Structure & Flow

by David A. Fryxell

Book by Fryxell, David A.

Genres: Writing

186 pages, Hardcover

First published December 31, 1996

Reviews

[Paul Bard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Starting with active specific sentences, then paragraphs, sections, the lead and body, this book discusses the way strong prose hangs, the girders of ideas that it hangs on, the organic and mechanical ways to structure text, and the way the starting and ending should resonate.

Fryxell synthesises his sense of focus, purpose and clarity through outlining into a single essay to explain how the authors do it.

In the organic view, raw material has its own meaning and the moving parts of an outline guides the text.

Very useful and elegant book.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book fell into my lap thanks to my lucky stars and now you can thank yours. It is a pure gem! Structure & Flow is part of the series "Elements of Article Writing Series" but the advice is also applicable for fiction, which is where I'm coming from. The book itself mentions that not a lot has been written about the subject of structure. Structure is seen as less of an art and more as a triviality to the art of writing. Well just like the book maintains structure is one of the most important tools a writer can have mastered in his writing arsenal.

Much of the information in "Structure & Flow" has been floating around in my head during these past few months as I have been trying to fight the beast of writing a novel. It feels very refreshing to actually hear someone put into writing what's been on my mind. Take courage: you are not alone in being overwhelmed by struggling with what to include and what to leave out in writing your novel.

Here is an excerpt:

"Just as when you are doing your very best writing you can experience an almost timeless sense of unity with your work--what psychologists who study creativity call "flow"--meeting the challenge of today's inconstant readers requires creating a sense of "flow" in the reading. You want your reader to forget he's on a bus, ignore what's out the window, and be swept along by your article."

and

"There should be two main objectives in ordinary prose writing: to convey a message and to include in it nothing that will distract the reader's attention or check his habitual pace of reading--he should feel that he is seated at ease in a taxi, not riding a temperamental horse through traffic."

If nothing else remember: Focus & Form! :)

Let this gem fall into your lap. :D


Highly recommended A++