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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Sunday, March 6, 2022

Mixed Relations by W. W. Jacob

   Mixed Relations  

by W. W. Jacob  William 

Wymark Jacobs (1863–1943) is probably best-known today for his chilling little tale, "The Monkey's Paw," which seems to turn up in just about every anthology of the supernatural ever published. So the stories below may come as a bit of a surprise to fans of the macabre - for most of Jacobs' stories were lighthearted and humorous! Jacobs' father was a wharf master, and many of Jacobs' tales center on the sea and the adventures (or misadventures) of sailors and mariners. Other tales take place in the village of Claybury, centering on the mishaps of the various characters frequenting the Cauliflour pub. For over a decade Jacobs was one of the most popular and prolific contributors to The Strand - here we have no fewer than 74 stories and short novels published between 1898 and 1910!  

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