Josip Novakovich

Okay okay so I always complain about books on writing yet I am constantly reading books on writing either for classes or as craft markers for my own practice. This one was actually pretty good. First of all, its written by an accomplished author (that's crucial for me at this point). Secondly, it presents itself as a textbook. One of the aspects of the "how to write..." genre that I can't stand is the veiled arrogance behind most of those books. The posture tends to be, "well you are actually a perfectly great writer and here are some tips to get past those pesky gatekeepers who need to be tricked into publishing your already great, flawless writing." At least a textbook comes from the perspective that writing is a craft to be worked on and improved. I'll stick with that sort of optimism carried over: good work gets published; no one is tricking anyone with secret codes and methods.

Anyway, Novakovich is an interesting writer and though I disagreed with his opinions at times he actually invites this and by no means considers his own word final. All in all this was a useful overview of the main building blocks of fiction and the included anthology of stories were useful and interesting.… (mer)

Okay okay so I always complain about books on writing yet I am constantly reading books on writing either for classes or as craft markers for my own practice. This one was actually pretty good. First of all, its written by an accomplished author (that's crucial for me at this point). Secondly, it presents itself as a textbook. One of the aspects of the "how to write..." genre that I can't stand is the veiled arrogance behind most of those books. The posture tends to be, "well you are actually a perfectly great writer and here are some tips to get past those pesky gatekeepers who need to be tricked into publishing your already great, flawless writing." At least a textbook comes from the perspective that writing is a craft to be worked on and improved. I'll stick with that sort of optimism carried over: good work gets published; no one is tricking anyone with secret codes and methods.

Anyway, Novakovich is an interesting writer and though I disagreed with his opinions at times he actually invites this and by no means considers his own word final. All in all this was a useful overview of the main building blocks of fiction and the included anthology of stories were useful and interesting.… (mer)