The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers
by John Champlin Gardner
|
|
Sign in to Goodreads to see your friends' reviews of this book.
discuss this book
friend reviews (0)
To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.
lists with this book
Where's the love? Add this book to your favorite list.
other reviews (showing 1-20 of 394)
Read in November, 2007
recommends it for:
writing teachers and aspiring writers
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 ...more
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 ...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in April, 2008
Finished, at last. As dense as a sememster-long creative-writing course. I wish I'd been able to take John Gardner's. I didn't do the exercises yet, but I read through them, and I'm glad I did, partly because my favorite tidbit was tucked in there, where he says that as a writer you should always write with the awareness that some of the people who will read your work will be dying, or suicidal, or otherwise in pain,or desperate, and your words have the power to pull him closer to life or death...more
Like this review?
yes
2 comments
Read in June, 2008
recommended to Serena by:
Omphale23
John Gardner's The Art of Fiction is pretentious and not one of my favorite writing books at all. I've heard about this book for sometime and figured I would give it a try. So I picked it up from the library, hoping to learn something new and enjoy the book. I usually don't bash books on the blog, but I cannot recommend this one outright.
Gardner's style of writing in the book bored me to tears; it reminded me of those professors that put the class to sleep in college. I was an eager college ...more
Gardner's style of writing in the book bored me to tears; it reminded me of those professors that put the class to sleep in college. I was an eager college ...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in May, 2008
This succeeds On Moral Fiction, which--as I understand it--elucidates more clearly his grudge against postmodern fiction. Suffice it to say that Gardner expects fiction to mean, and the ever-clever prattle of elusive postmodernism raises his hackles. In his words, "in all great fiction, primary emotion...must sooner or later lift off from the particular and be transformed into an expression of what is universally good about human life."
I could quibble with that an...more
I could quibble with that an...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Beware! This is a book on writing fiction of the serious kind. He will not assure you that everyone can learn to write, nor proclaim Dean Koontz to be the 'master' of anything. These essays were culled from his days teaching creative writing. It's opinionated and demanding and quite wonderful to boot. Gardner knows and loves what he's talking (writing) about. His passion for great books and understanding of what goes into writing them is what comes through here. Of course, you have to disagr...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in May, 2008
recommends it for:
writers, anyone interested in how fiction is crafted
A quick, well-written guide to writing. It's thought-provoking, both if you've never taken a fiction writing course in your life, or if you're a teacher. Gardner spends most of his time talking about the theoretical approaches to fiction, but follows it up with practical examples and exercises (group and individual). I have several issues with Gardner's approach to fiction—chiefly his very distinct and dogmatic separation of "popular fiction" from "true fiction" (and "...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in April, 2008
recommends it for:
writers
Gardner discusses all aspects of writing from "Literary-Aesthetic theory" to common errors to plotting to the writer's responsibilities. Group and individual exercises included at the end of the book are a good resource for those who wish to learn to write well. This dense book will likely require a highlighter and more than one read; the effort the serious writer exerts to understand this book is worth it. Gardner states that the most common mistake of beginning writers is the "F...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
I had this as a required text in my Senior Creative Writing class in college. No one, not even the Prof cared for this book (apparently it was one of those "this book is required" mandates from the powers that be).
The problem I had with this book, is the problem I have with John Gardner in general--He was the type of person who believes the world should be one way, and you should follow his law. However, he can break that law whenever he wants.
The book struck me as a pile of d...more
The problem I had with this book, is the problem I have with John Gardner in general--He was the type of person who believes the world should be one way, and you should follow his law. However, he can break that law whenever he wants.
The book struck me as a pile of d...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
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 obviou...more
"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 obviou...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
1 comments
This is a useful book for any aspiring writer to read, but one had best approach it with a skeptical eye.
