Master Class in Fiction Writing: Techniques from Austen, Hemingway, and Other Greats: Lessons from the All-Star Writer's Workshop

by Adam Sexton and Jane Wong

Book Overview

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• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0071448772
• ISBN13: 9780071448772
• Release Date: November 2005
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Companies
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Pragmatic, accesible and entertaining writing guide

I stumbled on this book browsing in B & N and couldn't put it down...so I bought it, read it and later even enrolled in a course. Most useful writing book I've encountered including those by Eudora Welty, Natalie Goldberg, Anne LaMott, Steven King, Orson Scott Card, Lawrence Block, Sue Grafton, Noah Lukeman, Lou Stanek, Marcia Golub, Robert Olen Butler and Francine Prose. All those folks had interesting and helpful things to impart, it's Sexton's book I turn to when I get stuck...which is why I was perusing the writing section of B & N that day to begin with. Sexton's unique approach is the reason "Master Class in Fiction Writing" stands out. In each chapter he "workshops" a different book or short story written by a GREAT writer (instead of just anybody who can afford to pay tuition.) What originally drew me in, for example, was his discussion of the descriptions in John Updike's "Rabbit, Run." I admire Updike almost as much as Nicholson Baker (see "U and I") but Sexton showed me that his descriptions add up to more than the sum of their respective parts. He showed (by way of Updike) how good description is an integral themetic element, not poetic diversion. (BTW, he'd never inflict you with a phrase like "integral themetic element" which just shows you why I needed this book.) Anyway, when I revise now I know exactly what to keep and cut because I better understand how to measure its contribution to the overall work. Didn't some of those other writing books make a similar point? Well sure, but Sexton got it to penetrate my brain. Both his own prose and prose examples resemble good description: concrete, specific, precise and original. I also valued the chapter on literary style because he brought out how Hemingway's voice is NOT merely a matter of short staccato sentences, but based on long compound sentences and a distinct diction too. That may sound abstract but when he breaks "A Farewell to Arms" for you, you'll be able to gauge where your work falls on a stylistic spectrum (giving appropriate credit to John Gardner, btw) and whether that suits your purpose. The greatest strength of this book however is the immensely useful discussion of point of view. Nearly every "how to write" book touches on this topic, but the explanation in this book is where "Master Class" pulls away from the figurative pack. In two chapters Sexton not only gives a taste of the many flavors of 1st, 2nd, 3rd person (did you know there is more than one way to do 2nd person?) and omniscent but he helps you match them to the type of work you are writing. Again, I've read many, many discussions of POV that use cameras etc...but Sexton's gave me new insights into whether the strategy I'd chosen was appropriate for the interior life of my characters as well as the timescale of my novel. "Master Class" is also a good read despite it's somewhat forbidding title. As writing books go there's relatively little jargon, but lots of humor. Perhaps because Sexton doesn't s

Required Reading!

I read MASTER CLASS IN FICTION WRITING and wanted to go back and reread every work of literature I ever loved. I would get twice as much out of my old favorites reading them from the perspective of a writer, the authors themselves. Sexton uses the works of Austen, Hemingway, Joyce, and Morrison, among many others, to demonstrate how to write like a genius of the craft - even if, as he states, you aren't one, but merely sensitive, intelligent, and hard-working. The premise of MASTER CLASS - that writing can be learned - is heartening. Sexton's passion for and knowledge of literature, his humor in it all and his ability to laugh at himself (he's a writer, too, after all) make MASTER CLASS both constructive and entertaining; think being in a class taught by a teacher everybody loves and respects. I learned and I laughed reading MASTER CLASS. And since Sexton seems to have memorized every classic ought to be read, it is a great save on time for those of us who have forgotten what A farewell to Arms is about or don't feel like getting into Faulkner. In this `class' the instructor does the work for you, giving the answers on how to structure a sound story, create `round' characters, keep plot in motion, and make the most of description, dialogue, point of view, voice and style - until, of course, the real work of writing your story begins. But Sexton makes sure you're prepared for that. MASTER CLASS IN FICTION WRITING is a must read, and not just once. I will return to it each time I sit down to write a new story, the way I reference yearly my mother's unfailing instructions on how to cook a turkey before tackling the almighty bird. A fiction writer's gift to give is a good story; one would like to see it in print. With discipline and years of work, there's a chance it can happen. Sign up for Sexton's book, MASTER CLASS IN FICTION WRITING, and it's a near guarantee.

Excellent

Sexton's book, Master Class in Fiction Writing, is well-organized, clear and concise while being very entertaining. This isn't your college lit class but you'd wish it were. Each chapter takes you through a different work (reprinted) with Sexton using the example to demonstrate different aspects of fiction writing. A 'class' like this could run to the purely academic but Sexton is a very entertaining writer and it's difficult to stop reading at the end of each chapter. If you are interested in learning more about writing in general and/or improving your own writing, you will get a lot out of this book and enjoy yourself while doing so.

Kick-start your writing

As a wannabe writer who read far more than I wrote, this book was the perfect way to kick-start my writing. By reminding me that yes, there are things about writing fiction that can really be learned, "Master Class" helped me get past my insecurities as a writer. And now that I've really started writing, I keep turning to "Master Class" for tips and reminders about what is essential to each element of the craft. It's a fantastic tool for writers and a wonderful guide for readers interested in what makes good fiction tick, and on top of all that, it's compulsively readable.

Learn by example

It's hard to imagine a better book on fiction writing craft than this one. As the author points out, one learns the fiction writing art form by example. In this book, each element of fiction writing craft -- plot, point of view, character, etc. -- is clearly broken down to its fundamental "rules", and then the author reveals how the great fiction writers of the last two centuries -- Austen, Joyce, Updike, Conrad, and others -- made use of these rules (and in some cases broke them). The best thing about the book is the way it looks at fiction writing as a kind of problem-solving exercise -- which of course, like all art forms, it is. The most important quality of any book, according to Sexton, is the way in which it creates a compelling and satisfying reading experience. By seeing how the greats took the fundamental elements of their stories and crafted them into masterpiece works of literary art, the reader of this book learns the artistic process of fiction writing.