English

• Features contemporary short stories and craft commentaries from 27 of today’s best-known short story writers, including Amy Bloom, T.C. Boyle, Mary Gaitskill, Lorrie Moore, and George Saunders. Craft-oriented commentary by each author reveals many of the fiction techniques and decisions that go into writing a short story. 
• Plentiful, “how-to” craft advice provides a collaborative, multi-vocal approach that mirrors the strengths of a good writing workshop. 
• Accessible tone and practical exercises make this a user-friendly book for begining writers.
• Supports any teaching method with useful discussion prompts and exercises, or stands alone as a writing workshop in itself for the individual learner. 
• Three parts follow the most common route one takes to imagine, write, and revise a short story, allowing students to learn writing techniques in the order in which they’ll need them.

Preface to the Instructor

Introduction to the Student

I. ON PREWRITING

Getting Started: Essay and Writing Suggestions

 

Section One: Creating Raw Material

Peter Meinke

            Unheard Music

            Meinke on Journaling

Steve Almond

            The Soul Molecule

            Almond on Generating Story Ideas

Section Two: Discovering Stories Through Personal Experience

Janice Eidus

            Vito Loves Geraldine

            Eidus on Transferring Personal Experience Into Fiction

Section Three: Discovering Stories Through Observation and Research

Elizabeth Graver

            The Mourning Door

            Graver on Where Stories Come From

Julianna Baggott

            Dr. Ishida Explains his Case

            Baggott on the Role of Research in Fiction

II. ON WRITING

Writing the First Scene: Essay and Writing Suggestions

 

Section One: Story Structure and the Fundamentals of Plot

John McNally

            The New Year

            McNally on Story Beginnings

Aaron Gwyn

            Of Falling

            Gwyn on Story Middles

Jarret Keene

            Son of Mogar

            Keene on Story Endings

Alice Mattison

            In Case We’re Separated

            Mattison on Story Structure

Section Two: Developing Characters

 

Turning Ideas into Characters: Essay and Writing Suggestions

Lorrie Moore

            Debarking

            Moore on Breathing Life into Characters

Amy Bloom

            By-and-By

            Bloom on Creating Dynamic Characters

Tom Franklin

            Nap Time

            Franklin on Story Tension

Section Three: Choosing a Point of View

Michael Knight

            Gerald’s Monkey

            Knight on First Person Point of View

Adam Johnson

            The Death Dealing Cassini Satellite

            Johnson on Second Person Point of View

Judith Claire Mitchell

            A Man of Few Words

            Mitchell on Third Person Limited Point of View

Lee K. Abbott

            One of Star Wars, One of Doom

            Abbott on Third Person Omniscient Point of View

Josh Russell

            Yellow Jack

            Russell on Third Person Objective Point of View

Section Four: Scene Construction

Reginald McKnight

            Palm Wine

            McKnight on Creating Detail and Setting

George Singleton

            Show-and-Tell

            Singleton on Fictional Time

Keith Morris

            The Children of Dead State Troopers

            Morris on Dialogue

Section Five: The Short-Short Story

Tom Hazuka

            Field Trip

            Homeward Bound

            Mixture

            Utilitarianism

            Vaporware

            Hazuka on Writing the Short-Short Story

III. ON REVISING

Identifying Common Fiction Problems: Essay and Writing Suggestions

 

Section One: Revision Techniques

Melissa Pritchard

            Salve Regina

            Pritchard on Drafting and Large-Scale Revision

Stephen Graham Jones

            Adultery, A Failing Sestina

            Jones on Revising Scenes and Line-editing

Section Two: The Story and Its Audience

T. Coraghessan Boyle

            Greasy Lake

            Boyle on Managing Tone and Controlling Reader Sympathy

George Saunders

            Jon

            Saunders on Humor and Audience Concerns

Section Three: Theme, Meaning, and Vision

Mary Gaitskill

            A Bestial Noise

            Gaitskill on Building a Story’s Theme and Meaning

Virgil Suárez

            Lalo’s Skin

            Suárez on Staking Out Your Own Territory

Appendix A–Biographies

Appendix B–Further Readings

Appendix C–Sample Writer Groupings/Alternate Table of Contents

Appendix D–A Brief Glossary

Credits

General Index

Index of Authors, Titles, and First Lines

Creative Writing - Fiction  (Literature & Creative Writing)

For the Literature & Creative Writing Discipline

Analyzing Literature: A Guide for Students (Valuepack item only), 2/E
McGee
©2002 | Longman | Paper | Instock
ISBN-10: 0321093380 | ISBN-13: 9780321093387
Suggested retail price: $19.20  Buy from myPearsonStore
Net price: $14.40  (What's this?)

Essential Study Card for Grammar and Documentation
Pearson Longman
©2007 | Longman | Study Card; 10 pp | Instock
ISBN-10: 0321463137 | ISBN-13: 9780321463135
Suggested retail price: $8.00Net price: $6.00  (What's this?)

