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85th out of 319 books
—
505 voters
Creating Short Fiction: The Classic Guide to Writing Short Fiction
by
Damon Knight
Distilled from decades of teaching and practice, this book offers clear and direct advice on structure, pacing, dialogue, getting ideas, working with the unconscious, and more. Newly revised and expanded for this Third Edition, Creating Short Fiction is a popular and widely trusted guide to writing short stories of originality, durability, and quality. Celebrated short-sto...more
Paperback, 224 pages
Published
March 15th 1997
by St. Martin's Griffin
(first published 1981)
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CREATING SHORT FICTION by Damon Knight is a foundational, 101-level, instruction book that you’ve probably been looking for, especially if you are interested in writing genre fiction. This book will teach you to write better short stories and get them sold.
For those who are unfamiliar with Knight, he was an author, an editor, and a critic. Knight was a Hugo Award winner, founder of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), cofounder of the Milford Writer’s Workshop, and cofounde...more
For those who are unfamiliar with Knight, he was an author, an editor, and a critic. Knight was a Hugo Award winner, founder of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), cofounder of the Milford Writer’s Workshop, and cofounde...more
I've wanted to attend the Clarion Writing Workshop since I was fourteen. I'm sure books by the Clarion instructors are no match for the actual experience, but they'll have to do for now. And, well, this one will have to do for always, since Damon Knight passed away a few years ago and therefore isn't on the current list of Clarion instructors.
As with any writing guide, there are parts that are more and less useful depending on where the reader is as a writer. For me, the most interesting parts o...more
As with any writing guide, there are parts that are more and less useful depending on where the reader is as a writer. For me, the most interesting parts o...more
Sep 30, 2007
Seth
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
any writer, anyone interested in structure of fiction
Shelves:
writing,
masterpieces
Among the few practical and practicable writing books, this is a classic.
Knight was a fabulous short writer. With many authors that doesn't translate to writing good writing advice, but Knight as also introspective, insightful, and interested in theory. The book contains both cognitive models to help organize thinking and steps/processes to help get stories done.
The book begins with a great introduction on "Three Reasons I Should Not Have Written This Book" two being myths/half-truths about whe...more
Knight was a fabulous short writer. With many authors that doesn't translate to writing good writing advice, but Knight as also introspective, insightful, and interested in theory. The book contains both cognitive models to help organize thinking and steps/processes to help get stories done.
The book begins with a great introduction on "Three Reasons I Should Not Have Written This Book" two being myths/half-truths about whe...more
A good general guide to writing short fiction (although much of the advice could be applied to any type of fiction). I particularly found the description section useful as this is something I struggle with, also helpful was the annotated breakdown of a short story talking through the reasoning behind each part - it's always much easier to understand the process with a good example.
I was hoping to gain a better understanding about the structure of a short story, though (particularly as I'm far mo...more
I was hoping to gain a better understanding about the structure of a short story, though (particularly as I'm far mo...more
Jun 29, 2010
Moira Russell
added it
I think this is the book that first taught me about how the human mind likes to go 'ing ing ing': 'Opening the door and racing up the stairs the man only thought of grabbing the glittering ring.' (Along with the dry remark that the man couldn't do all that even if his arms were twenty feet long.) If this is so I owe Damon Knight a very large debt, and he also owes me one because now whenever I see that kind of thing (ing, ing, ing) in a story it makes me wince.
The funniest thing about this book was, while reading it, I became absorbed in its advice so much so that I didn't pay attention to how old it was. I came across a line about "new technology" and following that, home word processors. I was floored to say the least. But the advice is just that good, the advice is without restraint in the realm of time. Highly Recommend it!
love this book, especially the clever way the author sneaks in references to his wife kate's work as though she is just another writer out there ....
A good resource, brief, and filled with exercises and instructions that would help one learn to write.
This is now my most dog-eared writing reference book. It's put together in just the right way to help me.
A great practical manual of the craft of writing.
More helpful than most.
Fabulous book, with tons of useful advice presented in an accessible style with humour and common sense. One of my favourite writing books and one I re-read regularly.
A good, solid book on writing short stories. Nothing earth-shattering, but why should there be? Covers pretty much all you need to know to start.
I felt like less went over my head than it did years ago when I read it the first time, and that makes me happy, like I'm smarter or more perceptive now.
Simple, practical and insightful writing advice.
Simple, practical and insightful writing advice.
Probably the best book I've read on writing short fiction and one that helped me think about the smaller details, which helped my longer works.
Good book from a semi-famous sci-fi writer. I'm enjoying Burning Down the House more.
A must-have for those who want to write short stories.
May 20, 2013
Will Vraspir
marked it as to-read
May 12, 2013
Faraaz Kazi
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May 11, 2013
Chloe
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Nevey Berry
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May 05, 2013
Pam Torres
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Damon Francis Knight was an American science fiction author, editor, and critic.
Knight's first professional sale was a cartoon drawing to a science-fiction magazine, Amazing Stories. His first story, "Resilience", was published in 1941. He is best known as the author of "To Serve Man", which was adapted for The Twilight Zone. He was a recipient of the Hugo Award, founder of the Science Fiction and...more
More about Damon Knight...
Knight's first professional sale was a cartoon drawing to a science-fiction magazine, Amazing Stories. His first story, "Resilience", was published in 1941. He is best known as the author of "To Serve Man", which was adapted for The Twilight Zone. He was a recipient of the Hugo Award, founder of the Science Fiction and...more
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“...There is no such thing as a story. The words on paper are only instructions used by each reader to create a story. The story itself exists in the reader's mind and nowhere else. And it is different for each reader, because no two people have the same experience, background, training, interests, and so on.”
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Jun 30, 2010 05:00pm