Confident with the basics of your craft? Looking to take your writing to
the next level? Advanced Fiction gives you the tools to hone your
skills by thinking more deeply and systematically about deploying them
on the page. Friendly and down-to-earth, Amy Weldon guides you through
the realities of craft and process, combining a broad anthology of
landmark stories with instruction on the more advanced aspects of
fiction writing.
Featuring interactive prompts, exercises and suggestions for further
reading, this book guides you from larger philosophical issues to
subtler technical ones, from topics as diverse as the intricate
principles of storytelling to navigating artistic and political
landscapes conscientiously and building a writing career.
Beginning with a brief recap of the basics, the text goes on to
examine:
- The psychology of writing and revising
- Practical methods for drafting and notebook-keeping
- Taking personal and technical risks with ideas, images, and forms
- Making responsible decisions about representing identities, bodies,
and histories on the page
- Complex craft concepts such as world-building, structure, time, and
moving from short forms to novels
Placing students' own work in conversation with established stories, the
accompanying anthology selections range widely in culture, technique and
time period, including authors of dystopia, historical fiction, satire,
and fiction in translation as well as literary realists tackling themes
like economic inequality, climate change, and identity.
Thoughtful and essential, this book provides excellent guidance for
students and budding authors on the complexities of fiction writing from
the beginning of a writing project - short story or novel - to the end.
