The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers

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The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers

3.98 of 5 stars 3.98 · rating details · 2,290 ratings · 220 reviews

This classic guide, from the renowned novelist and professor, has helped transform generations of aspiring writers into masterful writers—and will continue to do so for many years to come.

John Gardner was almost as famous as a teacher of creative writing as he was for his own works. In this practical, instructive handbook, based on the courses and seminars that he gave, h...more

Paperback, 224 pages

Published June 4th 1991 by Vintage (first published January 12th 1984)

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Nov 27, 2012 John rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book on fiction writing is commonly recommended. I was less impressed by it than I had expected and hoped to be. Be forewarned: the prose is verbose, dull, rambling, and frequently wanders off into digressions. I found it hard to maintain interest.

High points: Gardner's concept of 'psychic distance' as part of POV; the concept of 'frigidity' (when the writer accidentally lets slip that he really doens't care about a character) and 'profluence', the reader's sense that the story is progressi...more

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Nov 21, 2007 Christy rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: writing teachers and aspiring writers

Shelves: writing

This is one of very, very many books on how to write fiction. Gardner's book strives to offer more than the multitude of alternatives do, however, and, generally, I'd say he succeeds.

The first half of the book is devoted to more theoretical discussions of the art of fiction, some of which is very useful and some of which is quite particular to Gardner's own literary tastes. And his tastes definitely color the advice he gives. It is mostly sound advice for those who wish to write fiction in the...more This is one of very, very many books on how to write fiction. Gardner's book strives to offer more than the multitude of alternatives do, however, and, generally, I'd say he succeeds.

The first half of the book is devoted to more theoretical discussions of the art of fiction, some of which is very useful and some of which is quite particular to Gardner's own literary tastes. And his tastes definitely color the advice he gives. It is mostly sound advice for those who wish to write fiction in the tradition of the "greats" (e.g., classical literature and such relatively modern writers as Tolstoy and Melville), but it is provided with a heaping side dish of condescension for everyone else. (Particularly troublesome for me is his repeated dismissal and unwarranted criticism of literature teachers.)

Reading Gardner's book requires the ability to let condescension and elitism slide. He frequently comes off as a pompous jerk, but he's a pompous jerk who knows his stuff. Attitude problems aside, after all, Gardner does provide great advice and a clear theoretical approach to writing fiction.

For practical purposes, the second half of the book, devoted to a discussion of common mistakes and how to avoid them, is particularly useful. In the first half of the book, Gardner develops the idea that fiction should be as an uninterrupted dream, that technique should bolster the experience of this dream and not interrupt it. So the common errors and techniques he discusses primarily address this issue of creating a fictional world and assisting the reader in the uninhibited and uninterrupted experience of it. He discusses such problems as inappropriate or inconsistent diction, problems within sentences (accidental rhyme, inappropriate rhythm, overloaded sentences), careless shifts in psychic distance, and "faults of soul" (by which he means sentimentality, frigidity, and mannerism--I'm not sure they have to do with the soul, really, but his criticisms of their presence in literature are well-presented). Most practically useful and least often found in other books on writing fiction that I have read are 1) the section on rhythm in writing prose, in which he provides sample sentences analyzed with metrical analysis and briefly discusses poetic terminology I'd forgotten (iambs, dactyls, anapests, etc.) in the interest of helping the writer make artistic decisions on a sentence by sentence level, and 2) a chapter on plotting, in which he discusses various approaches to plotting and how these various approaches may work well or less well with different forms (e.g., short story, novella, novel) or with different plot structures. This chapter is particularly helpful because of his extended examples. He models the way the process would work in much the same way a good teacher models practices and behavior in class. This is immensely helpful, even if I do not agree with all of his ideas about what kinds of stories are worth writing. His advice, in the end, is useful only for realist fiction. If you are interested in metafiction or more experimental techniques, you will need to go elsewhere.

