Great book for fiction writers

I just finished a wonderful book on the art of writing: The Lie That Tells the Truth: A Guide to Writing Fiction by John Dufresne. This book is very thorough and covers all aspects of writing novels and short stories. I particularly enjoyed his chapter on crafting dialogue. Dufresne is a very talented writer with a number of novels and story collections under his belt. This book uses examples of quality writing to illustrate the techniques he is describing. It is easy to understand and an enjoyable read. I feel that it is worth reading this book for the many quotes from writers and other artists liberally sprinkled through its  pages. The Lie That Tells the Truth   is a valuable book for writers in all genres. I look forward to reading Dufresne's book on writing the novel.

Keep writing! Thanks for reading.

Jim Busch

Great book for writers.

I love the book shelf at the Goodwill store. Not only do I save a few bucks, which is near and dear to my skinflint heart, but I also encounter books that I would never know otherwise. Recently I discovered a copy of Letters to a young novelist by Mario Vargas Llosa. I've long been a fan of Rilke's Letters to a young poet but this book is almost as good as its namesake.

This book expresses the author's views on the craft of fiction which he illustrates with examples from a wide range of classic and contemporary novels. Llosa believes that authors are inherently rebels. That writers rebel against a reality that we don't accept by creating an alternate reality of our own. Another image likens an author's burning desire to write to a tapeworm. True writers constantly need to write to feed the "tapeworm" eating at our insides.

This book is available at Amazon and other sources. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in writing.

Keep the words and your creative juices flowing.

Jim Busch

Ralph Waldo Emerson on writing well

It is not uncommon to find a book, usually a juicy novel, that we find hard to put down. It is unusual to find a non-fiction book, particularly one about a 19th century author, that has this addictive effect. I maybe exposing my nerdiness, but this happened to me this past weekend. I picked up a copy of First We Read, Then We Write: Emerson on the Creative Process by Robert Richardson. Richardson uses examples of Emerson's writing, selections from his journals, and excerpts from his letters to examine his unique creative process. This multifaceted book is part biography, part literary criticism and part how-to manual. Richardson delves into Emerson's use of language and his desire to use the language "of the street." He makes the point that Emerson thought that the well formed sentence was the key to good writing. This pithiness explains why so many authors and speakers make such liberal use of Emerson quotations in their books and presntations.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Emerson or in improving their own writing. Emerson's writing and creativity was fed by his close contact with a circle of literary friends, Thoreau, Hawthorne, the Alcott's etc. If you want to nurture your writing with a circle of literary friends, plan on attending the Ligonier Valley Writers Conference this coming summer. You may not become the Emerson of our age, but you will grow as a writer and you will certainly have a lot of fun.

Keep your fingers on the keyboard, the ideas flowing and the dream alive.

Thanks for reading.

Jim Busch