Behind the Short Story: From First to Final Draft
by Ryan G. Van Cleave, Todd James Pierce
List Price:
Our Price: $38.52
You Save: $15.48 (29%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $13.35 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Ryan G. Van Cleave, Todd James PierceEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2006-03-13
ISBN: 0321117247
Number of pages: 464
Publisher: Longman
Book Reviews of Behind the Short Story: From First to Final Draft
Book Review: Unique Approach to Teaching Yourself Short-Story Writing
Summary: 4 Stars
Introducing BEHIND the SHORT STORY, the editors note: "Unlike traditional creative writing texts, this book offers students the opportunity to be mentored by twenty-seven successful short story writers and fiction instructors, each of whom discusses skills that lead to a deeper understanding of fiction's craft. . . . It allows students to work at their own pace through in-depth, teacher-assisted instruction or independent, self-initiated study and shift their focus from product to process."
Twenty-seven mentors? Initially skeptical, I studied the book on my own. I found the editorial introductions to the eleven chapters clear and the behind-the-story essays by each of the twenty-seven authors illuminating. Among the authors featured are Lorrie Moore, Amy Bloom, Adam Johnson, Judith Mitchell, Tom Hazuka, T. Coraghessan Boyle, George Saunders, and Mary Gaitskell. A great selection.
All of the stories selected are by contemporary authors, published in highly regarded literary magazines such as The New Yorker, Ploughshares, and The Gettysburg Review. Wonderful stories.
But are these stories the most suited "to provide a solid foundation ... to the beginning writer"? Doubtful. The editors' stated objective would be better achieved by stories that are more readily accessible. Just such stories are in the anthology ON WRITING SHORT STORIES,edited by Tom Bailey. Bailey's anthology along with his A SHORT-STORY WRITER'S COMPANION would make a better choice for the beginning writer.
For the intermediate/advanced student of the craft, BEHIND THE SHORT STORY would make an excellent choice.
-- C J Singh
More Details?
The first part of the book comprises three brief chapters: On Prewriting.
The second part comprises five detailed chapters: Story Structure and the Fundamentals of Plot; Developing Characters; Choosing a Point of View; Constructing a Scene; The Short-Short Story.
The third part comprises three chapters: Revision Techniques; The Story and Its Audience; Theme, Meaning, and Vision.
Summary of Behind the Short Story: From First to Final Draft
Behind the Short Story provides the ?inside scoop? on how a successful story emerges from first to final draft by compiling critical analysis techniques, writing exercises, representative stories, and useful insights into the writing process from award-winning, student-oriented teachers who are also successful short story writers. Covering the process of writing and elements of fiction at the same time, unique craft commentaries explore the decisions writers make on issues of structure, character, setting, etc. and offer practical suggestions for pre-writing, drafting, and revising.
Criticism & Theory Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Criticism & Theory Books
Myths from Mesopotamia: Creation, the Flood, Gilgamesh, and Others (Oxford World's Classics)Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 1998-09-17; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.00
Price in other shops:
The Kalevala (Oxford World's Classics)by Elias Lonnrot, Albert B. Lord
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 1999; Paperback; Book
Best price: $28.81
The TainOxford University Press, USA; Published: 2002-11-21; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.50
Price in other shops:
Selected Prose of T.S. Eliotby T. S. Eliot
Mariner Books; Published: 1975-11-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.82
Price in other shops:
David Copperfield (Penguin Classics)by Charles Dickens
Penguin Classics; Published: 1997-09-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.00
Price in other shops:
Asking the Right Questions: A Guide to Critical Thinking (6th Edition)by M. Neil Browne, Stuart M. Keeley
Prentice Hall College Div; Published: 2000-07-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $14.44
Price in other shops:
Arthur Rimbaud: Complete Works (P.S.)by Arthur Rimbaud
Harper Perennial Modern Classics; Published: 2008-07-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.00
Price in other shops:
Companion to Narniaby Paul F. Ford
HarperSanFrancisco; Published: 1983-01-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.72
Letters from the Earth: Uncensored Writings (Perennial Classics)by Mark Twain
Harper Perennial Modern Classics; Published: 2004-02-17; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.60
Price in other shops:
The Best American Poetry: 1992by David Lehman
Collier Books; Published: 1992-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.50
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
Mansfield Park (Barnes & Noble Classics Series)by Jane Austen
Barnes & Noble Classics; Published: 2005-08-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.47
Price in other shops:
The Anchor Book of New American Short StoriesAnchor; Published: 2004-08-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.91
Price in other shops:
The Poet's Companion: A Guide to the Pleasures of Writing Poetryby Kim Addonizio, Dorianne Laux
W. W. Norton & Company; Published: 1997-09-17; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.00
Price in other shops:
Emma (Penguin Classics)by Jane Austen
Penguin Classics; Published: 2003-05-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.37
Price in other shops:
What If? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers (3rd Edition)by Anne Bernays, Pamela Painter
Longman; Published: 2009-08-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $44.68
Price in other shops:
Drownby Junot Diaz
Riverhead Trade; Published: 1997-07-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.42
Price in other shops:
The Scribner Anthology of Contemporary Short Fiction: 50 North American Stories Since 1970 (Touchstone Books)by Michael Martone
Touchstone; Published: 2007-12-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.70
Price in other shops:
The Art of the Story: An International Anthology of Contemporary Short StoriesPenguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2000-11-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.89
Price in other shops:
The Right to Write: An Invitation and Initiation into the Writing Lifeby Julia Cameron
Tarcher; Published: 1998-12-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.00
Price in other shops:
A Dash of Style: The Art and Mastery of Punctuationby Noah Lukeman
W. W. Norton & Company; Published: 2007-04-17; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.45
Price in other shops: