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A Short Story Writer's Companion

Tom Bailey

Publication Date - 28 December 2000

ISBN: 9780195135558

208 pages
Paperback
5-1/2 x 8-1/4 inches

In Stock

Description

Ideal for anyone interested in writing short stories or for introductory courses in fiction writing, A Short Story Writer's Companion is a highly accessible guide to the craft of creating short fiction. Written in an engaging style, this book enables beginning writers to recognize what works in writing short stories, what doesn't, and why. Part One of A Short Story Writer's Companion discusses fictional truth and significant detail, helping students of the form to make good sense of the often taught creative writing maxim, "Show, don't tell!" Part Two delves into the elements of fiction: character, point of view, plot, setting and time, metaphor, and voice. The author uses specific examples from a variety of widely anthologized short stories to demonstrate how each component functions as a part of the whole and offers advice on the techniques of using each of the elements successfully. Part Three closely examines the fiction-writing process and helps guide writers who may never have written a short story before through drafting, revising, and polishing short stories of their own.

Table of Contents

    Preface
    Acknowledgments
    PART ONE: FICTIONAL TRUTH AND SIGNIFICANT DETAIL
    Fictional Truth
    Significant Detail
    The Abstract Versus the Concrete
    Student Example
    PART TWO: THE ELEMENTS OF THE SHORT STORY AND ADVICE ON TECHNIQUE
    "We Are Our Desires": Character
    Round Versus Flat Characters
    Characterization
    Dialogue
    Writing Exercises
    The Eye of the Story: Point of View
    First Person
    Second Person
    Third Person
    Writing Exercises
    The "Why?" Behind the Power of Plot: Shaping the Short Story
    Motivation
    Conflict, Climax, and Resolution
    Story Versus Plot
    Plotting Short Stories Versus Plotting Novels
    Meaning
    Writing Exercises
    "The Lesser Angels of Fiction": Setting and Time
    Setting
    Time
    Writing Exercises
    "The Connectedness of All Living Things": Metaphor
    The Writer's Muscle
    Figurative Language
    A Word of Advice About the "Fancy Stuff"
    Writing Exercises
    The Writer's Signature: Voice
    Voice
    Style
    Language
    Sentences
    Paragraphs
    Writing Exercises
    PART THREE: NOTS ON THE FICTION-WRITING PROCESS
    Write a Short Story!
    How to Begin
    Drafting
    Rewriting
    "The Habit of Writing" by Andre Dubus
    Polishing
    Galleys for "Snow Dreams" by Tom Bailey
    "Snow Dreams" by Tom Bailey
    A Last Companionable Word
    Works Consulted
    Index

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