Review by Sonja Jacobs -- Creating Literary Stories: A F...
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Sonja Jacobs
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- Latest Review: Creating Literary Stories: A Fiction Writer's Guide by William H. Coles
Review by Sonja Jacobs -- Creating Literary Stories: A F...
[Following is a volunteer review of "Creating Literary Stories: A Fiction Writer's Guide" by William H. Coles.]
William H. Coles, an award-winning author of many novels, shared his wealth of experience with aspiring literary fiction writers and novelists in his book Creating Literary Stories: A Fiction Writer's Guide. Although I am not a writer or an aspiring writer, I like to learn about art and skill. That is exactly what Coles told me. Writing literary fiction is both an art and a skill.
Creating Literary Stories: A Fiction Writer's Guide consisted of two parts or books. Book one covered various basic elements of literary fiction such as characters, narration, point of view, and writing in scene. Book two covered the fundamentals of telling a literary story, engage the reader, and how to make the story come alive. Each of these books consisted of various chapters where it showed the author had both experience and knowledge in his field. I believe when those two factors come together, success is in the making.
It became clear that there was a significant difference in writing and approach between literary fiction and genre fiction, memoir, non-fiction, autobiography, or creative non-fiction. I learned that the depth and development of characters on various levels are an important part of the essence of a good story and should preferably not be described and discovered, but rather be left to the imagination. The author also explained why it may be difficult for readers to connect with characters when written in the second-person point of view.
I enjoyed how the author backed his advice with practical examples that made it easier to understand and apply. He also illustrated why stories were effective by analyzing the age-old story of Little Red Riding Hood. He provided different examples of the story where the main character drove the plot. Initially, it was not clear to me, but once I finished the book, I read the various Little Red Riding Hood scenes again. It was then that I realized what the author meant by “the fiction author writes the story but should not tell the story”. The examples of various scenes were brilliant.
I also liked that the author explained various aspects of literary fiction such as structure and theme, development, and narrative perspective. The book was easy to read and follow, and terminology was properly explained. In my opinion, the author explained technical terms and subject matter in such a way that a non-writer, such as myself, could easily follow. This showed the level of expertise of the author.
Although there was not anything I disliked about the book, I got the impression that Coles was not particularly fond of other types of genres such as memoirs, non-fiction, and even fiction, where characters may be stereotypical. However, I would not use this against the author as it may be his way of explaining how literary fiction had more possibilities.
I certainly learned a lot, and I will never read a literary fiction book, or any fiction book, the same again. Literary fiction writers, aspiring writers, and book reviewers should definitely read this book. I did not find many grammatical errors, and due to the nature of the book, there was no foul language. In my opinion, this was a great read, and I rate the book 4 out of 4 stars.
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Creating Literary Stories: A Fiction Writer's Guide
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes | on Smashwords
William H. Coles, an award-winning author of many novels, shared his wealth of experience with aspiring literary fiction writers and novelists in his book Creating Literary Stories: A Fiction Writer's Guide. Although I am not a writer or an aspiring writer, I like to learn about art and skill. That is exactly what Coles told me. Writing literary fiction is both an art and a skill.
Creating Literary Stories: A Fiction Writer's Guide consisted of two parts or books. Book one covered various basic elements of literary fiction such as characters, narration, point of view, and writing in scene. Book two covered the fundamentals of telling a literary story, engage the reader, and how to make the story come alive. Each of these books consisted of various chapters where it showed the author had both experience and knowledge in his field. I believe when those two factors come together, success is in the making.
It became clear that there was a significant difference in writing and approach between literary fiction and genre fiction, memoir, non-fiction, autobiography, or creative non-fiction. I learned that the depth and development of characters on various levels are an important part of the essence of a good story and should preferably not be described and discovered, but rather be left to the imagination. The author also explained why it may be difficult for readers to connect with characters when written in the second-person point of view.
I enjoyed how the author backed his advice with practical examples that made it easier to understand and apply. He also illustrated why stories were effective by analyzing the age-old story of Little Red Riding Hood. He provided different examples of the story where the main character drove the plot. Initially, it was not clear to me, but once I finished the book, I read the various Little Red Riding Hood scenes again. It was then that I realized what the author meant by “the fiction author writes the story but should not tell the story”. The examples of various scenes were brilliant.
I also liked that the author explained various aspects of literary fiction such as structure and theme, development, and narrative perspective. The book was easy to read and follow, and terminology was properly explained. In my opinion, the author explained technical terms and subject matter in such a way that a non-writer, such as myself, could easily follow. This showed the level of expertise of the author.
Although there was not anything I disliked about the book, I got the impression that Coles was not particularly fond of other types of genres such as memoirs, non-fiction, and even fiction, where characters may be stereotypical. However, I would not use this against the author as it may be his way of explaining how literary fiction had more possibilities.
I certainly learned a lot, and I will never read a literary fiction book, or any fiction book, the same again. Literary fiction writers, aspiring writers, and book reviewers should definitely read this book. I did not find many grammatical errors, and due to the nature of the book, there was no foul language. In my opinion, this was a great read, and I rate the book 4 out of 4 stars.
******
Creating Literary Stories: A Fiction Writer's Guide
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes | on Smashwords
