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, June 21, 2022

Studying the Short-Story by J. Berg Esenwein (eBook)

Studying the Short-Story by J. Berg Esenwein

 

Studying the Short-Story

SIXTEEN SHORT-STORY CLASSICS
WITH INTRODUCTIONS, NOTES AND
A NEW LABORATORY STUDY METHOD
FOR INDIVIDUAL READING AND
USE IN COLLEGES AND SCHOOLS

BY

J. BERG ESENWEIN, A.M., Lit.D.

EDITOR OF THE WRITER’S MONTHLY

REVISED EDITION

THE WRITER’S LIBRARY
EDITED BY J. BERG ESENWEIN

HINDS, HAYDEN & ELDREDGE, Inc.
NEW YORK PHILADELPHIA CHICAGO

Copyright 1912
By J. Berg Esenwein

Copyright 1918
By J. Berg Esenwein




TABLE OF CONTENTS

        
      TO TEACHERS AND STUDENTS     vii
      PUBLISHERS’ NOTE     xi
      AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF THE SHORT-STORY     xiii
I.     STORIES OF ACTION AND ADVENTURE     1
    Mérimée and His Writings     4
    “Mateo Falcone,” Prosper Mérimée     8
    Stevenson and His Writings     29
    “A Lodging for the Night,” Robert Louis Stevenson     34
    Suggestive Questions for Study     67
    Ten Representative Stories of Action and Adventure     68
II.     STORIES OF MYSTERY AND FANTASY     69
    Poe and His Writings     72
    “The Purloined Letter,” Edgar Allan Poe     76
    Jacobs and His Writings     108
    “The Monkey’s Paw,” W. W. Jacobs     111
    Suggestive Questions for Study     129
    Ten Representative Stories of Mystery and Fantasy     130
III.     STORIES OF EMOTION     131
    Daudet and His Writings     135
    “The Last Class,” Alphonse Daudet     139
    Kipling and His Writings     147
    “Without Benefit of Clergy,” Rudyard Kipling     151
    Suggestive Questions for Study     189
    Ten Representative Stories of Emotion or Sentiment     190
IV.     HUMOROUS STORIES     191
    Henry and His Writings     194
    “The Ransom of Red Chief,” O. Henry     198
    Barrie and His Writings     215
    “The Courting of T’Nowhead’s Bell,” James M. Barrie     219
    Suggestive Questions for Study     249
    Ten Representative Humorous Stories     250
V.     STORIES OF SETTING     251
    Harte and His Writings     255
    “The Outcasts of Poker Flat,” Bret Harte     259
    Maupassant and His Writings     277
    “Moonlight,” Guy de Maupassant     281
    Suggestive Questions for Study     290
    Ten Representative Stories of Setting     290
VI.     IMPRESSIONISTIC STORIES     291
    Hawthorne and His Writings     297
    “The White Old Maid,” Nathaniel Hawthorne     302
    “The Fall of the House of Usher,” Edgar Allan Poe     320
    Suggestive Questions for Study     351
    Ten Representative Impressionistic Stories     352
VII.     CHARACTER STUDIES     353
    “The Piece of String,” Guy de Maupassant     356
    Coppée and His Writings     368
    “The Substitute,” François Coppée     371
    Suggestive Questions for Study     388
    Ten Representative Character Studies     389
VIII.     PSYCHOLOGICAL STUDIES     390
    “Markheim,” Robert Louis Stevenson     394
    Morrison and His Writings     422
    “On the Stairs,” Arthur Morrison     425
    Suggestive Questions for Study     431
    Ten Representative Psychological Studies     432
      BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE     433
      INDEX     437

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