
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