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

Sixes and Sevens by O. Henry

 

Sixes and Sevens by O. Henry

Sixes and Sevens 

 

by O. Henry

 

The first collection of humorous short stories from the author of The Four Million, his stories deal for the most part with ordinary people: clerks, policemen and waitresses and often use twist endings which turn on an ironic or coincidental circumstance in his stories. Most of his stories are set in his contemporary present, the early years of the 20th century. Many take place in New York.

 Contents

 I. THE LAST OF THE TROUBADOURS
 II. THE SLEUTHS
 III. WITCHES’ LOAVES
 IV. THE PRIDE OF THE CITIES
 V. HOLDING UP A TRAIN
 VI. ULYSSES AND THE DOGMAN
 VII. THE CHAMPION OF THE WEATHER
 VIII. MAKES THE WHOLE WORLD KIN
 IX. AT ARMS WITH MORPHEUS
 X. A GHOST OF A CHANCE
 XI. JIMMY HAYES AND MURIEL
 XII. THE DOOR OF UNREST
 XIII. THE DUPLICITY OF HARGRAVES
 XIV. LET ME FEEL YOUR PULSE
 XV. OCTOBER AND JUNE
 XVI. THE CHURCH WITH AN OVERSHOT-WHEEL
 XVII. NEW YORK BY CAMP FIRE LIGHT
 XVIII. THE ADVENTURES OF SHAMROCK JOLNES
 XIX. THE LADY HIGHER UP
 XX. THE GREATER CONEY
 XXI. LAW AND ORDER
 XXII. TRANSFORMATION OF MARTIN BURNEY
 XXIII. THE CALIPH AND THE CAD
 XXIV. THE DIAMOND OF KALI
 XXV. THE DAY WE CELEBRATE

About the Author 

O. Henry
William Sydney Porter, better known by his pen name O. Henry is an American writer, famous for his short stories. His tales romanticized the commonplace—in particular, the life of ordinary people in New York City. His stories often had surprise endings, a device that became identified with his name and cost him critical favour when its vogue had passed.

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