Writing Great Fiction

worth reading and makes the writing of it simultaneously

frustrating and rewarding.

Faulkner, 7KH6RXQGDQGWKH)XU.

Gardner, 7KH$UWRI)LFWLRQ.

Hynes, Next.

Kafka, “The Metamorphosis.”

Robinson, +RXVHNHHSLQJ.

Tolkien, 7KH+REELW.

1. Without thinking about it too much, imagine some sort of striking or
   intriguing situation. For example, imagine a man and woman who
   are eating at a candlelit table in a romantic restaurant, but they aren’t
   speaking to each other; in fact, they don’t even look at each other. Or
   imagine a woman standing in an alley in the rain at night, holding a
   knife. Then, again without thinking about it too much, try imagining
   WKHYHU\QH[WWKLQJWKDWKDSSHQVWKHQWKHQH[WDQGWKHQH[W,I\RX¿QG
   yourself running out of steam or boxing yourself into a corner, go back
   to the original situation and try something completely different.

Suggested Reading

Writing Exercise