Evaluating a Performance
Greenwald
©2002 | Longman | Paper | Instock
ISBN-10: 0321095413 | ISBN-13: 9780321095411
Suggested retail price: $11.20Net price: $8.40  (What's this?)

Evaluating Plays on Film and Video (ValuePack Item Only)
Welsh & Morawski
©2004 | Longman | Paper; 78 pp | Instock
ISBN-10: 0321187946 | ISBN-13: 9780321187949
Suggested retail price: $0.00Net price: $0.00  (What's this?)

Glossary of Literary and Critical Terms (Valuepack item only), A
Jacobs
©2003 | Longman | Paper | Instock
ISBN-10: 0321126912 | ISBN-13: 9780321126917
Suggested retail price: $0.00Net price: $0.00  (What's this?)

iClicker Classroom Response System
iClicker & Allyn & Bacon/Longman
©2008 | Longman | Electronic Supplement | Instock
ISBN-10: 0205594506 | ISBN-13: 9780205594504
This online resource is available at no cost.

InterWrite PRS RF (Personal Response System)
InterWrite PRS & Allyn & Bacon/Longman
©2005 | Longman | Electronic Supplement | Instock
ISBN-10: 0205436951 | ISBN-13: 9780205436958
This online resource is available at no cost.

Longman Electronic Testbank for Literature (CD ROM version), The
Jacobs
©2003 | Longman | CD-ROM Only | Instock
ISBN-10: 0321143140 | ISBN-13: 9780321143143
Suggested retail price: $0.00Net price: $0.00  (What's this?)     View Downloadable Files

Longman Electronic Testbank for Literature (printed version), The
Jacobs
©2003 | Longman | Paper | Instock
ISBN-10: 0321143124 | ISBN-13: 9780321143129
Suggested retail price: $0.00Net price: $0.00  (What's this?)     View Downloadable Files

Longman Journal for Creative Writing (Valuepack item only)
Johnston
©2002 | Longman | Paper | Instock
ISBN-10: 0321095405 | ISBN-13: 9780321095404
Suggested retail price: $0.00Net price: $0.00  (What's this?)

Longman Literature Timeline (Generic Laminated Grid) (Valuepack item only), The
Jacobs
©2003 | Longman | Paper | Instock
ISBN-10: 0321143159 | ISBN-13: 9780321143150
Suggested retail price: $0.00Net price: $0.00  (What's this?)

Merriam Webster's Reader's Handbook: Your Complete Guide to Literary Terms
Webster
©2001 | Longman | Paper | Instock
ISBN-10: 0321105419 | ISBN-13: 9780321105417
Suggested retail price: $13.60Net price: $10.20  (What's this?)

New American Webster Handy College Dictionary, The, 3/E
Penguin
©1998 | Longman | Paper | Instock
ISBN-10: 0451181662 | ISBN-13: 9780451181664
Suggested retail price: $7.00Net price: $5.25  (What's this?)

ResearchNavigator.com Guide: English (Valuepack item only)
Branscomb & Trim
©2007 | Longman | Paper; 80 pp | Instock
ISBN-10: 0321496019 | ISBN-13: 9780321496010
Suggested retail price: $0.00Net price: $0.00  (What's this?)

Responding to Literature: A Writer's Journal (Valuepack Item Only)
Kline
©2002 | Longman | Paper | Instock
ISBN-10: 0321095421 | ISBN-13: 9780321095428
Suggested retail price: $0.00Net price: $0.00  (What's this?)

Student's Guide to Getting Published, A
Swartwout & Elledge
©2003 | Longman | Paper | Instock
ISBN-10: 0321117794 | ISBN-13: 9780321117793
Suggested retail price: $37.00  Buy from myPearsonStore
Net price: $27.75  (What's this?)

Workshop Guide to Creative Writing, A (Valuepack item only)
Johnston
©2002 | Longman | Paper | Instock
ISBN-10: 0321095391 | ISBN-13: 9780321095398
Suggested retail price: $0.00Net price: $0.00  (What's this?)

Pearson Higher Education offers special pricing when you choose to package your text with other student resources. If you're interested in creating a cost-saving package for your students, browse our available packages below, or contact your Pearson Higher Education representative to create your own package.

Package ISBN-10: 0321472810 | ISBN-13: 9780321472816
©2007 | Instock (Additional assembly time required)
Suggested retail price: $83.80  Buy from myPearsonStore
Net price: $62.85  (What's this?)
This package contains:

Package ISBN-10: 0205621112 | ISBN-13: 9780205621118
©2007 | Instock
Suggested retail price: $77.80  Buy from myPearsonStore
Net price: $58.35  (What's this?)
This package contains:

Package ISBN-10: 0321462750 | ISBN-13: 9780321462756
©2007 | Instock (Additional assembly time required)
Suggested retail price: $50.40  Buy from myPearsonStore
Net price: $37.80  (What's this?)
This package contains: