| Description |
232 pages ; 24 cm |
| Summary |
The Lesson. After each quote, Olmstead explores the mechanics and emotional dynamics of how the passage works, sentence by sentence ... right down to the significance of specific words and the rationale behind subtle turns of phrase. This analysis will teach you to read with a critical and appreciative eye toward craft. The Writing Possibilities. At the end of each lesson, Olmstead suggests a number of exercises that stimulate you to try the techniques of the masters. Through experimentation and imitation, you'll become a stronger, more versatile writer |
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The Reading. Olmstead uses a short passage from the work of a noted writer to show a specific technique in action. You'll see, for example, how Edith Wharton shifts point of view in the high style of an old-fashioned storyteller in Ethan Frome. How, in "The Yard Boy," Joy Williams effectively breaks the show-don't-tell cliche to make significant her character's descent into madness. How Robert Penn Warren, at the end of All the King's Men, moves us slowly to rest with a careful selection of easy, gentle verbs. And how David Foster Wallace stokes our interest (and amusement) by opening his essay "Shipping Out" with an acerbic list of accomplishments - including "I have seen an all-red leisure suit with flared lapels." |
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Never before have the elements of the writing craft - and the challenge of extracting knowledge from the work of great writers - been presented in such an intelligent and accessible format. Elements of the Writing Craft offers more than 150 inventive lessons that focus on such practical tasks as describing a room, switching from narrative to dialogue, speaking in a character's particular voice, and giving a story significant closure. Each lesson contains three parts: |
| Notes |
Includes indexes |
| Subject |
Authorship -- Handbooks, manuals, etc.
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| Genre/Form |
Handbooks and manuals.
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| LC no. |
96050165 |
| ISBN |
1884910297 (alk. paper) |
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; (alk. paper) |
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