Read Like A Writer

There are two ways to learn how to write fiction: by reading it and by writing it. Yes, you can learn lots about writing stories in workshops, in writing classes and writing groups, at writers' conferences. You can learn technique and process by reading the dozens of books like this one on fiction writing and by reading articles in writers' magazines. But the best teachers of fiction are the great works of fiction themselves. You can learn more about the structure of a short story by reading Anton Chekhov's 'Heartache' than you can in a semester of Creative Writing 101. If you read like a writer, that is, which means you have to read everything twice, at least. When you read a story or novel the first time, just let it happen. Enjoy the journey. When you've finished, you know where the story took you, and now you can go back and reread, and this time notice how the writer reached that destination. Notice the choices he made at each chapter, each sentence, each word. (Every word is a choice.) You see now how the transitions work, how a character gets across a room. All this time you're learning. You loved the central character in the story, and now you can see how the writer presented the character and rendered her worthy of your love and attention. The first reading is creative—you collaborate with the writer in making the story. The second reading is critical.


John Dufresne, from his book, The Lie That Tells A Truth: A Guide to Writing Fiction

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Tuesday, March 29, 2022

A Selection from the World's Greatest Short Stories, Illustrative of the History of Short Story Writing Sherwin Cody, 1868-1959

 

A Selection from the World's Greatest Short Stories, Illustrative of the History of Short Story Writing Sherwin Cody, 1868-1959

A Selection from the World's Greatest Short Stories, Illustrative of the History of Short Story Writing 

 

by Sherwin Cody

1868-1959


THE stories contained in this volume have been selected with the specific view of illustrating the history of the art of short story writing, and of affording suitable examples for the study of the constructive side of the art. No person can read any short story critically and intelligently without an elementary knowledge of both these subjects. It has been said that an appreciative reader recreates an artistic story or poem, following in the footsteps of the artist. 

Obviously this cannot be done without an elementary knowledge of the art on its constructive side. Many schools and colleges, as well as numerous contributors to the magazines, now undertake to give some outline of this subject, and it is believed that a book like the present volume will prove useful alike to the student at home and the student in organized classes; and the editor trusts that the general reader will not find the volume wholly lacking in entertainment.

 

CONTENTS

Selection from the World's Greatest Short Stories, Illustrative of the History of Short Story Writing Sherwin Cody, 1868-1959


About the Author 

 

Sherwin Cody
Alpheus Sherwin Cody (November 30, 1868 – April 4, 1959) was an American writer and entrepreneur who developed a long-running home-study course in speaking and writing and a signature series of advertisements asking “Do You Make These Mistakes in English?” A critic of traditional English education, Cody advocated colloquial style and grammar. His course, presented in a patented workbook format which he described as self-correcting, was purchased by over 150,000 students from its inception in 1918. He published essays, books and articles virtually nonstop from 1893 through 1950. In a book published in 1895, he gave the advice, "Write what you know—so go out and know something." Wikipedia

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