A Goodreads user
asked
Amor Towles:
Thank you for sharing a detailed and informative response to Mr Tibdewal's question. So generous of you and so helpful to those of us working on developing both aspects of our writing. Would you agree that the richness of the structure supports the framework of a creative imagination? How does one develop a structure of one's own?
Amor Towles
Axel,
There are many elements of craft worth mastering in service of a novel: plot, characterization, setting, dialogue, tone of voice, point of view, imagery, poetics. Structure certainly deserves an important place on this list, in my view. Some writers will develop a particular approach to these elements and apply them repeatedly to different stories (man genre writers work that way). I generally try to discover the appropriate version of each element for the individual story I'm telling.
There are many elements of craft worth mastering in service of a novel: plot, characterization, setting, dialogue, tone of voice, point of view, imagery, poetics. Structure certainly deserves an important place on this list, in my view. Some writers will develop a particular approach to these elements and apply them repeatedly to different stories (man genre writers work that way). I generally try to discover the appropriate version of each element for the individual story I'm telling.
More Answered Questions
Barbara Monk
asked
Amor Towles:
Halfway thru the book, I went back to your bio because I was certain that you had to have been raised in Russia, or at least spent a lot of time there. It made me feel like I could understand a little better how people can live under such tyranny and still love their country and be happy. Have you spent time in Russia, or did you get all that just by studying history books?
Diane Hudson
asked
Amor Towles:
I am facilitating a book club discussion over Gentleman in Moscow. What do you think is the most important information to discuss about this book? What do you want people to know about your writing process? What type of questions did you ask yourself as you were creating the characters?
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