On Becoming a Novelist

by John Gardner

Overview

The classic for serious fiction writers: “The book is the result of John Gardner’s twenty-odd years of teaching experience, and it shows” (Anne Tyler).

In this essential guide, John Gardner advises the aspiring fiction author on such topics as the value of creative writing workshops, the developmental stages of literary growth, and the inevitable experience of writer’s block. Drawn from his two decades of experience in creative writing, Gardner balances his compassion for his students with his knowledge of the publishing industry, and truthfully relates his experiences of the hardships that lie ahead for aspiring authors.   

On Becoming a Novelist is a must-read for those dedicated to the craft and profession of fiction writing. 

This ebook features a new illustrated biography of John Gardner, including original letters, rare photos, and never-before-seen documents from the Gardner family and the University of Rochester Archives.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781453203507
Publisher:	Open Road Media
Publication date:	09/21/2010
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	150
Sales rank:	760,758
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

John Gardner (1933–1982) was born in Batavia, New York. His critically acclaimed books include the novels Grendel, The Sunlight Dialogues, and October Light, for which he received the National Book Critics Circle Award, as well as several works of nonfiction and criticism such as On Becoming a Novelist. He was also a professor of medieval literature and a pioneering creative writing teacher whose students included Raymond Carver and Charles Johnson.

John Gardner (1933–1982) was born in Batavia, New York. His critically acclaimed books include the novels Grendel, The Sunlight Dialogues, and October Light, for which he received the National Book Critics Circle Award, as well as several works of nonfiction and criticism such as On Becoming a Novelist. He was also a professor of medieval literature and a pioneering creative writing teacher whose students included Raymond Carver and Charles Johnson.

Editorial Reviews

Top Ten Things First Novelists Do Wrong

There are 100 things first novelists do wrong. In fact, to really catalogue the things first novelists do wrong could fill a book. However, for brevity's sake and in order not to frighten first novelists too unmercifully, let's look at just ten.

1. THEY FOLLOW. First novelists are timid and want to feel safe, so they write novels that are pale imitations of the next guy. Yet no one needs or wants another Stephen King or Tom Clancy. Imitation leads to failure. Henry Miller said to leap without a net. Risk writing passionately about what means the most to you.

2. THEY DON'T READ ENOUGH. If a writer is not reading every novel he can get his hands on, both classics and modern, then why should he think he will make a novelist? Without reading widely, he could believe he has a unique idea and not even realize it's already been written to death.

3. THEY DON'T KNOW THE MARKET. There are major publishers and minor ones, East Coast and West Coast, small-press publishers, genre publishers, literary publishers, mass market publishers, electronic publishers, and publishers who put out works only on CD. You can't enter the marketplace to peddle your wares when you don't know your buyer.

4. THEY ARE PRIMA DONNAS. Some first novelists should write on stone so the words can't be changed. And they invariably believe they're going to be rich. The truth is, first novels usually need work and the advances are small. There might be some changes called for, proofing will be done, and maybe even the title will be changed. If the prima donna struts onto the scene, the contract walks out the door.

5. THEY THROW IN THE KITCHEN SINK. First novelists need to keep it simple. They try to tell the equivalent of five plots in the space of one book. Mario Puzo, when he wrote The Godfather, said that he put everything in, even the kitchen sink. But that was Puzo.

6. THEY HAVE NO THEME. Many first novelists have no idea what a theme is. A book must say something. The one idea it's talking about throughout the story is the theme, the core, the center. How love triumphs. Why people suffer. How courage is formed. Too many themes, however, and the book is a collage.

7. THEY AREN'T HONEST. Know thyself. Unless the novelist knows himself and has faced up to all his failings, secrets, flaws, and weaknesses, how can he show a character who is imperfect? Books aren't about perfect people in a perfect world. That's a sitcom.

8. THEY WRITE SKIMPILY OR TOO ELABORATELY. First novelists have a tendency to write too much or too little dialogue, narrative, action scenes, or description. They often tend to give tedious character details, use too many adjectives or adverbs, or just outright find ways to bore the reader. Balance must be sustained.

9. THEY CREATE WOODEN CHARACTERS. Characters in books can't live by the use of mere gimmicks -- physical tics, the use of repetitive phrases, and TV soap opera reactions. Characters live only when the author loves them enough to let them go. Let them breathe. Characters create plot, not the other way around.

10. THEY WRITE DEAD ENDINGS. First novelists often, in sheer desperation, leave the denouement dangling or come up with some off-the-wall solution that tries to tie up loose ends while only making it worse. The ending must pertain to everything that came before, and it must satisfy completely. Endings that are wrong or do not satisfy sabotage a novel.

Other books I recommend:

Steinbeck: A Life in Letters

Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within

The Crack-up

—Billie Sue Mosiman

Billie Sue Mosiman is an Edgar nominee for her novel Night Cruise and a Stoker nominee for Widow. She is the author of 8 suspense novels and more than 150 short stories and is coeditor of 6 anthologies. Her latest work is Red Moon Rising, first in a series about modern-day vampires, due out from DAW Books in 2000. She has published articles in Writer's Digest Magazine and has taught fiction writing for Writer's Digest School. She's a featured author on CNN Interactive Online, in the "Ask the Author" book section. She enjoys computers, quilting, and gardening at her cattle ranch in southeast Texas.

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