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, April 10, 2022

A Tale Of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

A Tale Of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

 

A Tale Of Two Cities 

 

by Charles Dickens 

A Tale Of Two Cities is an historical novel by English author Charles Dickens, first published in 1859. Set in London and Paris during the period of the French Revolution and spanning a period of around 36 years, it is the story of Alexandre Manette, a French physician, who has recently been released after spending eighteen years imprisoned in the Bastille. Over in London, Jarvis Lorry, a manager at Tellson's Bank recieves a message regarding Manette and his daughter Lucie, who lives in London and who is shocked to find out her father is still alive. Doctor Manette is brought over to England to be reunited with his daughter. A few years later, a man called Charles Darnay is being tried for treason in London. Darnay's uncle, the Frenchman Marquis St. Evrémonde, is a cruel man who thinks nothing of killing peasants. After being acquitted, Darnay marries Lucie, but later, after returning to Paris, he finds himself thrown in prison after being accused of crimes by the revolutionary Madame Defarge, an accusation that has been unwittingly helped by Manette.

A champion of the poor during his life, Dickens' book is eager to point out the injustices and cruelty metered out to the common people, both in England and in France. With themes of death and resurrection, A Tale Of Two Cities is one of Dickens' best known works and is one of the best-selling novels of all time.  

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About the Author 

Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens FRSA (/ˈdɪkɪnz/; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime and, by the 20th century, critics and scholars had recognised him as a literary genius. His novels and short stories are widely read today. Wikipedia

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