DELICIOUS STRANGENESS: a pocket guide to writing magical realism

by Stephanie Barbé Hammer

Are you fascinated (or maybe just intimidated!) by Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s 100 YEARS OF SOLITUDE? Do you love Kafka, George Saunders, Gogol, Leslie Marmon Silko, Colson Whitehead, Kathleen Alcala, and Aimee Bender? All of these writers have one big feature in common: they are all working with a kind of writing called magical realism. What is it? And how do you write it? Fiction writer and award winning teacher Stephanie Barbe Hammer uses prompts, games, and simple explanations to demystify magical realism AND show writers how to have fun writing it. You'll learn how to mix language, points of view, and plot in new and exciting combinations that will result in stories that are flavorful, distinctive, deep and unforgettable. Delicious Strangeness will add zest to your writing whether you are new to fiction writing or are a seasoned (!) professional.

Genres: Writing, Magical Realism

104 pages, Paperback

Published March 27, 2018

About the author

7 time Pushcart Prize nominee, Stephanie Barbé Hammer wrote her first poem when she was 6 and had just finished The Cat In The Hat. She has been a writer ever since. But first she became a professor and moved to the West Coast. She wrote scholarly articles and research books, before finally attempting to publish her creative writing in her mid 40's. Since then she has published short fiction, nonfiction, and poetry in a bunch of good places including, The Bellevue Literary Review, Pearl, NYCBigCityLit, CRATE, Hole In the Head, and the Hayden’s Ferry Review. She is currently the author of a prose poem chapbook prose poem chapbook _Sex with Buildings_ (Dancing Girl Press), the full length poetry collection _How Formal?_ (Spout Hill Press), the fabulist novel _The Puppet Turners of Narrow Interior_ (Urban Farmhouse Press), and a magical realist novelette_Rescue Plan_ (Bamboo Dart Press). in 2022 she brought out 2 new books: Pretend Plumber: An Adventure (Inlandia Books), and a mini-memoir in poems, City Slicker (Bamboo Dart Press.

Her new fabulist novel PRETEND PLUMBER just launched with Inlandia Books in May 2022

Reviews

[Allison Renner · Rating 5 out of 5]

My writing book for the month. Just reading this really helped me understand what I love about magical realism and how I can pull it into my own writing more. The prompts kickstarted my imagination and I’m going to re-read this immediately, slowly, giving myself time for each prompt to see what I can create.

[Gabrielle Jarrett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Delicious Strangeness is and excellent workbook and also provides a collection of literary magical realism novels. I would have preferred more explanation of magical realism, yet did find the book helpful. Perhaps magical realism has to be experienced, not taught.

[Kim Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brief and engaging how-to with fun and useful exercises that will get you started writing magical realism in no time.

[Tracey Ormerod · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good introduction. I could see this being a great jumping off point for a creative writing workshop.

[William Bryant · Rating 3 out of 5]

Less of a guide to the elements of magical realism and more of lists of recommended books and writing prompts.

[Rebekah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m a nonfiction writer. I generally write about human rights and social justice, but I wanted to give fiction, specifically magical realism, a try. I could not figure out how to start, so I took a class with Stephanie and I left with my first chapter! So now I’m reading her book to help me sustain my ideas through an entire novel. Because frankly I’ve never written a novel before so I don’t know what I’m doing. There’s lots of really helpful writing exercises, prompts, as well as reading recommendations and I'm loving it.