Writing Fiction: The Practical Guide from New York's Acclaimed Creative Writing School by Gotham Writers' Workshop, Alexander Steele (Editor)

From the Publisher

Writing Fiction is the first in a series of writing guides by New York's acclaimed Gotham Writers' Workshop to be published by Bloomsbury.  The book was written by Alexander Steele, Dean of Faculty and the following Gotham Writers' Workshop faculty members: Brandi Reissenweber, David Harris Ebenbach, Valerie Vogrin, Chris Lombardi, Allison Amend, Caren Gussoff, Hardy Griffin, Terry Bain, Peter Selgin, and Corene Lemaitre.

About the Author:
Gotham Writers’ Workshop is America’s leading private creative writing school, offering classes in New York City and on the web at WritingClasses.com. The school’s interactive online classes, selected “Best of the Web” by Forbes, have attracted thousands of aspiring writers from across the United States and more than sixty countries

Senior Editor, Zoetrope: All- Story - Michael Ray

It's an incredible book, not just for the aspiring writer but for the ardent reader as well.

Writing Program Director, University of Pittsburgh - Chuck Kinder

I've clearly found a new book to use in my own writing classes. This is a fine guide.

Publishers Weekly

The faculty of the Gotham Writers' Workshop-which now has 6,000 students not only in New York City but around the world (with online classes)-use an original approach in this how-to: Raymond Carver's classic story "Cathedral" (reprinted in the book) serves as a basis for their discussion of technique. The contributors are not household names, but all are published authors of fiction. Chapters touch on all the essentials: character development, pacing, dialogue and revision ("Real Writers Revise" the chapter title exhorts). All expand on the idea that "[g]ood writing comes down to craft far more than most people realize," while also reminding aspiring authors that "rules are made to be broken." The writing is fresh and full of concrete advice (e.g., "Desire is in the heart of every dimensional character"), and exercises allow students to explore what they have learned. This is an excellent starting place for someone exploring the art and craft of writing fiction. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

What People Are Saying

The Writer Magazine
The strength of this book is its accessibility: It explains all the basics of writing fiction in a simple, easy-to-understand manner that doesn't intimidate.
—April 2004

Jhumpa Lahiri
Here is an honest, engaging guide with lessons every writer, at any stage, will benefit from. I read it just after I'd finished writing my second book. Now I'm inspired to begin a third.
—Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Interpreter of Maladies

Jonathan Ames
A valuable book for aspiring writers and aspiring teachers...I highly recommend this text.
—author of The Extra Man

Katherine Hall Page
Writing Fiction is a boon for established and aspiring writers alike...
—author of the Faith Fairchild mystery series

Jhumpa Lahiri
"Here is an honest, engaging guide with lessons every writer, at any stage, will benefit from. I read it just after I'd finished writing my second book. Now I'm inspired to begin a third." (Jhumpa Lahiri, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Interpreter of Maladies)

Product Details

• Table of Contents

Table of Contents