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List of contents
Introduction: 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
About the author
Erin M. Pushman is Associate Professor of English and Director of the Writing Center at Limestone College, USA.
Summary
“Reliably insightful.” – Publishers Weekly
The 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 style
Foreword
Across 10 practical lessons – each combining a published reading with creative and critical exercises – this is an accessible step-by-step guide to how to read like a writer for inspiration and to improve your craft.
Additional text
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!
