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, September 9, 2022

So Big by Edna Ferber

So Big by Edna Ferber

SO BIG

 

BY

EDNA FERBER

 

AUTHOR OF

THE GIRLS, FANNY HERSELF,

ROAST BEEF MEDIUM, Etc.

 

 

NEW YORK

GROSSET & DUNLAP

PUBLISHERS

 

Made in the United States of America

COPYRIGHT, 1924, BY DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. COPYRIGHT, 1923, 1924, BY THE CROWELL PUBLISHING COMPANY. PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES AT THE COUNTRY LIFE PRESS, GARDEN CITY, N. Y.

 

Edna Ferber Books at Amazon

So Big is a 1924 novel written by Edna Ferber. The book was inspired by the life of Antje Paarlberg in the Dutch community of South Holland, Illinois, a Chicago suburb. It was a best-seller in the United States and won the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel in 1925. Wikipedia

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About the Author 


Edna Ferber
 Edna Ferber (1885 - 1968) wrote short stories, plays and novels which were adapting into sizzling, popular movies. Ferber's work generally featured strong female protagonists, supported by characters who had to overcome some form of discrimination, or who weren't the "pretty people." She tended to favor these characters the most, perhaps as a result of her straight-forward midwestern upbringing. Ferber spent her early years in Michigan, Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin, attended Lawrence University briefly, then became a reporter. She covered both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions for the United Press Association before turning to writing her popular novels.
 
Edna Ferber was an American novelist, short story writer and playwright. Her novels include the Pulitzer Prize-winning So Big, Show Boat, Cimarron, Giant and Ice Palace, which also received a film adaptation in 1960. Wikipedia
 
Born: August 15, 1885, Kalamazoo, MI
Died: April 16, 1968, New York, NY
Notable awards: Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (1925)
Parents: Jacob Charles Ferber and Julia Ferber

 

Edna Ferber Books at Amazon

 

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