Rewriting : Creative Approach to Writing Fiction

by David Michael Kaplan

This work introduces readers to the author's brand of revising fiction - a process in which a story's words, structure, even its very meaning may change as it grows stronger. Through every stage of the writing process the author provides strategies and criteria to help pinpoint the problems in your work and fix them. He looks at sacred" first ideas, slow starts, out-of-sequence events, imprecise language, inflated imagery, weak sentence structure, insufficient dialogue, action and description. In addition to illustrating his points with examples from contemporary writers he traces the evolution of three of his own stories throught drafts to final versions."

Genres: Research, Writing, Nonfiction

Paperback

First published March 31, 1998

Reviews

[Sarah Potter · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an author, I'm not into books about writing. Instead, I prefer to read a wide cross section of fiction, to gain insight into what works and doesn't work. However, something made me open this book by David Michael Kaplan during National Novel Writing Month, a time when I was slamming out words and resisting the urge to edit.

This might seem like odd reading material to have chosen to read during this particularly intensive writing challenge. In fact, it proved most exhilarating, as the author gives you permission to write with no-holds barred for a first draft; you can slam the story out in whatever order you like, waffling to your heart's content, telling rather than showing, wadding it with exposition, and indulging in all manner of other writerly sins. Yay! Freedom, freedom, freedom! Yes, yes, you can even use as many exclamation marks as you wish!!!

The author, who is a professor of English and conducts fiction writing workshops (or at least he did back in 1998, the date of the edition that I own), has taken samples of his own writing and that of his students to illustrate the revision process through several drafts to the polished end product. He has a very unpompous and congenial way of illustrating his points and doesn't seem to mind at all about dissecting his own work or laughing at himself.

I found this a most encouraging and worthwhile book. In particular, it proved to me that there was plenty more I could still do to improve some of my earlier novels and make them saleable if I should so wish. But most important of all, it has filled me with enthusiasm at the prospect of reaching the end of the first draft of my work-in-progress and trying out some revision techniques that I haven't tried before.

A highly recommended read for anyone who is serious about writing the best book that they can in as many drafts as it takes.

[J. Hicks · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the road map I needed!

[Bobbie Darbyshire · Rating 4 out of 5]

A decade and more ago I was addicted to how-to-write books. Good, bad or ugly, I greedily swallowed them all. I still indulge now and then. Saw this recommended somewhere, and yes, it’s pretty good, but actually (come on, Bobbie) I already know all these great tips. Back it goes on my how-to shelf, beside Cook ‘Line by line’, Browne & King ‘Self-editing for fiction writers’, Bell ‘The artful edit’, Lerner ‘An editor’s advice to writers’, Lamott ‘Bird by bird’, etc, etc, because really I ought to get back to... er... rewriting.