Letters, African American Biography & Memoir, US & Canadian Literary Biography, Gay & Lesbian Studies, General & Miscellaneous Literary Criticism, Bibliographies, Interviews, Literary Reference, Writing, African American Biography

About Writing: Seven Essays, Four Letters, & Five Interviews

Name: About Writing: Seven Essays, Four Letters, & Five Interviews
Author: Samuel R. Delany
ISBN: 9780819574244

by Samuel R. Delany

Available on Bookshop Write a review

Books.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.

Overview

Award-winning novelist Samuel R. Delany has written a book for creative writers to place alongside E. M. Forster's Aspects of the Novel and Lajos Egri's Art of Dramatic Writing. Taking up specifics (When do flashbacks work, and when should you avoid them? How do you make characters both vivid and sympathetic?) and generalities (How are novels structured? How do writers establish serious literary reputations today?), Delany also examines the condition of the contemporary creative writer and how it differs from that of the writer in the years of Hemingway, Fitzgerald, and the high Modernists. Like a private writing tutorial, About Writing treats each topic with clarity and insight. Here is an indispensable companion for serious writers everywhere.

Synopsis

From the four-time Nebula Award–winning novelist and literary critic, essential reading for the creative writer. Award-winning novelist Samuel R. Delany has written a book for creative writers to place alongside E. M. Forster's Aspects of the Novel and Lajos Egri's Art of Dramatic Writing. Taking up specifics (When do flashbacks work, and when should you avoid them? How do you make characters both vivid and sympathetic?) and generalities (How are novels structured? How do writers establish serious literary reputations today?), Delany also examines the condition of the contemporary creative writer and how it differs from that of the writer in the years of Hemingway, Fitzgerald, and the high Modernists. Like a private writing tutorial, About Writing treats each topic with clarity and insight. Here is an indispensable companion for serious writers everywhere. "Delany has certainly spent more time thinking about the process of generating narratives—and subsequently getting the fruits of his lucubrations down on paper?than any other writer in the genre. . . . Delany's latest volume in this vein ( About Writing) might be his best yet... Truly, as the jacket copy boasts, this book is the next best thing to taking one of Delany's courses. . . . [R]eaders will find many answers here to the mysteries of getting words down on a page." —Paul DiFilippo, Asimov's Science Fiction "Useful and thoughtful advice for aspiring (and practicing apprentice) authors. About Writing is autobiography, criticism, and a guidebook to good writing all in one." —Robert Elliot Fox, Professor of English, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale "Should go on the short list of required reading for every would-be writer." — New York Times Book Review (on Of Doubts and Dreams in About Writing)

About the Author, Samuel R. Delany

SAMUEL R. DELANY has taught writers workshops for over 35 years, and has won the William Whitehead Memorial Award for a lifetime's contribution to gay and lesbian literature. He has also been recognized with both Hugo and Nebula awards, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Darkroom Black Students Collective at Harvard University. Delany is Professor of English and creative writing at Temple University, and lives in New York City.

Reviews

There are no reviews yet. Log in to write one.

Editorials

Library Journal

This is not another how-to book for marketing fiction. Instead, in a complicated pattern set within the format of seven lengthy essays, four random letters to unidentified colleagues, and five interviews, award-winning sf novelist Delany (English & creative writing, Temple Univ.) offers readers a description of the art of writing fiction, a demonstration of how fiction fits into today's world, and a discussion of the writer's reputation. Delany offers insights from his more than 30 years of writing and teaching experience, and hence his book may prove useful for writing teachers. However, it is too poorly organized to serve as a practical guide for aspiring writers and provides no index to help the reader hone in on a topic. Also, while many of Delany's theories-especially his examples of the differences between good writing and talented writing-are intriguing enough to allow this book a place in academic libraries, even the most dedicated scholars may find plodding through the verbose narratives a painfully slow experience. Public libraries, save your shelf space.-Nedra Crowe-Evers, Sonoma Cty. Lib., Santa Rosa, CA Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.