Even with my reservations about Gardner's attitude, and even with the limitations he imposes, I would consider using this text to teach, were I ever in a position to teach creative writing. It would certainly not be the only text I would use (I would want to have a less condescending counter to Gardner), but it would likely prove quite useful, if not in full, then at least in part. If nothing else, the long list of exercises at the end of the book is worth pillaging for use in my current freshman writing courses as applied to personal writing and developing a consistent and compelling style.(less)

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Apr 25, 2013 Cassandra rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fic

"Nobody's perfect, they generously observe. But the true artist is impatient with such talk. Circus knife-throwers know that it is indeed possible to be perfect, and one had better be. Perfection means hitting exactly what you are aiming at and not touching by a hair what you are not."
Gardner is mercilessly, obsessively scrupulous, almost to the level of snobbishness, in his concern that fiction should be 'moral'--that is, that every little gesture, every syllable, should ring true to human exp...more

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Feb 15, 2010 L.h. added it

Shelves: coursebooks, on-writing, periodically

for my creative writing class. 40 pages in, I've found a lot of useful thought, but my reactions scribbled in the margins have tended towards

"And Lord Gardner now graces the mere mortals with his beneficent gift of knowledge. How kind."

and

"Everytime you're a misogynist, God kills a kitten."

and

"I think every 11th grade English teacher in America would disagree, Johnny." (re: Steinbeck's "failure" of a novel, the unheard of and obviously inferior Grapes of Wrath)

REGARDLESS, if you want to write...more

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Mar 02, 2009 Natasha Oliver rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: writing-references

John Gardner let's you know in his preface that he is writing this book for the serious writer (who he defines as the literary writer), so my fellow sci fi and fantasy writers (genre), we are not his target audience. However, that does not mean we can not learn from him.

I do not recommend this to the writer who is beginning their journey. By beginning, I mean who has never written a novel-length manuscript (unpublished of course) or at least a novella. I think Gardner presents too much detail an...more John Gardner let's you know in his preface that he is writing this book for the serious writer (who he defines as the literary writer), so my fellow sci fi and fantasy writers (genre), we are not his target audience. However, that does not mean we can not learn from him.

I do not recommend this to the writer who is beginning their journey. By beginning, I mean who has never written a novel-length manuscript (unpublished of course) or at least a novella. I think Gardner presents too much detail and too much content, and at this point in your journey you will probably be overwhelmed. I simply refer to the other reviewer comments who provide suitable alternatives for an introductory to fiction writing.

I have rated this book as highly as I did because if you can wade through the loquacious prose, the elongated tangential didactics,--which by page 50 gets to be annoying--the obvious pedagogical diction and the references to Faulkner, Melville, Gaas, and plenty other writers whom I've not read (out of cognizant choice--though they are clearly renown for a reason) there is so much to learn from his book. (This paragraph was meant as an example--and I'm being generous.)

Take heart, he does reference more "popular" fiction: Spider Man, early comic books, and Sam Delaney (although briefly), so it's not a complete rebuff of fiction that sells.

Why I rec'd this book:
1) Because after writing a few manuscripts, I was able to see through Gardner's examples some of the mistakes that I make in my writing--this enough is worth the price of the book in my opinion.

2) Also, because I have reinterpreted his "serious" writer to mean someone who is dedicated to improving their writing skills. Simply put. If you are serious, then you are willing--albeit begrudgingly--to come out of your comfort zone and learn even from those who have a tendency to look down their nose at you (at least it's not in your face).

Examples of what I've learned:

1) Tales vs. Yarn vs. Realistic (and what voices are more commonly linked to each type of fictional story).
2) The importance of rhythm.
3) That a character's internal obstacles must be as compelling as his external ones (might seem like a no-brainer, but I guess not for me).
4) The vocab list that you get from reading his writing.

Lastly, while yes you can get most of the above from some of the other books on writing, you won't get the seriousness (dare I say abrasive truths) of what it means to be a writer and then what it takes to write well. This is not meant to be "inspiring" (so you won't be uplifted and told repeatedly throughout that "yes, you can write that novel"); it is meant to be eye-opening. (less)

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Mar 28, 2013 Will Gates rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book has been a haven for me as I write. There is an alarming mass of writing books out there that offer little in the way of criticism or objective direction -- they tend to emphasize emotion over craft with no standards by which to judge one's own writing, so long as it's "honest." Gardner here expresses definite opinions. He emphasizes natural talent and instinct, but does not leave the rest of us with no direction. He provides guiding goals and truths, along with practical techniques, e...more

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Jan 09, 2013 James rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: own, essays

I'm not going to count this toward my 2013 totals; firstly, because I haven't read all of it, and secondly, because I never really intend to complete it linearly. It's something to pick up when I'm feeling puzzled, delighted, frustrated, or utterly romantic about literature, or more often when I feel like getting down with some first-class iconoclasm. It also helps defuse, a bit, Garder's reputation as a mud-slinging crank. He emphatically dismisses any notion of limits on fiction. He praises th...more

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Sep 02, 2012 Eric rated it 4 of 5 stars

The weight of the fourth (and possibly third) star comes from the chapters "Common Errors" and much of "Technique." These portions are where Garder's advice is most concrete, practical and most universal. That's not to say that a guide to writing should merely be a composition handbook since the advice is more complex than "no passive sentences." It delves into how a story can work line-by-line. That knowledge alone, I think, helps a writer become much more aware of what their work is doing.

