Writing Fiction: The Practical Guide from New York's Acclaimed Creative Writing School

Shopping for and reading books on creative writing is a long and sometimes painful process. Some books get great reviews and are interesting to read, but don't have much actual writing instruction. Rather, the reader is encouraged to just sort of "go with the flow" or "follow where the story takes you". Not so with the Gotham Writer's Workshop book on writing fiction. This book has a great balance of solid, no-frills... Read Full Review

I liked this book a lot, I actually came out of it feeling smarter. About a third of it reminded me of high school English classes (metaphors, theme, etc etc). The only thing I would have liked to see is the analysis of commercial fiction. If commercial fiction is what you want to write, this probably wouldn't be the best book for you. This is for the people who want to write the great American Novel, or short story. The... Read Full Review

An excellent primer to hone your writing skills. The short story offered, Cathedral by Raymond Carver, seemed to me a weak and amateurish example to hold up, but the advice is very sound and practical. Teachers of the Gotham Writers' Workshop trade off in each chapter, expounding by turns on their areas of expertise. They address common problems for beginning writers and offer practical help for resolving those problems... Read Full Review

This is a great book. It is well organized, concise, and easy to read. My biggest problem in writing is disorganization. I have many ideas but I prioritize and organize them poorly. I plant so many trees that I forget about how the forest will look. This book helped me by providing a framework for building fiction. It discusses the major components of fiction: character, plot, theme, voice, etc. Then it tells you what the... Read Full Review

I have read other books on "How To Write" and they are pale in comparsion to "Writing Fiction". This book gets to the heart of writing. It was easy to read and understand. They have excellent writing exercises. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has desire to write. This book is not only for writing fiction but applies to all genre.