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Fiction Writer's Handbook
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This book offers practical advice on every aspect of writing novels and short stories: plotting and narrative development, characterization and dialogue, sources of material, planning an opening, roughing out chapters, using suspense and emotional color, rewriting and highlighting and much more. Examples drawn from the works of outstanding writers, past and present, illust
...moreHardcover, 200 pages
Published
by HarperCollins Publishers
(first published October 1st 1979)
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4.5 stars.
Founders and first editors of Story magazine Hallie and Whit Burnett composed this Fiction Writer's Handbook. Though published over 40 years ago, the "practical advice" as well as the contributing writer anecdotes still hold up.
From writer "skills" of observation and habit development to a wonderful section on the novella, the Burnetts' handbook becomes a solid anchor of reference for anyone delving into the dangerous waters of creative prose writing and publishing.
The section on Henry ...more
Founders and first editors of Story magazine Hallie and Whit Burnett composed this Fiction Writer's Handbook. Though published over 40 years ago, the "practical advice" as well as the contributing writer anecdotes still hold up.
From writer "skills" of observation and habit development to a wonderful section on the novella, the Burnetts' handbook becomes a solid anchor of reference for anyone delving into the dangerous waters of creative prose writing and publishing.
The section on Henry ...more
Whit Burnett was the founder of the American literary magazine Story. He and his wife Hallie planned to write a book together on how to write short stories before his death. It didn't materialize until afterwards, when Hallie compiled Fiction Writer's Handbook from her own recollections and his notes, expanding its original scope to include the novel and novella. It is both a practical guide to writing and a collection of anecdotes about the who's who of 20th century American literature. Whit an
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Very useful but in a way didn't help me much realize what a novel could really look like. I simply don't have the knowledge to get all the references and the subtext and therefore the advice seems farfetched. Some other books about screenplay anf story have been far more broad in dealing with story beats and motivation.
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Jul 07, 2008
Matt
rated it
really liked it
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review of another edition
Recommends it for:
aspiring writers
This book was given to me a long time ago. Essentially, it explores the craft of writing fiction in the classical sense. Topics covered include such things as plot, characters, and writing a punchy first paragraph. The main focus of this book is on the short story, as the writer and her late husband where the driving force behind STORY magazine for nearly thirty years from the 1940's to the 1970's. The novella and the novel are also looked at briefly.
One entertaining aspect of this book is that ...more
One entertaining aspect of this book is that ...more
Technologically dated but wonderfully insightful and inspiring for a writer.
I marked a lot of passages in this book. There's a lot of insight into the art/craft of writing fiction, but also an air of literary superiority and egoism that tainted the book for me. Glad to be done with it.
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The author draws upon her long experience as co-editor of Story Magazine to give advice and tips on writing fiction. She discusses the elements and addresses both short stories and full length novels.
Especially good in its focus on shorter fiction, this book covers a lot of basics as well as philosophical discussion about the purpose of writing.
May 06, 2008
Kristen
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
nonfiction-reference-writing,
own
This is a great book to have. It has exercises about how to write novel and what mistakes to avoid. It's a good book to use as a reference.
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