Making Shapely Fiction
Jerome Stern
Language: English
Pages: 270
ISBN: 039332124X
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
A deft analysis and appreciation of fiction―what makes it work and what can make it fail.
Here is a book about the craft of writing fiction that is thoroughly useful from the first to the last page―whether the reader is a beginner, a seasoned writer, or a teacher of writing. You will see how a work takes form and shape once you grasp the principles of momentum, tension, and immediacy. "Tension," Stern says, "is the mother of fiction. When tension and immediacy combine, the story begins." Dialogue and action, beginnings and endings, the true meaning of "write what you know," and a memorable listing of don'ts for fiction writers are all covered. A special section features an Alphabet for Writers: entries range from Accuracy to Zigzag, with enlightening comments about such matters as Cliffhangers, Point of View, Irony, and Transitions.
have population explosions. Readers lose track if there are too many names to retain. You must determine who is necessary to the story and remove everyone else from the set, forcibly if necessary. Arlo swung his mallet at Arlene’s ball while Uncle Claude looked on admiringly. Arlo had a nice swing for a young man. Wilson was too easily distracted, and Roger was hopeless. If anything, Roger should really be paying attention to Arlene, not standing by the wicket snickering with Frederick and Carl
perfect woman. A child is waiting for her daddy to come home. The I-can-hardly-wait dwells on the joys expected and then deprives the central character of whatever is desired. The beloved one—man, woman, child, dog, or cat—inexplicably never shows up or is killed on the road or drunkenly calls from a bar or runs away with someone else or has really been dead for years. It’s true that life can be cruel, but this sort of story trivializes sad occurrences by focusing on the simple plot device of
Waters’ “Got My Mojo Working,” you create no impression on those who don’t know its raunchy lyrics. Instead of risking an allusion whose point might be totally lost, embed description so that readers can have a sense of its significance. Hill put on his Roscoe Holcomb album and lay down in the darkness. The high mountain voice was full of a pain so keen and lonesome that, as Hill’s eyes filled with tears, he felt strangely comforted. Readers who have never heard of Roscoe Holcomb can still
chaplain who believes in corporal punishment is Thwackum. In the twentieth century, that explicitness seems old-fashioned, but names do still suggest ideas. In Nathanael West’s Miss Lonelyhearts our hero is treated cruelly by the relentlessly cynical Shrike. Thomas Pynchon’s questioning heroine in The Crying of Lot 49 is named Oedipa. Inspiration for good names is everywhere—in baby-name dictionaries, in obituaries, in circuit court dockets, in phone books, and in literature. But don’t
mind. Other science fiction writers focus on superhuman characters, melodramatic escapades, and highly complicated plots. The best writers of science fiction, such as Philip Dick, Ursula Le Guin, and Harlan Ellison, understand the principles of crafting an authoritative style, of creating interesting characters, and of telling an arresting story. In their search for fresh ideas, they keep up with scientific research, not only in astrophysics, but in neurobiology, genetics, psychology, and