Remo...more

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Jun 02, 2012 Robert Harken rated it 5 of 5 stars

I came to this book after reading quotes (frequently the same quote) of Gardner's work in a number of technique books. When I read the same quoted material in different books I am tempted to believe the quoting works distilled the salient point and no further exploration is needed, but I have learned over time the flaws in this line of thought. I am glad I read the source.

“The Art of Fiction” strikes a similar note as Forster’s “Aspects of the Novel” – unique insight into literature as art. You...more I came to this book after reading quotes (frequently the same quote) of Gardner's work in a number of technique books. When I read the same quoted material in different books I am tempted to believe the quoting works distilled the salient point and no further exploration is needed, but I have learned over time the flaws in this line of thought. I am glad I read the source.

“The Art of Fiction” strikes a similar note as Forster’s “Aspects of the Novel” – unique insight into literature as art. You won’t find tired chapters on character, setting, plot, point of view, blah, blah, blah in “The Art of Fiction,” though Gardner discusses these topics, his perspective and presentation differs dramatically from other treatments. For example, he urges writers to find truth hidden in their work and revealed by their subconscious in small turns of dialogue or quirks of setting that refuse to fade. He may have been the first to espouse fiction as an uninterrupted dream, but I can’t confirm this.

I found his discussion on rhythm enlightening. I now understand why passages read awkwardly and require revision. I haven’t studied poetry, so I came to this knowledge with no understanding. Still, I think fiction writers steeped in poetry may find his application of poetry technique to narrative writing interesting.

I imagine serious practitioners of the art admire Gardner’s writing prowess. His deep grasp of literature makes understanding and implementing the full complement of knowledge from this book difficult. I frequently found my mind tangled and tripping through concepts – mandating multiple reads for mortals. Note I am not suggesting the book is poorly written; to the contrary, Gardner deals with complex topics eloquently – the ideas remain complex nonetheless. He also pushes writers to do more. One of the exercises at the end of the book instructs the student to write a single sentence two pages long that is not a string of independent sentences tacked together with semicolons. I found this particular task daunting because margins, line spacing, font type, and font size only got me to a half page before my atrophied sense of propriety set upon me.

I recommend “The Art of Fiction” to any writer wishing to deepen their craft.(less)

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Jun 07, 2011 Jeff rated it 3 of 5 stars

I'm using this book to teach a fiction class, so naturally I found many usable points with which to supplement my own lectures, but there are some things that irk me about it.

For one, Gardner and myself have very different appreciations for literature. I get it, you think Hemingway, Faulkner, and Joyce were so-so writers. I think Grendal is stupid, there. (Actually, I didn't read it; I'm just a child).

It's easy to get over the more pretentious passages. At times, Gardner is so egotistical that...more

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Mar 29, 2011 Rachael Sherwood rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011

I typically walk away from books about writing with a few new tips or tricks and maybe a new idea. This book is very different. As the title reflects, it explores fiction as both craft and art. At first I worried that Gardner was kind of pretentious--his style is certainly very academic. But he managed to fuse together solid writing advice with interesting theory in a way that challenged me to think about how I approach writing (without making me feel like I had to write like ~*the classics*~)....more

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Dec 18, 2010 Omri rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: literature-theory

I’ve been devouring this book, from the first page to the last one, in one single reading. It’s been a long while since I read a text book that made me absorb into it so easily. A fluent, though not too above the eye-level, language that carries you on it wings of the conceptuality behind the art of writing and the art itself. John Gardner created a perfect text book for what being a writer means, in his own personal perspective.

There are many text books out there that will tell you what is righ...more I’ve been devouring this book, from the first page to the last one, in one single reading. It’s been a long while since I read a text book that made me absorb into it so easily. A fluent, though not too above the eye-level, language that carries you on it wings of the conceptuality behind the art of writing and the art itself. John Gardner created a perfect text book for what being a writer means, in his own personal perspective.

