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, November 25, 2022

The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition, Vol. 01 by Stevenson

The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition, Vol. 04, by Robert Louis Stevenson

THE WORKS OF

ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON

SWANSTON EDITION

VOLUME I
(eText)

 

CONTENTS

In the Valley of the Tarn  224
Florac. 234
In the Valley of the Mimente  237
The Heart of the Country. 241
The Last Day. 248
Farewell, Modestine!  253

A MOUNTAIN TOWN IN FRANCE  257


EDINBURGH: PICTURESQUE NOTES

CHAPTER

   I. Introductory. 271
  II. Old Town: The Lands  278
 III. The Parliament Close. 285
  IV. Legends. 291
   V. Greyfriars. 298
  VI. New Town: Town and Country. 305
 VII. The Villa Quarters  311
VIII. The Calton Hill  314
  IX. Winter and New Year  320
   X. To the Pentland Hills. 327


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