“Reliably insightful.” – Publishers Weekly
The first step to becoming a successful writer is to become a successful reader. Helping you develop your critical skills How to Read Like a Writer is an accessible and effective step-by-step guide to how careful reading can help you improve your craft as a creative writer, whatever genre you are writing in.
Across 10 lessons – each pairing published readings with practical critical and creative exercises – this book helps writers master such key elements of their craft as:
·
Genre – from fiction, creative nonfiction and poetry to hybrid genres such as graphic narratives and online forms ·
Plot, conflict, theme and image ·
Developing characters – physical descriptions, psychological depths and actions ·
Narrators and points of view – 1st, 2nd and 3rd person narratives ·
Scenes and settings – time, space and place ·
Structure and form – length, organization and media ·
Language, subtext and style
By:
Dr Erin M. Pushman (Limestone College USA)
Imprint: Bloomsbury Academic
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 244mm,
Width: 169mm,
Weight: 549g
ISBN: 9781350119413
ISBN 10: 1350119415
Pages: 216
Publication Date: 10 March 2022
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Primary
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Introduction: Writers Read Lesson 1: Genre i. Fiction ii. Creative Nonfiction iii. Poetry Lesson 2: Hybrids and Multigenre Work i. Graphic Narrative ii. Photo Essay iii. Prose Poems and Other Hybrids iv. Emerging Hybrids and Other Multigenre Work Lesson 3: Form i. One Size Does Not Fit All ii. Long, Short and Shorter iii. In Print, Online and Social Medias Lesson 4: Plot, Conflict and Theme/Image i. What Drives a Story, Poem or Essay? ii. Central Theme/Image iii. Plot and Narrative Arc iv. Conflict Lesson 5: Structure i. Overall Structure ii. Nontraditional Structures iii. Whitespace and Other Structural Markers Lesson 6: Character Development i. Discovering Depth and Nuance ii. When the Narrator is Also a Character Lesson 7: Point of View i. Narrator, Speaker ii. First, Second, and Third iii. Omniscience and Limits iv. Distance and Closeness v. When the Narrator is also the Writer (Nonfiction) Lesson 8: Setting i. Place, Space, and Time ii. Introducing Setting iii. Physical Details Lesson 9: Reading to Discover Scene i. When Writers Use Scene ii. Short, Long, and In-Between iii. Recognizing Well-Rendered Scenes Lesson 10: Language i. Developing a Literary Ear ii. Resonance iii. Sensory Language iv. Style v. Voice and Tone The End i. Making Connections ii. Each Aspect of Writing Influences the Others iii. Continuing Down Your Path as a Reading Writer Index
Erin M. Pushman is Associate Professor of English and Director of the Writing Center at Limestone College, USA.
Reviews for How to Read Like a Writer: 10 Lessons to Elevate Your Reading and Writing Practice
Reliably insightful. Those looking to get the most out of their reading experience and get the pen moving should give this a look. * Publishers Weekly * This is a very interesting, and useful, book. It covers a range of types of writing. ... a worthwhile investment. It's both analytical and readable: two words you don't often find in the same sentence! * Writers Know-How blog *