There are many text books out there that will tell you what is right and what is wrong, what is expected and what is redundant, what, how, where, when and why but most of those books focus on a generalized ideas and too much of technicality. To find a book with a personal perspective on how the art of writing should be is not an easy task, and to find one which is good is even a harder task. Gardner gives us what he thinks, and is not afraid to delve into the ugly task of analyzing what are morals in writing and do they have any essence.

The book itself is divided in two – the philosophical self-perspective of Gardner on the art and the expected technicalities as in any other textbook. Although, once the first part is read and understood, the second part of the book has a whole new meaning. Technicality has a whole new meaning.

To be entirely honest – it’s been a while since I’ve felt that I learn something from a book about art. I’ve read quite the pile of articles and been examining both podcasts and books about the art itself. To be confronted with the meaning of writing in such a bold and different approach set my mind in gear, giving me one hell of a ride.

Although the many good words I have to say on this book by no definition is this book fitting all readers. The personal-philosophical first part is arguable, and thus can turn disagreeable readers away of the book and its presentation. I can easily see how some readers will disapprove of some of the ideas, or the method itself or its incompleteness. That does not go to say that this book does not worth the read – even if you find yourself disagreeing that’s a success by itself.(less)

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Aug 03, 2012 Steven rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: arts, essay

Never having had the benefit of a creative writing class, I thought it would be a good idea to read this book (by one of my favorite twentieth-century novelists) as I began to dabble in some fiction writing of my own. I've read it through twice and continue to use it for reference. Gardner offers some useful guidance on topics that I suppose are standard components of the writer's curriculum, e.g., rhythm, plotting, point of view, and he includes some lucid opinions on the general purpose of fic...more

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Jul 19, 2009 Katherine rated it 4 of 5 stars

Not an appropriate book for beginners, but rather for someone who's already got two or three failed novels stuffed away somewhere they'd rather not talk about. Nor for anyone who isn't prepared to take the good parts and discard the rest. And there's a fair bit of "the rest." Gardner is old-school in the worst ways - I thought the book had been published in the 20s or 30s until he name-checked Barthelme - and has plenty of essentializing and not-right-sounding theories about form and genre. But...more

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Jan 24, 2010 Grace rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction, writing, read-in-2010, literary-theory

On the outside, John Gardner's "The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers" promises to be an intense and informative read on creating solid and effective fiction geared for new or fairly new writers. Instead, "The Art of Fiction" is half literary theory and assumptions that all readers of this book are college educated people and the other half is equally as pompous diatribe on the fundamentals of writing: rhythm, style, plot and point of view.

I am college educated. My degree is in W...more

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Mar 01, 2009 Nina rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2009-books

Dear Mr. Gardner,

You don't know me, but I know you - particularly another work of yours, Grendel. I was intrigued by your sense of humor and your unerring ear for words. However, I figured this would be our first and last meeting.

Consider me surprised, then, when my parents gave your little gray book to me for Christmas. "Thought it might be interesting," they said, which is accurate; I plan to go into creative writing, and a little guidance would be helpful. Most advice I've gotten would have m...more

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Jul 01, 2008 Garrett Cook rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: The dedicated, the mad

Recommended to Garrett by: Professors and teachers

Considered ideal for young writers, but its exercises are masochistic and often sheer folly. Gardner himself wrote "tedium is the worst pain" and trying to slog through Art of Fiction exercises would leave old Grendel raging at any number of additional Meadhalls. The text itself is good and you can find sound advice in it, but there are much better writing books out there. It might have paved the way, but so did 8 tracks.

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Dec 02, 2012 Timmy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: united-states

I don't mind what many term the "pompous jerk" and "elitist attitudes" of Gardner in this book, especially considering so much of the label comes from:

1. a general sarcasm and erudition that gives the book some pizazz
2. his knocking on the contemporary pop and pseudo garbage that people enjoy settling for as not merely a "nice little evening of reading" but rather an actual replacement, across the board, for good literature....and then work to proselytize the few "elitists" remaining through e...more

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May 27, 2011 Gail rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: on-writing

Kicking off this whole pursuit of mine to read more about the art of writing, I picked a haughty tome to start with. I wish I could gush about Gardner's teaching here the way others on Goodreads have, but his points (all of them valid and good) darn near were lost on me on account of his high-minded rhetoric and tone. (Not to mention the examples he chose to illustrate them with—-I've never been a mythology girl so following Gardner's advice on the art of plotting through his rehashing of the He...more Kicking off this whole pursuit of mine to read more about the art of writing, I picked a haughty tome to start with. I wish I could gush about Gardner's teaching here the way others on Goodreads have, but his points (all of them valid and good) darn near were lost on me on account of his high-minded rhetoric and tone. (Not to mention the examples he chose to illustrate them with—-I've never been a mythology girl so following Gardner's advice on the art of plotting through his rehashing of the Helen of Troy story was a snoozefest for me).

