Gotham Writers' Workshop Writing Fiction: The Practical Guide from New York's Acclaimed Creative Writing School

The faculty of the Gotham Writers' Workshop--which now has 6,000 students not only in New York City but around the world (with online classes)--use an original approach in this how-to: Raymond Carver's classic story""Cathedral"" (reprinted in the book) serves as a basis for their discussion of technique. The contributors are not household names, but all are published authors of fiction. Chapters touch on all the essentials: character development, pacing, dialogue and revision (""Real Writers Revise"" the chapter title exhorts). All expand on the idea that""good writing comes down to craft far more than most people realize,"" while also reminding aspiring authors that""rules are made to be broken."" The writing is fresh and full of concrete advice (e.g.,""Desire is in the heart of every dimensional character""), and exercises allow students to explore what they have learned. This is an excellent starting place for someone exploring the art and craft of writing fiction.