Review by KYbanez58 -- Creating Literary Stories: A Fict...
Posted: 30 Oct 2020, 10:48
[Following is a volunteer review of "Creating Literary Stories: A Fiction Writer's Guide" by William H. Coles.]
Creating Literary Stories: A Fiction Writer’s Guide is an extensive and in-depth guide written by William H. Coles designed to help aspiring, or even professional fiction writers in writing their narrative. It offers thorough explanations and tips, ranging from important basics such as points of view and dialogue to creating your own fictional world.
It is separated into two major parts. The first part tackles more on technical aspects in writing your literary work. I really appreciated that this part of the guide contained multiple definitions of various yet essential terms, even those which are considered basic knowledge when it comes to writing. In doing so, the book itself seems to reflect that the author truly wants their readers to really benefit from the guide. The definitions also help people who are still amateurs in the writing field as they are provided with simple albeit elaborate explanations of technical terms that are essential when you are still starting out as a writer.
The second part of the book tackled more on how to create an intriguing fictional story. It provided more extensive details on different aspects of your story. To me, the first part of the guide focused more on what to consider before writing or during the story’s planning stage. It focused on certain things you should learn before you pick up your pen and start writing. The second part focuses more on various concepts that you should take account when you’re in the actual process of writing your literary work. However, both parts complement each other and are equally essential. They both contain aspects that are necessary wherever you are in terms of creating your narrative.
Something that I liked most when I was reading this book is the fact that the author provided critical examples of the different concepts the book offered. This is to better illustrate the importance of said concepts. This bears more impact on me as I chose to give this book a read to gain better insight that I can apply in my writings. Certain aspects of any narrative such as character and plot were given a fresh new take by applying them in different ways. In doing so, the resulting narrative differed in context and impression.
An excellent example of this is the author’s varying presentation of the “Red Riding Hood” story. By applying different methods to retell the story, each narrative left a distinct impression to its reader. Personally, it was a pleasant eye-opener. I mean, I knew that stories can leave a different mark depending on how they are told. However, seeing it effectively done just made a difference for me. It made me have a better grasp on these concepts. Hopefully, I can implement it in future works.
I would rate this book a 4 out of 4 stars. This guide is incredibly helpful and provided great insight that I’m sure will help its readers in creating literary fictional works. There is not much that I can dislike or say against this book as it is a heaven sent for me. Perhaps, there are some grammar mistakes, however they are very minor and quite few. Overall, I recommend it to anyone who is hoping to create their own fictional work and write an effective story. To be honest, some aspects of this book can apply to those who intend to create stories for more visual media, such as comics. If you wish to gain a better understanding on how to write the perfect story for you, you should give this a read.
******
Creating Literary Stories: A Fiction Writer's Guide
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes | on Smashwords
Creating Literary Stories: A Fiction Writer’s Guide is an extensive and in-depth guide written by William H. Coles designed to help aspiring, or even professional fiction writers in writing their narrative. It offers thorough explanations and tips, ranging from important basics such as points of view and dialogue to creating your own fictional world.
It is separated into two major parts. The first part tackles more on technical aspects in writing your literary work. I really appreciated that this part of the guide contained multiple definitions of various yet essential terms, even those which are considered basic knowledge when it comes to writing. In doing so, the book itself seems to reflect that the author truly wants their readers to really benefit from the guide. The definitions also help people who are still amateurs in the writing field as they are provided with simple albeit elaborate explanations of technical terms that are essential when you are still starting out as a writer.
The second part of the book tackled more on how to create an intriguing fictional story. It provided more extensive details on different aspects of your story. To me, the first part of the guide focused more on what to consider before writing or during the story’s planning stage. It focused on certain things you should learn before you pick up your pen and start writing. The second part focuses more on various concepts that you should take account when you’re in the actual process of writing your literary work. However, both parts complement each other and are equally essential. They both contain aspects that are necessary wherever you are in terms of creating your narrative.
Something that I liked most when I was reading this book is the fact that the author provided critical examples of the different concepts the book offered. This is to better illustrate the importance of said concepts. This bears more impact on me as I chose to give this book a read to gain better insight that I can apply in my writings. Certain aspects of any narrative such as character and plot were given a fresh new take by applying them in different ways. In doing so, the resulting narrative differed in context and impression.
An excellent example of this is the author’s varying presentation of the “Red Riding Hood” story. By applying different methods to retell the story, each narrative left a distinct impression to its reader. Personally, it was a pleasant eye-opener. I mean, I knew that stories can leave a different mark depending on how they are told. However, seeing it effectively done just made a difference for me. It made me have a better grasp on these concepts. Hopefully, I can implement it in future works.
I would rate this book a 4 out of 4 stars. This guide is incredibly helpful and provided great insight that I’m sure will help its readers in creating literary fictional works. There is not much that I can dislike or say against this book as it is a heaven sent for me. Perhaps, there are some grammar mistakes, however they are very minor and quite few. Overall, I recommend it to anyone who is hoping to create their own fictional work and write an effective story. To be honest, some aspects of this book can apply to those who intend to create stories for more visual media, such as comics. If you wish to gain a better understanding on how to write the perfect story for you, you should give this a read.
******
Creating Literary Stories: A Fiction Writer's Guide
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes | on Smashwords