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

The Art of Writing & Speaking the English Language, Story Writing & Journalism - [v . 5] by Sherwin Cody

 

The Art of Writing & Speaking the English Language, Story Writing & Journalism, [v . 5] by Sherwin Cody

The Art of Writing & Speaking the English Language

 

Story Writing 

& 

Journalism

 

[v . 5]

 

 by Sherwin Cody


CONTENTS.


CONSTRUCTIVE RHETORIC

INTRODUCTION 

 

Part I.

LITERARY JOURNALISM,


Writing as a Profession II

The News Sense 14

How TO Write a News Story .... 17

The Magazine or Feature Article ... 21

Book Reviewing 24

Compiling Useful Books 26

Juvenile Fiction to Order 28

Booklet Writing for Advertisers ... 29
Literary Journalism as a Training for

Literature 30



Part II.
 

SHORT STORY WRITING,


Introducton 33

CHAPTER I. The Different Kinds of

Short Stories 34


CHAPTER II. Geneeal Method of

Wkiting Stories 36

CHAPTER III. Material for Short

Stories 39

CHAPTER IV. The Central Idea . 47

CHAPTER V. The Soul of the Story 51

CHAPTER VI. Character Study. . . 55

CHAPTER VII. The Setting of a Story 59

Exercises in Short Story Writing . 70

Part III.
 

.CREATIVE COMPOSITION,


Introductory . . 71

CHAPTER I. Verse-Writing. ... 76

CHAPTER II. Essay-Writing. ... 80

CHAPTER III. Novel-Writing. ... 87

CHAPTER IV. Plot Construction. . . 90

CHAPTER V. Motive 98

CHAPTER VI. What Makes a Stoby

Worth Telling 103

CHAPTER VII. How to Observe Men and

Women Ill

CHAPTER VIII. The Test of Ability . 117

CHAPTER IX. Conclusion 124 

 

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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