It's greatest fault is Gardner's momumental ego. He repeatedly makes dogmatic assertions, stating opinion as fact. And as one might expect from a writing teacher, he declares that one cannot be a serious writer without being educated as one, ignoring the numerous examples that disprove his claim (Steinbeck and Hemingway, for starters, although Gardner liked neither). He's just plain patro...more
It's greatest fault is Gardner's momumental ego. He repeatedly makes dogmatic assertions, stating opinion as fact. And as one might expect from a writing teacher, he declares that one cannot be a serious writer without being educated as one, ignoring the numerous examples that disprove his claim (Steinbeck and Hemingway, for starters, although Gardner liked neither). He's just plain patro...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in May, 2005
recommends it for:
aspiring writers
In addition to fiction writing, John Gardner taught creative writing at the college level, so this is very much a university-style writing book. He cites books that students would be reading in literature classes - Camus, Faulkner, etc. - and his approach is more intellectual than emotional, though of course, emotion figures in heavily in good fiction writing. I gained the most from his chapter on common writing mistakes, but because the book is more for the head than the heart, Becoming A Writer,...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in October, 2007
John Gardner walks with the "young" writer for a while through the process of creating a good story. He assumes a relative mastery of English grammar and usage - don't expect such basic (and occasinally incorrect) maxims as 'show, don't tell' or 'don't use the passive voice' to be granted much attention here - and focuses on both the macro level of story construction and the micro level of line-to-line prose, discussing the rhythm of the written word in a way I've never before seen i...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in July, 2008
This book is very light on the practical and very heavy on the theoretical. As Gardner himself says, the reader should approach this book already familiar with grammar. Any writer needs books like Elements of Style to get them to the point where this book can help them, but once to that point, this book is almost a necessity. Too many writers don't understand the principles he's talking about and more art would be produced if they did.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in June, 2008
I don't like to give up on assigned reading, but when the author starts out in the introduction arguing that trained chimps would be better than most writers, and then continues on to use books us lay people aren't familiar with... well, yeah. I don't need to read a book-- assigned or not-- that aims to sort out the weak by trying to make me feel stupid. And for pete's sake, I'm not trying to write fiction anyway! I'm a poet, dammit!
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
recommends it for:
fiction writers
Gardner does his best to lay down some rules of fiction writing, which is a task that begs people to argue with you. But as books of this type go, this is one of the best. Think of his advice as just that--advice, not hard and fast rules that must be obeyed. His style may seem a bit didactic, but the examples where he picks apart passages are illuminating for beginning writers and helpful reminders for experienced ones.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in September, 2005
In the words of Peter Griffin, I found this book "shallow and pedantic." ;)
Not really, I just didn't find it very useful. That could be due to its employment (or lack thereof) in the creative writing class I read it for, though. And while I think words of wisdom from masters of the craft such as Gardner are definitely worth reading, I wonder if the only real way to learn to write is through practice and self-discovery.
Not really, I just didn't find it very useful. That could be due to its employment (or lack thereof) in the creative writing class I read it for, though. And while I think words of wisdom from masters of the craft such as Gardner are definitely worth reading, I wonder if the only real way to learn to write is through practice and self-discovery.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in February, 2004
recommended to Garrett by:
Professors and teachersrecommends it for: The dedicated, the mad
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.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in April, 2007
recommends it for:
Creative writers, especially beginning
This book is sometimes harsh, but always practical about what fiction is and isn't, and how to write it well. It takes you from the broadest points of fiction to the small points of grammar and diction, with examples along the way. I'd like to hand a copy of it to every beginning writer.
I don't like craft books (books on 'how to write') as a rule, but this one is well worth reading.
I don't like craft books (books on 'how to write') as a rule, but this one is well worth reading.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 1999
This book may be my favorite of all time. It should be read not only by young writers, but by young artists of any kind, and by everyone who wants to have more appreciation for art as a craft. The chapter called Interest and Truth changed my life, and continues to be my touchstone for what great art is. Any art needs to grab us both viscerally and intellectually. Brilliant.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
recommends it for:
Wanna-be Writers
This is the BEST book I have read about the techniques of writing. It covers such topics as aesthetics, artistry, basic skills, genre, the "dream" of fiction, interest, truth, metafiction, deconstruction, common errors, technique, and plot. It makes you realize that writing is REALLY HARD and it really does take a special kind of talent that I don't think I have. (Boo hoo!)
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
