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A review by tjr
The Making of a Story: A Norton Guide to Creative Writing by Alice Laplante
4.0
In The Making of a Story: A Norton Guide to Creative Writing, Alice LaPlante delves into the subject of creative writing with great detail; this book is layered, and has a lot of information to absorb—too much to be sufficiently learned with just one reading. This book will require many revisits, and many re-reads to get everything out of it. This is not a bad thing. For readers (and budding writers) who are looking to get a lot of bang for their buck, purchasing The Making of a Story: A Norton Guide to Creative Writing will definitely be money well spent.
The one criticism I have is that the text of this book does not flow well. There are very many writing examples that the author includes, perhaps too many. This can inspire instances of information overload and perhaps confusion for one trying to figure out style and voice. The Making of a Story: A Norton Guide to Creative Writing would be best suited for a classroom, or workshop setting, rather than a solo venture. Nonetheless, if one does have a lot of patience, time and desire to go solo to master his or her writing, than this book is a worthwhile addition to the bookshelf.
I know I will be revisiting it in the future as I develop as a writer and wish to partake in some of the exercises and lessons available in The Making of a Story: A Norton Guide to Creative Writing. Also, one of the best chapters is at the end of this book, and it is on revision. There are some very good insights provided, as well as cautionary advice to help a budding writer not lose faith. In essence, what is said is that the revision process is the most important part of the writing process, and where a piece truly gets its shape and meaning. A writer should therefore not give up on a rough first draft, but simply plough through to completion. Very inspiring stuff indeed.
The one criticism I have is that the text of this book does not flow well. There are very many writing examples that the author includes, perhaps too many. This can inspire instances of information overload and perhaps confusion for one trying to figure out style and voice. The Making of a Story: A Norton Guide to Creative Writing would be best suited for a classroom, or workshop setting, rather than a solo venture. Nonetheless, if one does have a lot of patience, time and desire to go solo to master his or her writing, than this book is a worthwhile addition to the bookshelf.
I know I will be revisiting it in the future as I develop as a writer and wish to partake in some of the exercises and lessons available in The Making of a Story: A Norton Guide to Creative Writing. Also, one of the best chapters is at the end of this book, and it is on revision. There are some very good insights provided, as well as cautionary advice to help a budding writer not lose faith. In essence, what is said is that the revision process is the most important part of the writing process, and where a piece truly gets its shape and meaning. A writer should therefore not give up on a rough first draft, but simply plough through to completion. Very inspiring stuff indeed.