Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft

This comprehensive, informal, practical guide/anthology approaches the elements of fiction from the writer's point of view. Writing Fiction, 5/e, includes freewriting to revision, addressing how writers must work through problems in plot, style, characterization, dialogue, atmosphere, imagery, and point of view to write exciting and fresh stories. The tone of this market-leading text is non-prescriptive and personal, helping students feel comfortable with themselves and their writing.

Preface

xi

Whatever Works: The Writing Process

1

(26)

Get Started

3

(10)

Journal Keeping

3

(1)

Freewriting

4

(1)

Clustering

5

(3)

The Computer

8

(1)

The Critic: A Caution

8

(1)

Choosing a Subject

9

(4)

Keep Going

13

(2)

A Word about Theme

15

(11)

``Shitty First Drafts''

16

(3)

Anne Lamott

From ``The Writing Life''

19

(7)

Annie Dillard

Writing Assignments

26

(1)

The Tower and the Net: Story Form and Structure

27

(26)

Conflict, Crisis, and Resolution

29

(4)

Connection and Disconnection

33

(2)

Story Form as a Check Mark

35

(4)

Story and Plot

39

(2)

The Short Story and the Novel

41

(11)

``The Use of Force''

42

(4)

William Carlos Williams

``How Far She Went''

46

(6)

Mary Hood

Writing Assignments

52

(1)

Seeing is Believing: Showing and Telling

53

(41)

Significant Detail

54

(5)

Filtering

59

(2)

The Active Voice

61

(2)

Prose Rhythm

63

(3)

Mechanics

66

(26)

``The Things They Carried''

67

(13)

Tim O'Brien

``Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?''

80

(12)

Joyce Carol Oates

Retrospect

92

(1)

Writing Assignments

92

(2)

Book People: Characterization, Part I

94

(33)

Credibility

97

(2)

Purpose

99

(1)

Complexity

100

(2)

The Indirect Method of Character Presentation: Authorial Interpretation

102

(2)

The Direct Methods of Character Presentation

104

(21)

Appearance

104

(2)

Action

106

(3)

``The Enormous Radio''

109

(8)

John Cheever

``Yours''

117

(2)

Mary Robison

``The Only Traffic Signal on the Reservation Doesn't Flash Red Anymore''

119

(6)

Sherman Alexie

Retrospect

125

(1)

Writing Assignments

125

(2)

The Flesh Made Word: Characterization, Part II

127

(40)

The Direct Methods of Character Presentation (Continued)

128

(16)

Speech

128

(7)

Format and Style

135

(3)

Thought

138

(1)

Conflict Between Methods of Presentation

139

(4)

Creating a Group or Crowd

143

(1)

Character: A Summary

144

(21)

``Girls at War''

145

(11)

Chinua Achebe

``Saint Marie''

156

(9)

Louise Erdrich

Retrospect

165

(1)

Writing Assignments

165

(2)

Long Ago and Far Away: Fictional Place and Time

167

(29)

Setting and Atmosphere

169

(9)

Harmony and Conflict between Character and Background

170

(1)

Symbolic and Suggestive Setting

171

(4)

Alien and Familiar Setting

175

(1)

An Exercise in Setting

176

(2)

Some Aspects of Narrative Time

178

(16)

Summary and Scene

178

(4)

Flashback

182

(1)

Slow Motion

183

(2)

``A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings''

185

(5)

Gabriel Garcia Marquez

``Bullet in the Brain''

190

(4)

Tobias Wolff

Retrospect

194

(1)

Writing Assignments

194

(2)

Call Me Ishmael: Point of View, Part I

196

(39)

Who Speaks?

197

(8)

Third Person

197

(5)

Second Person

202

(2)

First Person

204

(1)

To Whom?

205

(6)

The Reader

206

(1)

Another Character

207

(1)

The Self

208

(3)

In What Form?

211

(22)

``Girl''

213

(2)

Jamaica Kincaid

``Hips''

215

(2)

Sandra Cisneros

``Royal Beatings''

217

(16)

Alice Munro

Retrospect

233

(1)

Writing Assignments

234

(1)

Assorted Liars: Point of View, Part II

235

(33)

At What Distance?

235

(8)

Spatial and Temporal Distance

237

(3)

Intangible Distance

240

(3)

With What Limitations?

243

(23)

The Unreliable Narrator

244

(1)

An Exercise in Unreliability

245

(2)

Unreliability in Other Viewpoints

247

(1)

``Gryphon''

248

(13)

Charles Baxter

``Jealous Husband Returns in Form of Parrot''

261

(5)

Robert Olen Butler

Retrospect

266

(1)

Writing Assignments

266

(2)

Is and is Not: Comparison

268

(35)

Types of Metaphor and Simile

269

(4)

Metaphoric Faults to Avoid

273

(7)

Allegory

277

(1)

Symbol

278

(2)

The Objective Correlative

280

(21)

``San''

282

(8)

Lan Samantha Chang

``The Falling Girl''

290

(4)

Dino Buzzati

``Menagerie''

294

(7)

Charles Johnson

Retrospect

301

(1)

Writing Assignments

301

(2)

I Gotta Use Words When I Talk to You: Theme

303

(29)

Idea and Morality in Theme

304

(3)

How Fictional Elements Contribute to Theme

307

(2)

``A Man Told Me the Story of His Life''

307

(2)

Grace Paley

Developing Theme as You Write

309

(20)

``Ralph the Duck''

313

(11)

Frederick Busch

``Ad Infinitum: A Short Story''

324

(5)

John Barth

Retrospect

329

(1)

Writing Assignments

330

(2)

Play It Again, Sam: Revision

332

(35)

Worry It and Walk Away

333

(2)

Criticism

335

(1)

Revision Questions

336

(1)

An Example of the Revision Process

337

(29)

``Wanting to Fly''

342

(2)

Stephen Dunning

``The Bath''

344

(5)

Raymond Carver

``A Small, Good Thing''

349

(17)

Raymond Carver

Retrospect

366

(1)

Writing Assignments

366

(1)

Appendix A: Kinds of Fiction

367

(4)

Appendix B: Suggestions for Further Reading

371

(6)

Credits

377

(1)

Index

378

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Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft

Summary

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials