John Gardner and The Art of Fiction

His overall tone and strategy of writing was relatable and the least bit overwhelming, which quickly grabbed my attention and made me interested in things I would not normally be interested in. The ending of the novel was inspiring. The author suggests the reader to look into great novels, and even supplies a list of novels a personally suggests. He ended with a very ... ... middle of paper ... ...orcist” and look how many spin offs came from it. The spin off movies grew from the same idea, but had a little twist, just to give it a hint of originality, like “The Exorcism of Emily Rose.” While everyone’s minds are vastly different, we still get some of the same ideas.

Reflective Essay on Fiction Writing I’ll be honest. I was worried about writing fiction up until I realized that fiction is just nonfiction exaggerated, nonfiction with a wider allowance for artistic merit, and nonfiction with the gaps filled in. And fiction doesn’t have to be as imaginative, in a fantasy sense, as I had thought. It’s still very real, or at least mine is. For the nonfiction essay, I wrote a string of memories, anything I could think of and that I could potentially expand upon in a longer piece, and I did this early on.

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, with its unique style that attracts the attention of the reader from the very beginning is a good example of self reflexive fiction. Self reflexive fiction, improving and changing from the time of Tristram Shandy has found a new life at the hands of Dave Eggers. He offers the reader to take an active role in his reading. "The Rules and Suggestions for Enjoyment of This Book" section addresses directly to the reader saying "if you have already read the preface and wish you had not, we apologize"or he begins the second part saying "Please look. Can you see us?

My major weaknesses in essay writing which were writing a sound thesis statement, expository writing and critical thinking now became my strengths in every essay I write. I feel that I am much better now, in persuading someone through my writings. I am now organized when I write essay, and each new experience I involve myself in has made me to learn something new. I am looking forward to become bes t writer after my EN 102 class next semester. I will keep working in the writing center, and continue reading books to take my writing to the next level as a foreigner student.

Many writers traditionally use their imagination to fabricate an interesting yet fictional story. Only their creativity and vision limit their writing. They can afford to neglect minor details because they do not base their stories on factual information. There existed a period when this was the only practiced style when writing a novel. However, Truman Capote pioneered the 'nonfiction novel', as he called it, when he undertook the writing of In Cold Blood.

I was skeptical about imitating an author’s style and about the significa... ... middle of paper ... ...se it was an essay that I did not think I could do, but I feel I succeeded in writing it in Toomer’s style as well as developing some of my own. I learned that I should still try to accomplish overwhelming goals, even if I doubt my abilities. Studying English Literature has been a joy and a release for me. I have learned a great deal not only about other races, cultures, ages, and people in general; but also I have learned so much about myself. Literature allowed my mind and heart time to practice working together to form decisions and opinions.

Outline of My Lover by Douglas Martin What Douglas Martin had to say when he came to our class is probably the most valuable advice I've heard so far this semester. Martin's reasoning is right in tune with my own thinking about writing, and probably why I'm a Creative Writing major versus an English or Lit. major. I was most impressed with the creative freedom Martin displays in his novel. He spoke a lot about fighting with his editor and the problems a writer can have to face.

The great thing about Carve is it attempts to be “honest fiction” in the sense that it publishes authors young and old, unpublished and established, by a submission and review process that is run primarily by other writers. They look for fiction that is both concise and generous, and strive the style of their namesake, Raymond Carver, who I knew nothing about at the time. I was just happy I found a story that I genuinely enjoyed reading. Ironically, I read several of his stories later and found out that he wasn’t my cup of tea. Luckily, Carve and, more importantly, The Eternal Youth of Everyone Else were.

This book is written in a genre of literature called “metafiction.” “Metafiction” is a term given to fictional story in which the author makes the reader question what is fiction and what is reality. This is very important in the setup of the Tim’s writing because it forces the reader to draw his or her own conclusion about the story. However, this is not one story at all; instead, O’Brien writes the book as if each chapter were its own short story. Although all the chapters have relation to one another, when reading the book, the reader is compelled to keep reading. It is almost as if the reader is listening to a “soldier storyteller” over a long period of time.

Before they even pick up a pen, novelists are given a task of giving their book a point. Book readers are often searching for something specific when they pick up a novel: supernatural elements, a romance, or anything else. Having something “different” in a world of the same story being told over and over again helps, but what makes a novel successful is how relatable a novel is to the readers. A theme is unable to be told unless the reader is able to associate themselves with the characters and situations that the author is almost required to set the story up with. One such author is Stephen King, whose real experiences and overwhelming amount of brand-tagging gives him credibility in his writing, making him one of the most popular modern writers of the past few decades.