Description
Book SynopsisReliably insightful. Publishers WeeklyThe first step to becoming a successful writer is to become a successful reader. Helping you develop your critical skills
How to Read Like a Writer is an accessible and effective step-by-step guide to how careful reading can help you improve your craft as a creative writer, whatever genre you are writing in.Across 10 lessons each pairing published readings with practical critical and creative exercises this book helps writers master such key elements of their craft as: Genre from fiction, creative nonfiction and poetry to hybrid genres such as graphic narratives and online forms Plot, conflict, theme and image Developing characters physical descriptions, psychological depths and actions Narrators and points of view 1st, 2nd and 3rd person narratives Scenes and settings time, space and place Structure and form length, organization and media Language, subtext and sty
Trade ReviewReliably insightful. Those looking to get the most out of their reading experience and get the pen moving should give this a look. * Publishers Weekly *
This is a very interesting, and useful, book. It covers a range of types of writing. ... a worthwhile investment. It's both analytical and readable: two words you don't often find in the same sentence! * Writers Know-How blog *
Table of ContentsIntroduction: Writers Read
Lesson 1: Genre i. Fiction ii. Creative Nonfiction iii. Poetry
Lesson 2: Hybrids and Multigenre Work i. Graphic Narrative ii. Photo Essay iii. Prose Poems and Other Hybrids iv. Emerging Hybrids and Other Multigenre Work
Lesson 3: Form i. One Size Does Not Fit All ii. Long, Short and Shorter iii. In Print, Online and Social Medias
Lesson 4: Plot, Conflict and Theme/Image i. What Drives a Story, Poem or Essay? ii. Central Theme/Image iii. Plot and Narrative Arc iv. Conflict
Lesson 5: Structure i. Overall Structure ii. Nontraditional Structures iii. Whitespace and Other Structural Markers
Lesson 6: Character Development i. Discovering Depth and Nuance ii. When the Narrator is Also a Character
Lesson 7: Point of View i. Narrator, Speaker ii. First, Second, and Third iii. Omniscience and Limits iv. Distance and Closeness v. When the Narrator is also the Writer (Nonfiction)
Lesson 8: Setting i. Place, Space, and Time ii. Introducing Setting iii. Physical Details
Lesson 9: Reading to Discover Scene i. When Writers Use Scene ii. Short, Long, and In-Between iii. Recognizing Well-Rendered Scenes
Lesson 10: Language i. Developing a Literary Ear ii. Resonance iii. Sensory Language iv. Style v. Voice and Tone
The End i. Making Connections ii. Each Aspect of Writing Influences the Others iii. Continuing Down Your Path as a Reading Writer Index
