Acetylene Torch Songs: Writing True Stories to Ignite the Soul

by Sue William Silverman

At times writers—from the unpublished to jaded lifers—need a fire lit under them to pursue the complex work of self-exploration. Acetylene Torch Songs provides that spark for memoirists and essayists seeking mentor-based instruction and inspiration.

Drawing on twenty-five years of teaching and mentoring writers, Sue William Silverman stresses practice over theory. She encourages craftiness as well as craft and urges writers to embark on emotional quests in pursuit of their art. Acetylene Torch Songs uniquely illustrates how the writer’s imaginative spirit comes alive on the page through metaphor, literary masks, sensory memories, voice, obsessions, and more. This holistic approach to writing emphasizes how the creative process brings together the heart, mind, and senses to illuminate the human condition through language. Featuring a personal essay in each chapter, Silverman uses her own work to model a specific concept or approach, demonstrating how obsessions, secrets, and memories can burn on the page.

Through guided prompts, worksheets, checklists, publishing advice, personal essays, and strategies, Silverman encourages writers to find the confidence and courage to write stories that reach beyond the page through their intimacy, social engagement, and honesty.

Genres: Writing

259 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 1, 2024

About the author

Sue William Silverman's new memoir-in-essays is HOW TO SURVIVE DEATH and OTHER INCONVENIENCES (University of Nebraska Press), and was listed as "1 of 9 essay collections feminists should read in 2020" by Bitch Media. Her previous memoirs are THE PAT BOONE FAN CLUB: MY LIFE AS A WHITE ANGLO-SAXON JEW (University of Nebraska Press); LOVE SICK: ONE WOMAN'S JOURNEY THROUGH SEXUAL ADDICTION (W.W. Norton), which also aired as a Lifetime Television original movie, and BECAUSE I REMEMBER TERROR, FATHER, I REMEMBER YOU (University of Georgia Press), which won the AWP award in creative nonfiction. Her craft book is FEARLESS CONFESSIONS: A WRITER'S GUIDE TO MEMOIR, and her poetry collections are IF THE GIRL NEVER LEARNS (Brick Mantel Books) and HIEROGLYPHICS IN NEON (Orchises Press). As a professional speaker she has appeared on "The View," "Anderson Cooper-360," "CNN-Headline News," the Montel Williams Show, and the Discovery Channel. She teaches in the MFA in Writing program at the Vermont College of Fine Arts.

Reviews

[Jasminum Mcmullen · Rating 5 out of 5]

By far the best craft book on creative nonfiction to date. Sue William Silverman wrote this book like she gave a damn about our personal stories being written, and the appendices material shows care about where the words go after they are born on the page—special emphasis on discussions of arc and experimental techniques. I love the deconstructed essays. I felt close to the author's stories and felt the exhilarating sensation of running out of pages. Acetylene Torch Songs is a conversation I did not want to end, and well, since I am closing the back page of my copy, I know I'll return to this book again and again.

[Melissa Grunow · Rating 5 out of 5]

A masterclass in creative nonfiction contained in a single book. I’ve read countless books on craft, and this one is exceptional.

I recommend also listening to Sue William Silverman’s interview on the podcast Literary Prospects hosted by Kelly Vick. They talk about this book and writing craft. Silverman’s resources in rhetoric back of rhetoric book (websites, how to write a query letter, sample book proposal) are exceptionally generous.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel so fortunate that I scored an advanced review copy of Acetylene Torch Songs. It's a beautiful addition to classic books about writing (such as those by Anne Lamott and Natalie Goldberg)--but with a focus on Creative Nonfiction. It's a wonderful mix of inspirational, pragmatic, and empowering. I have underlined and dog-earred many pages and will undoubtedly go back to it again and again.

[Pam Reeves · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Advice

Good advice even though some is basic. Thoughtful and thorough insight on the writing process and pertinent theories. Well written. Easy to read and follow.

[Rachael Workman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the most helpful craft book I've ever read. Sue is an expert at writing memoir and knows exactly why--it's not intuitive writing, it's deliberate and planned. She knows the techniques, like sensory detail, arc of innocence and experience, voice, etc. inside and out to make a compelling memoir with a narrative arc, or alternatively a collection of thematically linked essays. I highly recommend this craft book for any creative non-fiction writer. You can read my interview with the brilliant Sue here https://open.substack.com/pub/rachael...