In a way, I was discouraged by "The Art of Fiction" because it made me feel like less of an intellectual. This is what can happen when you read a book like this—-you read the high-brow opinions of others who love it and think, if this was assigned for a class, you would be the person in the back thinking, "What am I missing?")

Here's a snippet of a review on Amazon to illustrate what I'm talking about: "I suspect those who accuse Gardner of being arrogant, egotistical, condescending, etc., ad nauseum are likely to be the sort who either have a ideological agenda of their own, or prefer their egalitarianism served with a thoroughgoing relativism."

Andddd....it's this kind of grandiose talk that makes me glad I never pursued a PhD. Seriously.

So, maybe it's my own fault I couldn't look past the pomposity of it all to respect Gardner the way others tell me I should. Because, while I may have limped through this one, the amount of underlining and bookmarking I did clearly illustrates I learned a few things like:

• Writers should create a work of fiction that reads like a dream. Readers need to suspend their disbelief and remain there through the action of a story; if they don't, you've done something (erred in some way) to muck that up.
• Beware the trappings of clumsy writing: passive voice, inappropriate use of introductory phrases containing infinite verbs (guilty as charged!), shifts in diction and lack of sentence variety.
• "What the honest writer does, when he's finished a rough draft, is go over it and over it, time after time, refusing to let anything stay if it looks awkward, phony or forced. Clumsily inserted details must either be revised into neatly inserted details or be revised out of the fiction. (No "umms" or stammers).
• Even worse than clumsy writing, according to Gardner, is faults of soul: sentimentality, frigidity, and mannerism.
• It's a common experience in writing classes that when a writer works with some sharply defined problem in technique, focusing on that alone, he produces such good work he surprises himself. (pg. 125)
• Fiction is made of structural units: it is not one great rush (pg. 127)

(less)

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Nov 24, 2012 Dominic rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: writing-instruction

Francine Prose, author of Reading Like a Writer, ponders at the beginning of her book about whether or not creative writing can be taught. For John Gardner (who wrote this book and is a nice companion piece to Prose's book, although twenty years separates them), there is no need to wonder because his answer would be a resounding "Well, of course it can!"

As a result, Gardner's book at times comes off incredibly pompous. Yet like a brilliant professor one both loves and can't stop griping about, G...more

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Feb 25, 2010 Jason Coleman rated it 3 of 5 stars

So in the many years since I read this book, John Gardner not only kicked the bucket in a motorcycle accident but he somehow turned into John Champlin Gardner Jr. I had totally forgotten about this book--and Gardner's nearly identical On Becoming a Novelist--until I was poking around on this site a couple days ago, and there he was. If only through his books, Gardner was the first writing teacher I was ever exposed to, and so his ideas had a disproportionately strong grip on me. I remember being...more

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Jan 17, 2010 Joseph rated it 5 of 5 stars

I've had a lot of writer's tell me about Gardner's book, but I never got around to reading it until now. I'm glad I did. It's a gem.
While an esteemed teacher of writing, as well as a well respected writer in his own right,Gardner freely admits there are no absolutes in creating fiction. All things are at least theoretically possible. I like his honesty and the relatively modest task he sets out for those who choose to teach creative writing.

Not surprising, is his assertion that a key to good w...more

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Aug 29, 2011 Ryandake rated it 5 of 5 stars

quite probably the best book i've ever read on writing.

the finest part of it is that it skips all the simple stuff at the baseline level: characterization, metaphor, dialogue. not that gardner doesn't have a few things to say about each, but he clearly has assumed that his reader has educated herself on the basics.

so this is in some ways not really for absolute novice writers. it assumes at least some education (or habit) in analyzing a text critically.

so gardner is free to take off from the mid...more

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Jun 18, 2010 David Wise rated it 5 of 5 stars

Of the very slim shelf of books on writing that are worth a damn, "The Art of Fiction" is by far the best. Passionate, evangelical, profound, deeply moving and extremely useful, it's meant for advanced writing students. But everyone interested in writing can benefit from reading it -- beginner, advanced and professional. Even book lovers who have no interest in becoming writers will become better readers for having come in contact with Gardner's wisdom.

