A Los Angeles Times bestseller: wonderfully lucid and
illuminating, Alice LaPlante’s guide to writing fiction “recalls
Francine Prose’s bestseller, Reading Like a Writer” (Library
Journal).The Making of a Story is a fresh and inspiring guide to
the basics of creative writing—both fiction and creative
nonfiction. Its hands-on, completely accessible approach walks
writers through each stage of the creative process, from the
initial triggering idea to the revision of the final manuscript.
It is unique in combing the three main aspects of creative
writing instruction: process (finding inspiration, getting ideas
on the page), craft (specific techniques like characterization),
and anthology (learning by reading masters of the form).
Succinct, clear definitions of basic terms of fiction are
accompanied by examples, including excerpts from masterpieces of
short fiction and essays as well as contemporary novels. A
special highlight is Alice LaPlante's systematic debunking of
many of the so-called rules of creative wri