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Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft
Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft
Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft
Ebook355 pages5 hours

Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft

By Janet Burroway, Elizabeth Stuckey-French and Ned Stuckey-French

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About this ebook

This updated edition of the classic, comprehensive guide to creative writing features new topics and writing prompts, contemporary examples, and more.

A creative writer’s shelf should hold at least three essential books: a dictionary, a style guide, and Janet Burroway’s Writing Fiction. This best-selling classic is the most widely used creative writing text in America, and for decades it has helped hundreds of thousands of students learn the craft. Now in its tenth edition, Writing Fiction is more accessible than ever for writers of all levels—inside or outside the classroom.

This new edition continues to provide advice that is practical, comprehensive, and flexible. Moving from freewriting to final revision, Burroway addresses “showing not telling,” characterization, dialogue, atmosphere, plot, imagery, and point of view. It includes new topics and writing prompts, and each chapter now ends with a list of recommended readings that exemplify the craft elements discussed. Plus, examples and quotations throughout the book feature a wide range of today’s best and best-known creators of both novels and short stories.
LanguageEnglish
PublisherOpen Road Integrated Media
Release dateApr 1, 2019
ISBN9780226616728
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Author

Janet Burroway

Janet Burroway is the author of plays, poetry, children’s books, and eight novels, including Raw Silk, The Buzzards, Opening Nights, Cutting Stone, and Bridge of Sand. Her Writing Fiction is the most widely used creative writing text in America. Recent works include the plays Sweepstakes, Medea with Child, and Parts of Speech, which have received readings and productions in New York, London, San Francisco, Hollywood, Chicago, and various regional theatres; a collection of essays, Embalming Mom; and her memoir, Losing Tim. The recipient of the Florida Humanities Council’s 2014 Lifetime Achievement Award for Writing, she is the Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor Emerita of the Florida State University.

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  • 4/5
    I first read Burroway's book in its second edition. Now in its tenth edition, Writing Fiction is even better. I recommend it for the beginning or more mature writer.
  • 4/5
    I first read Janet Burroway’s “Writing Fiction” in 1994 but have intended for some time to give it another reading. Finally, a ten-day cruise with plenty of unstructured time provided the perfect opportunity to make good on that intention. The time was well spent. The subtitle, “ A Guide to Narrative Craft,” clearly identifies the focus and content of this work. In eleven chapters Burroway covers the writing process, the structure and form of stories, critical differences between showing and telling, characterization, atmosphere (harmony and conflict), point of view, comparison (simile and metaphor), theme, and revision. Each chapter begins with an overview of the basic principles Burroway wishes to impart. The chapters conclude with several pages of examples, excerpted from acclaimed novels and short stories, that illustrate the principles introduced in that chapter.Burroway notes in the beginning that, “ Most of us don’t like to write at all; we like to have written” (p. 1). That observation, when modified, insightfully describes the process of reading Burroway’s book: It’s not enjoyable to read so much as worthwhile to have read. “Writing Fiction” provides a valuable review of critically important aspects of fiction writing for both novice and experienced writers.
  • 4/5
    As a creative writing textbook, this is one of the best that I've come across. Having said that, it suffers from the same thing that I've come across in various writing books and classes: the idea that genre fiction and kidlit is someow inferior to literary fiction. One genre is not necessarily more sophisticated, more challenging to write, more worthy of our time. They're just different. And just once, I'd like a creative writing book that acknowledges that.
  • 5/5
    A great overview of the fiction writing process, chock full of awesomely teachable example stories. I've been teaching out of this book for years.