A Short Story Writer's Companion / Edition 1

by Tom Bailey

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195135558
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	12/28/2000
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	8.26(w) x 5.55(h) x 0.42(d)

About the Author

Susquehanna University

Table of Contents

PrefaceAcknowledgmentsPART ONE: FICTIONAL TRUTH AND SIGNIFICANT DETAILFictional TruthSignificant Detail, The Abstract Versus the Concrete, Student ExamplePART TWO: THE ELEMENTS OF THE SHORT STORY AND ADVICE ON TECHNIQUE"We Are Our Desires": Character, Round Versus Flat Characters, Characterization, Dialogue, Writing ExercisesThe Eye of the Story: Point of View, First Person, Second Person, Third Person, Writing ExercisesThe "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 ExercisesThe Writer's Signature: Voice, Voice, Style, Language, Sentences, Paragraphs, Writing ExercisesPART THREE: NOTS ON THE FICTION-WRITING PROCESSWrite a Short Story!, How to Begin, Drafting, Rewriting"The Habit of Writing" by Andre Dubus, PolishingGalleys for "Snow Dreams" by Tom Bailey"Snow Dreams" by Tom BaileyA Last Companionable WordWorks ConsultedIndex