How Fiction Works

by Hall, Oakley M.

• ISBN13: 9781582972930
• ISBN10: 1582972931
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-01-01
• Publisher: Writers Digest Books

Summary

Writing fiction is an extraordinary collaboration of elements. For a work to be successful, all of these elements must fuse together in a coherent bond, interacting to form a distinctive story. Oakley Hall, writing teacher emeritus, invites you to be his apprentice and study the inner workings of fiction and the basics for all good stories. Inside, you'll find the fundamentals of fiction examined and illuminated, with insights into how they must interact to create an exceptional story. How Fiction Works covers every fictive technique, from plot and characterization to word choice, voice and style. Hall's deep instruction includes exercises and advice on all forms of fiction, including short stories, short-short stories and novels. The brilliance of Hall's teaching method is his use of examples, gathered through years of experience and from dozens of esteemed writers. Included are more than one hundred excerpts from literature that illustrate how fiction works through analysis and advice. With Hall's guidance, you will learn to successfully craft fiction that is as fine-tuned as a precision timepiece. Book jacket.

Author Biography

Oakley Hall is the author of short stories, novellas, libretti, fourteen mainstream novels and five mysteries. His novels Warlock and The Downhill Racers were made into major motion pictures. Warlock was also nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. He wrote the libretto for the opera Angle of Repose, which was produced by the San Francisco Opera Company. For more than twenty years, Hall was director of the writing program at the University of California at Irvine. He also served as general director of the writing program at the Squaw Valley Community of Writers. He lives in San Francisco, California

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 1
The Dramatic Method	p. 3
Specification	p. 5
The Senses	p. 15
Words	p. 27
Symbol and Indirection	p. 47
Dialogue	p. 57
Authority/Point of View	p. 79
Characterization	p. 109
Plot	p. 141
Forms of Fiction	p. 163
The Short Story	p. 165
The Novel	p. 193
Reading	p. 209
Index	p. 217
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