Immediate Fiction: A Complete Writing Course

I have been writing all of my life and have read many books about writing. Immediate Fiction by Jerry Cleaver is the only book about writing that I would put next to Dorthea Brande's classic Becoming a Writer. When Brande's book was published in 1934, the information she gave to writers was not only ahead of its time, but timeless through the many decades since its first published date. The same can be said and will be said about Jerry's book. In a time when "story" is driven by what is in the media and pop culture, Jerry tells us about what really makes a story - want, obstacle, action - thus, developing the characters and the conflict as the story progresses. I have several different stories and characters I have been working on for years and I thought I knew well. When I applied the - want, obstacle, action - my characters and their conflict developed better because I finally found out what they wanted. Jerry gives writers ideas about finding time to write, getting organized to write and completing projects that have lost their way. I cannot recommend Jerry's book enough.

Jerry Cleaver had already influenced me long before I read this book so I may be biased. But I have now read the book and it is just like talking directly with Jerry. His goal is not to be a scholarly expert on writing, it is to be the mentor to a huge number of writers. He is exactly that. He covers literally everything required to move an individual from thinking about writing fiction to being published--starting with how to get something down on paper. He is refreshingly direct and gets to the point immediately. I have read some writing books that describe an aspect of technique (use of conflict, self editing, character development, structure) from every possible point of view, taking multiple chapters to spell it out. Jerry will make the same point in one clear section and move on. His view is that technique need not be difficult or take up too much of the writer's energy.But the thing that makes this book unique is not about technique. It really comes down to Jerry Cleaver's approach to writing. It is the opposite of the kind of obsessing that prevents hopeful writers from becoming published authors. You know, feeling obliged to have everything thought out perfectly before you write a sentence. It is why he titles it "Immediate Fiction". Jerry's approach is to get anything down on paper and then refine it into a story that engages readers and keeps them glued to the book. Once you have an idea--and he even talks about how to generate that initial idea--you refine it by inserting the elements of strong writing. That is the secret of his success as a writing coach. When Jerry reviews something you've written, instead of vague criticisms ("It just doesn't grab me"), he gives explicit directions as to how to strengthen the story ("You need an obstacle that is blocking the character from achieving this goal, Tell us what the character is feeling, Move the conflict to the beginning and that will determine your ending") and he always finds something worth developing. He never dismisses story ideas and he encourages the reader to think about how to develop your story ideas. So no matter where you start, you have something to work with. It doesn't matter at all that someone already used the same idea in a different story.In this book, he gives his entire course on those elements of strong writing that inform his feedback. He also teaches you how to approach writing as an activity. He believes writing is an acquired skill and anyone can learn to become a good writer. In his words, a professional writer is an amatuer who didn't quit. He helps you remove your own internal critic so that you can get started. Again, in his words, the beginning writer reads his first draft and says, "This is awful. I'm screwed." The experienced writer reads his first draft and says, "This is awful. I'm on my way!"Jerry's skill as a writing coach is legendary in Chicago. Reading this book, you get what Jerry Cleaver has been giving in his workshop. This is a no-nonsense boo

My high school english teacher, Mr. Severe, once told me if I really want to become a great writer I must read James Joyce's ULYSSES from beginning to end at least twice. I will never know if he was right because I couldn't get through that possibly great, but definitely puzzling book even once. But I did get through Jerry Cleaver's extremely straightforward IMMEDIATE FICTION, and I recommend it highly to anyone who truly wishes to succeed as a writer. The instruction I found in these pages was immediately helpful; I was able to solve a couple of problems I have had with my writing for years. Show me anyone else out there who has defined conflict so eloquently and concisely. When he writes about his discoveries in the strange world of writing creatively, I am consistently surprised by the thoroughness of his insights. I only wish he had published this book when I was seventeen. (I am almost twice that age now.) Please do yourself a favor and give this book a try. ...I heard he has a writing workshop in Chicago and I am quite seriously considering packing my bags and jumping on the next train heading to the Midwest.

If you want to become a better writer or a more critical reader, buy this book. Most offerings in this genre resemble a well picked over smorgasbord in which one finds a few good tips among acres of wilted lettuce. What remains of the main course, conflict creation, resolution and character development is incoherently scattered among the weeds. Cleaver gets it right by giving us a complete road map to writing, self-editing and publishing fiction. He shows how to convert your onmiscient narrator essays into scenes and dialogue that drive the plot, develop character(and keep the reader's attention), how to replace those "telling" images of emotion(e.g.,"icy stab in the stomach") with "showing" the emotion through thought and dialogue. Not only is this book a "sine qua non" for writer's, it is a fun read.

I graduated a couple of years ago from a university that specializes in cranking out creative writers. (I apologize if I have not successfully masked my deep bitterness; usually I do a decent job of appearing well-adjusted.) I learned more from reading this book than I learned from four long years of higher learning. Mr. Cleaver is not vague. Somehow he managed to come up with a detailed, specific answer for each one of the countless questions I had when I began reading his book. (What constitutes conflict? What is the best way to end a chapter? What are the most common pitfalls, and how can I avoid them? And on and on!) If you are serious about amounting to anything as a writer, you need to read IMMEDIATE FICTION. The author's instruction and advice leave no stone unturned. There is no comparable book out there on this subject, with the possible exception of Dorothea Brande's classic BECOMING A WRITER. Yes, come to think of it, you should probably pick up that one, too. Five stars for both of them!