Writing Fiction: The Practical Guide from New York's Acclaimed Creative Writing School

I am not finished with reading this book, however I read at least two pages of it a night and plan to read it again once I am done. The author pursued a career in writing and mentions the reasons behind why various writing techniques are more appealing than other attempts. You may already know a few things about what the book is about, however it mentions many great perspectives on plenty of ideas and also gives good examples to explain what it is talking about. It is well written and still down to Earth. If you are working on a novel or planning to increase your talent as a short story writer, consider reading this book at least once. The book also has a ton of writing exercises in it. I may do them, eventually, and still recomend them though I have not written my own ideas from the exercises out as of yet. The exercises give readers good ideas to attempt to utilize the techniques being explained. This book is from a wellknown writing course out of New York. I have yet to take the course but still think highly of the book.

I am a beginning writer and ordered this book along with another book (Immediate Fiction - not as good). This book (GWW) is an outstanding guide for beginners. I took a writing class online from GWW while reading this book and found it to be a great help. I rented four other books from the library on creative writing (fiction writing) and found GWW's book to be the best written, most helpful guide of them all. I have enrolled in another GWW fiction writing class starting soon. Writing is a lot of fun and this book will give you the skills necessary to learn the craft. Highly recommended.

So many books on fiction writing seem to treat fiction writing as though anyone who wants to write fiction is seeking to invent a time traveling device or something. They get so consumed in rules and do this and that thinking that it takes all the fun and excitement out of writing. They really drain a person’s drive to write as I figure most people aren’t aiming to win a Nobel Prize in Literature or National Book Award. This book produced by the Gotham Writers Workshop is of a different character. This book will tell you everything that you need to know with examples, exercises, and straight forward prose that explain the key elements of fiction that one needs to know without creating a sense of fear and foreboding in the would be writer. The message is that: Writing well is difficult, but it is doable with a little hard work and dedication. A book on writing for the average person.

I enjoyed reading this book and applying its advice to my own writing.

I have what could be called a passing interest in fiction writing. It's something I've always wanted to do, and I know I'll do it someday but I can't say it's a serious pursuit. I bought this book to skim around and see what I could glean from it. I ended up reading it all the way through, and let me say this: If I were seriously pursuing writing fiction this book would set me up very, very well. It's structured well and gets you thinking about the right things when it comes to writing, (and even reading) a novel. The very first thing it does is explain the types of literature, examples of them and immediately starts priming you to start practicing the craft. I had so many "a ha!" moments when reading this. I began to think back and start to understand why certain authors did what they did. It's like being put behind the scenes while a movie is filmed, you start to discover the craft, as well as how and why certain things are done. It takes a close look at Cathedral and several other works and uses a lot of examples to explain theory. I feel like this single book could improve someone's work dramatically, especially if they start at a ground level like me. I'm sure even experienced authors could benefit from this book as well though. The bottom line: read this book before thinking about writing fiction.

Yellow says: "for Dummies" in USA, and "cheap crime novel" in Italy. Its cover is an insult to the content and quality of the book. Those of us who got the Norton's on Lit in High School will not find much new in this book, though compact, refreshing, and nicely priced. Do visit their Website for freebies!!! What this book covers should give you a solid '101' foundation. After this, it's doing, doing, doing, then maybe you'll hit another ceiling you'll need help with to puncture. Yes, it helps to read better, too. Great chapters on individual aspects of good fiction, organized, well written. Missing is the comprehensiveness where these aspects start influencing each other. Maybe GWW saves that for their $300+ courses.

I've read a number of fiction guides. What I hated most about almost all of them was the close to moral certainty ascribed to writing in a certain way, whether it be show or tell or some other aspect of writing right. This book does not do that. It covers all the craft elements and does not use the author's own work to demonstrate them which, at times, has felt like a marketing effort. The author uses the work of other authors, including some well-known names, like Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Carver, and Nabakov. It was a pleasure to see the work of such authors described as it related to craft. The author also understood that craft can't substitute for creativity or that special something that someone reading this review may have nor did he discourage that something. The description of examples from notable fiction, absent the push, push, push to do it my way in some guides, made it a pleasure to read. Also, it did not have he feel of an edited work by different authors, though it seems to suggest the contrary in the description. If it was, it was transparent to me. I always felt like it was the work of one author.

Five stars!! I’ve read a lot of books on writing, and this is by far the best. Recommended by the teacher of an introductory writing workshop, it completely changed the way I write and how I evaluate books as a reader. It’s a true game-changer that elevated my writing to the next level — I can’t recommend it enough. I originally bought the audiobook to listen during my commute, and quickly realised I’d struck gold. I ended up purchasing a hard copy as well so I could take notes and revisit key sections. What I loved most is how practical and concrete the advice is. The book includes clear examples that helped me pinpoint where my strengths are and what areas I need to focus on to grow further as a writer. Do the exercises! The book has good information and the exercises are where it all clicked for me.

Amazing book. So easy to read and follow. The language is delightful. Learning how to write has never been so engaging and easy. A must without a doubt.

A very useful book and a veey good quality.

O Gotham Writers Workshop tem uma pegada diferente dos manuais tradicionais para escritores. Ele não vai nem muito para a literalidade e nem muito para o comercial. Já conhecia o trabalho do Gotham de antes e realmente não me decepcionei com o conteúdo. Pode adquirir e estudar sem medo. Eles sabem do que estão falando.

I am still reading it but it's compelling, well written and adds many insights to the process of creative writing.