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, April 12, 2022

LibriVox’s Short Story Collection Vol. 014 (Audio Book)

 

LibriVox’s Short Story Collection Vol. 014 (Audio Book)

LibriVox’s Short Story Collection Vol. 014 (Audio Book)

 

LibriVox’s Short Story Collection 014: a collection of 10 short works of fiction in the public domain read by a variety of LibriVox members.

Genre(s): Short Stories

Language: English

Group: Short Story Collection

 

CONTENTS

  1. The Four-Fifteen Express by Amelia B. Edwards, read by Paul Allerton - 00:59:13
  2. The History of England by Jane Austen, read by Kiki Baessel - 00:21:14 
  3. Kew Gardens by Virginia Woolf, read by Elizabeth Klett - 00:17:26 
  4. The Mark on the Wall by Virginia Woolf, read by Elizabeth Klett - 00:22:10 
  5. A Few Maxims for the Instruction of the Over-Educated by Oscar Wilde, read by Tim Bulkeley - 00:03:41 
  6. Ningyo-no-Haka by Lafcadio Hearn, read by David Barnes - 00:08:54 
  7. Peach Blossom Shangri La by Tao Yuanming, read by Paul Sze - 00:05:02 
  8. The Story of the Faithful Cat by Algernon Betram Freeman-Mitford, read by Clarica - 00:03:23 
  9. Trusty John from Andrew Lang’s Blue Fairy Book, read by Clarica - 00:15:57 
  10. The Wrong Black Bag by Angelo Lewis, read by Lucy Burgoyne - 00:30:17

 

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