The Passionate, Accurate Story: Making Your Heart's Truth into Literature

by Carol Bly

Provides techniques, exercises and examples for stimulating creative writing

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Reference, Crafts

198 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1990

Reviews

[Matt Dean · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read a lot of books about writing. This is, in retrospect, the only one I really ever needed.

Don't get me wrong: your mileage may vary. This book is specifically intended for short story writers, and anyone looking for specific advice concerning the structure of novels or the process of writing novels wouldn't be satisfied with The Passionate, Accurate Story. If you need a help with grammar and style, you'll find some good advice here, but you'll also need to supplement with other sources.

But I recommend this book to anyone who wants to write. I think it's indispensable and irreplaceable. It's designed to draw the writer away from creating shallow or callous fiction. It's about making literature that is emotionally mature and compassionate, as well as passionate.

Bly's central thesis is that worthwhile literature arises from a specific moral point of view. This is not to say that fiction should be allegorical or heavy-handed—far from it. Rather, the idea is that unless and until a writer knows what her values are, she will likely produce fiction that is boringly general or full of "toneless realism" or condescending to its characters. On the other hand, if a writer has a moral point of view and a set of clearly articulated moral values, her fiction will be genuinely realistic because it will take place in a specific and authentically complex landscape, and it cannot be condescending toward its characters because they'll be more likely to resemble real people with real thoughts and feelings and problems.

If you want to write, I can't recommend this book highly enough. For that matter, I'd recommend it to anyone and everyone; it's certainly one of Bly's best books.

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

An idiosyncratic book on the craft of writing, and one with a focus I like: the heat and emotion of a tale. Bly feels these things--feeling and the revelation of significance--are far more important than sheer technique. She objects to the cold, merely smart tale. She explores why so many writers, novice as well as professional, fall into a dishonest ugliness towards the characters and environments we depict. Bly is insightful and has many useful bits of advice to impart. She can harangue at times--she has her hobbyhorses--but I still give this five stars for its many strengths.

[Mary Warner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Second time reading. Worth the re-read. Too complex to remember all of it. Read like a fresh book. That's the first thing I thought; what's the second? Include competing ethical dilemmas in fiction. Focus on short story, but applicable to longer fiction.

[Peter Landau · Rating 4 out of 5]

Carol Bly is one of the best short story writers I’ve read, so I’ve been curious to read her book on how to write short stories. THE PASSIONATE, ACCURATE STORY: MAKING YOUR HEART’S TRUTH INTO LITERATURE might sound like a new age self-help tome but it’s a rigorous and opinionated trek through the long process of creating a short story. I was hoping Bly would support my approach to creativity, which is rooted in laziness and guided by mindless activity. Sadly, she did not. Hers is a more conscious and conscience approach. She believes in the freewheeling first drafts that aren’t sidetrack by technique, but then comes the heavy lifting of editing through many drafts, where she talks about the basics of setting, character, dialog and plot. There’s a lot here that most writers know or have heard, but equal are the parts new to me that underline the difficulties in making art and the responsibilities to do so honestly and with conviction. Bly is a moral writer and is motivated by her passions for the environment and against the exploitation of corporations. It’s not polemic or ideological as much as seasoning her work to place it in the real world. She takes readers step by step through her process, whittling cliches and obvious first choices to get to something deeper, something that resonates and earns it emotional wallop. This is a textbook and it can feel a bit like homework at times, which it is, but Bly is such a powerful writer that even in this context I found myself welling up with tears at points.

[Vik Venkatraman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great little book on writing short stories. Among the better of the ilk.

[Peggy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Carol Bly believes in setting up the short story very quickly, and provides very specific information about what to include and what not to include in order to get the short story moving with the word economy required by the genre. She generously shares all of her best bits with us. She does believe in a conscience-driven story to create the passion that she refers to in the tiitle. This is, however, an author-developed list, not one that she recommends ass a one-size-fits all morality. This is about the author's authentic voice being heard-in many ways
that may swim against the tide of our educational life. A must re-read.

[Jeremy]

I used this book in a creative writing class from Donlu Thayer. It was an amazing class. I still remember how much I remember learning about myself writing the requisite autobiography, even if I don't know what happened to the autobiography itself.

[Mathew Vicknair · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book makes more sense the farther you read into it. A special delight for anybody from the Midwest (as the author works from Minnesota).

[Tree Langdon · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book takes writing to another level. For the serious thinker.