List Price

$29.95

Textbook Details

  • EDITION:
    1st Edition
  • ISBN:
    0393061647
  • ISBN-13:
    9780393061642
  • PUB. DATE:
    August 2007
  • PUBLISHER:
    Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
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The Making of a Story: A Norton Guide to Creative Writing / Edition 1 by Alice LaPlante

$29.95 List Price
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Overview -

The Making of a Story

Product Details

  • Pub. Date: August 2007
  • Publisher: Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
  • Sales Rank: 701,756

Synopsis

The Making of a Story is a fresh and inspiring guide to the basics of creative writing—both fiction and creative nonfiction. Its hands-on, completely accessible approach walks writers through each stage of the creative process, from the initial triggering idea to the revision of the final manuscript. It is unique in combing the three main aspects of creative writing instruction: process (finding inspiration, getting ideas on the page), craft (specific techniques like characterization), and anthology (learning by reading masters of the form). Succinct, clear definitions of basic terms of fiction are accompanied by examples, including excerpts from masterpieces of short fiction and essays as well as contemporary novels. A special highlight is Alice LaPlante's systematic debunking of many of the so-called rules of creative writing. This book is perfect for writers working alone as well as for creative writing classes, both introductory and advanced.

Stacey Rae Brownlie - Library Journal

This thorough primer on the craft of creative writing is evidence of LaPlante's valuable classroom expertise (she teaches creative writing at both San Francisco State and Stanford universities). The organization is familiar: the text begins with definitions of fiction and creative nonfiction and then moves through a discussion of the writer's impetus for putting words to paper. It continues with chapters that discuss the short story, description, narration, point of view, dialog, plot, character, and revision. Each chapter (except the last) has the same three-segment structure. In Part 1, LaPlante explains and illustrates a topic; in Part 2, she gives the reader corresponding exercises; and in Part 3, she offers short stories and essays for further illustration. LaPlante is especially helpful when she addresses clichéd writing axioms, acknowledging the foundational premises of catch phrases such as "show, don't tell" while warning against their tendency to limit truly creative writing. Because she emphasizes the importance of reading good writing as a means of self-improvement, her guide, though presented in textbook format, recalls Francine Prose's recent best seller, Reading Like a Writer. Suitable primarily for academic libraries.

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Biography

Alice LaPlante teaches creative writing at San Francisco State University and Stanford University, where she is a former Wallace Stegner Fellow. Her fiction has been published in the Southwest Review, Epoch, and Stanford Magazine, and her nonfiction has been published in Discover, BusinessWeek, and the San Jose Mercury News, among other publications. She lives in Palo Alto, California.