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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Friday, May 6, 2022

The Clue by Carolyn Wells

 

THE CLUE, By CAROLYN WELLS, Author of “A Chain of Evidence,” The Maxwell Mystery,” “The Gold Bag,” Etc.

 

THE CLUE

 

By CAROLYN WELLS

 

 

Author of

“A Chain of Evidence,” “The Maxwell Mystery,”

“The Gold Bag,” Etc.

 


The Clue falls squarely in the tradition of two favorite mystery sub-genres - the Big House Mystery and the Locked Room Mystery. Detective Fleming Stone is cool and methodical, not unlike his more famous fictional forebears, Hercule Poirot and Sherlock Holmes.

About the Author 

Carolyn Wells,  a prolific American writer remembered largely for her popular mysteries, children’s books, and humorous verse.

Born: June 18, 1869, Rahway, NJ
Died: March 26, 1942, New York Medical College, NY
Partner: Hadwin Houghton (1918–)
Movies: The White Alley, The Woman Next Door, The Mark of Cain, and more

Buy Carolyn Wells Books at Amazon

 
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