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

Header

Liquid Story Binder XE by Black Obelisk Software

Disable Copy Paste

Amazon Quick Linker

Tuesday, April 12, 2022

LibriVox’s Short Story Collection Vol. 019 (Audio Book)

 

LibriVox’s Short Story Collection Vol. 019 (Audio Book)

LibriVox’s Short Story Collection Vol. 019 (Audio Book)


LibriVox’s Short Story Collection 019: a collection of 10 short works of fiction in the public domain read by a variety of Librivox members.

Genre(s): Anthologies

Language: English

Group: Short Story Collection

 

CONTENTS

  1. Bread  Overhead  by  Fritz  Reuter  Leiber,  read  by  Cori  Samuel  -
    00:35:29 
  2. The  Butterfly's  Ball  by  Robert  Michael  Ballantyne,  read  by  Carolyn Frances  -  00:33:53 
  3. Counterparts  by  James  Joyce,  read  by  iremonger  -  00:22:06 
  4. Eveline  by  James  Joyce,  read  by  iremonger  -  00:10:46 
  5. Life  by  Ben  Hecht,  read  by  Lucy  Burgoyne  -  00:09:14 
  6. Measure  for  Measure  by  Edith  Nesbit,  read  by  Clarica  -  00:14:48 
  7. My  Own  True  Ghost  Story  by  Rudyard  Kipling,  read  by  AJai  Hilton  -  00:18:43
  8. The  Nightingale  and  the  Rose  by  Oscar  Wilde,  read  by  iremonger  -  00:15:40 
  9. A  Pair  of  Silk  Stockings  by  Kate  Chopin,  read  by  Ransom  -  00:12:47
  10. Whose  Dog  by  Frances  Gregg,  read  by  Lucy  Burgoyne  -  00:05:39

Posted by at
Labels: , , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)