Write Away
One Writer's Approach to the Novel
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3.0 • 1 Rating
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- $1.99
Publisher Description
Here's what I tell my
students on the first day when I teach one of my creative writing courses: You
will be published if you possess three qualities—talent, passion, and
discipline.
In Write Away, New
York Times bestselling
author Elizabeth George offers would-be writers exactly what they need to know
about how to construct a novel. She provides a detailed overview of the craft
and gives helpful instruction on all elements of writing, from setting and plot
to technique and process. To illustrate her points, George presents excerpts
from a number of well-known writers, including Barbara Kingsolver, Harper Lee,
E. M. Forster, John Irving, Toni Morrison, Stephen King, Ernest Hemingway, and
Alice Hoffman.
In addition to being a
clear and concise guide to fiction writing, Write Away also opens a
window into the life of Elizabeth George. It reveals the inspiring personal
story of how the distinguished author came to be published and how she
meticulously researches and crafts her novels.
I have a love-hate
relationship with the writing life. I wouldn't wish to have any other kind of
life . . . and on the other hand, I wish it were easier. And it never is. The
reward comes sentence by sentence. The reward comes in the unexpected
inspiration. The reward comes from creating a character who lives and breathes
and is perfectly real. But such effort it takes to attain the reward! I would
never have believed it would take such effort.
George's solid
understanding of the craft is conveyed in the enticing manner of a true
storyteller, making Write Away not only a
marvelous, interesting, and informative book but also a glimpse inside the world
of a beloved writer.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Here's a useful book for the novice writer battling the fears and insecurities that attend when she contemplates her first novel. Highly successful as the writer of a dozen novels of suspense (A Place of Hiding, etc.) and a teacher with significant experience, George reveals that those same fears and insecurities still bedevil her. She quickly moves beyond that to a consideration of the craft of writing mastering the tools and techniques that a writer needs in order to create art. While George illustrates her points with passages from both her own works and those of numerous writers she admires , this remains more of a how-I-do-it book than a how-to-do-it book. Thus George will typically discuss an aspect of writing, such as creating the landscape of a novel, illustrate it with examples from various writers and then show how she approaches it. The result is an informative, instructive and idiosyncratic examination of the structure of the novel and of one writer's rigorously disciplined approach to creating one. George makes clear that writing is a job and that mastering the tools and techniques of the craft can go a long way toward making a writer successful. Finally, she advocates self-discipline, or what Bryce Courtenay (The Power of One) calls "bum glue." As George puts it, "A lot of writing is simply showing up... day after day, same time and same place." Both aspiring writers and fans of George's novels should enjoy the author's insights into the creative process.
