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

The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

 

The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

The Sorrows of Young Werther 

 

by Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

 

The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was originally published in 1774. An epistolary novel, and one that influenced the Romantic movement, it turned Goethe into a literary star overnight. In the book, Werther, a sensitive young artist becomes involved in a love triangle when he meets Charlotte - he falls in love with her but unfortunately for him, Charlotte is engaged. The story details Werther's intense responses to his unrequited love. Goethe later sought to distance himself from the book and the whole Romantic movement. However, even though he wrote it when he was only 24, in his old age, it was the only work that some people still knew him by.

The book was so popular in it's day that it inspired merchandise (including perfume, and prints), caused young men to start wearing the clothes Werther wears in the book, and Napolean Bonaparte considered it one of the great works of literature.

There was another, more peculiar consequence of The Sorrows of Young Werther - that of copycat suicides taking place, with the young men taking their life being found dressed in the same clothing, and often with a copy of the book at the scene. This was noted with concern by authorities and in 1775, the novel and the clothing were banned in Leipzig, Germany, and the novel was banned in Denmark and Italy.

About the Author

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic.[3] His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism as well as treatises on botany, anatomy, and colour. He is widely regarded as the greatest and most influential writer in the German language, his work having a profound and wide-ranging influence on Western literary, political and philosophical thought from the late 18th century to the present day. Wikipedia

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