Beyond the First Draft: The Art of Fiction
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- 8,49 €
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- 8,49 €
Publisher Description
For students and writers alike, a brilliant guide to the craft of writing by the National Book Award–winning author of Spartina.
National Book Award winner John Casey is a masterful novelist who is also an inspiring and beloved teacher. In Beyond the First Draft he offers essential and original insights into the art of writing—and rewriting—fiction.
Through anecdotes about other writers’ methods and habits (as well as his own) and close readings of literature from Aristotle to Zola, the essays in this collection offer “suggestions about things to do, things to think about when your writing has got you lost in the woods.” In “Dogma and Anti-dogma” Casey sets out the tried-and-true advice and then comments on when to apply it and when to ignore it. In “What's Funny” he considers the range of comedy from pratfalls to elegant wit. In “In Other Words” he discusses translations and the surprising effects that translating can have on one’s native language. In “Mentors” he pays tribute to those who have guided him and other writers. Throughout the fourteen essays there are notes on voice, point of view, structure, and other crucial elements. This book is an invaluable resource for aspiring writers and a revitalizing companion for seasoned ones.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this collection of essays, National Book Award winning novelist Casey (Spartina) presents his take on the craft of writing fiction, or "things to think about, when your writing has got you lost in the woods." In regards to humor ("What's Funny"), he concludes that the best humor is grounded in something true. For sex scenes ("Sex and Violence"), he suggests that writers think in terms of "cathexis and release." Throughout, he illustrates ideas with excerpts from published stories, the weight of which lands more effectively if readers are familiar with the quoted works. The reach from good story to instructive lesson on writing unfortunately often falls short. However, some of Casey's anecdotes are especially insightful, such as his analogy that the right sexual tension in a story resembles a full glass with water "above the rim but kept in place by surface tension." In a crowded field of writing reference books, this book does not substantially advance the genre, though it may appeal to Casey fans.