How powerful is this book? After I gave my...more

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Jul 11, 2010 Kip Williams rated it 2 of 5 stars

This book is recommended in SELF-EDITING FOR THE FICTION WRITER, a book I have read twice and enjoyed a great deal. I had to give Gardner a try.

This is a tough review to write because I can't say this is a fantastic book to help one write fiction. At the same time, there is little or nothing said that I disagree with. So, what's the problem?

My confusion starts with my expectations when reading a book about writing. It's a situation where I want to gain information and hints on how to write bett...more

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Dec 31, 2012 Steve rated it 3 of 5 stars

Since 3 stars and a half is not an option, I decided for the lower rating. I had high expectations considering the book's status as a classic of the genre. I ended up with quite a few interesting passages I underlined and will come back to later, but most of the book I found more or less filled with usual and pretty basic info about how fiction works. When he gets into examples of stories in his discussion of plotting, it becomes downright boring. I also found some of his opinions about what con...more

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Jun 28, 2012 John rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Despite Gardner's claim that this is "the best book of its kind," I didn't find it helpful at all. Most of Gardner's ideas are surprisingly shallow considering how pretentiously (and obnoxiously) he writes. In describing how to write prose fiction, Gardner constantly encourages his readers to emulate Shakespear, Homer, Dante, Mellville and Joyce--despite the fact that Shakespear was a playwright, Homer and Dante wrote epic poems, and Melville and Joyce are virtually unreadable (and torturous) to...more

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Apr 18, 2013 Shobasriaiyer rated it 4 of 5 stars

Brilliant.

John Gardner is the god of good punctuation. He can write interminably long sentences, each word of which flows naturally, with utter clarity into the next word, such that you don't have to read to get the full meaning.

He has taken the trouble to explain very many concepts of fiction, which for me who is on her very first book, was invaluable.

Loved all the examples he gave of past works, though he stuck to using the names of his favorite writers over and over again.
His criticism of...more

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Feb 25, 2011 sarah gilbert rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: kitchen-table-mfa, will-re-read-and-re-read, writing-craft

It may be wonderful praise, may be a cautionary tale, that I began this book as a lark undertaken in the midst of two classes on memoir (nonfiction is, I've always believed, my life's work) and serious work rewriting my food memoir's first chapter, and before I'd half-finished Gardner's book, I began a novel.

As inspiration, this is either all of it or a great chill; every sentence in this book is written with the clear undertone, "writing a novel is hard, hard work." That the work is worthwhile...more

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Apr 01, 2011 Amy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Gardner’s primer on constructing “the vivid and continuous fictional dream” is so sweeping and generous that he can find something to admire in writers as diverse as Melville and Barthelme. At the same time, his savaging of rookie mistakes sent me hunting through the book to make sure he wouldn’t pronounce my work irredeemable. I believe he has, once and for all, shamed me out of my indiscriminate use of the introductory infinite-verb phrase. I also appreciated his advice on mastering the meter...more

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About John Gardner

John Champlin Gardner was a well-known and controversial American novelist and university professor, best known for his novel Grendel, a retelling of the Beowulf myth.

Gardner was born in Batavia, New York. His father was a lay preacher and dairy farmer, and his mother taught English at a local school. Both parents were fond of Shakespeare and often recited literature together. As a child, Gardner...more

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Quotes from The Art of Fiction: No...

“The primary subject of fiction is and has always been human emotion, values, and beliefs.” — 15 people liked it

“To write with taste, in the highest sense, is to write [...] so that no one commits suicide, no one despairs; to write [...] so that people understand, sympathize, see the universality of pain, and feel strengthened, if not directly encouraged to live on.

If there is good to be said, the writer should say it. If there is bad to be said, he should say it in a way that reflects the truth that, though we see the evil, we choose to continue among the living.

The true artist [...] gets his sense of worth and honor from his conviction that art is powerful--” — 10 people liked it

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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32533.The_Art_of_Fiction?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348094062l/32533.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32533.The_Art_of_Fiction?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers by John Gardner[/url]

The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers

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