Architecture of the Novel: A Writer's Handbook

by Jane Vandenburgh, Anne Lamott (Foreword)

Jane Vandenburgh, the author of two highly acclaimed novels and a recent memoir, offers aspiring writers the tools to create powerful and unique novels filled not only with good writing but also dynamic storytelling.Architecture of the Novel is an ambitious blueprint for writers, one that reveals the underlying machinery that propels a plot that is dynamic, coherent, and interesting.Architecture of the Novel derives from the many years Vandenburgh has spent teaching the craft of fiction writing. Her method points to the elemental nature of A story consists of its events, which are told in scenes. These scenes naturally place themselves along the arc of the story in an order that provides suspense and mystery, drawing characters toward the inevitability of their fictive destinies.Profoundly practical yet encouraging to writers at all levels, Architecture of the Novel offers the maps and mechanics to successfully guide writers toward the story that must be told.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction

317 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 28, 2007

About the author

Jane Vandenburgh is a fifth-generation Californian, who says, “My writing concerns itself with place — both temporal and geographic — and how place entwines with personal history. I’m interested in what’s its been to be a Westerner and a female and a member of Generation Huge, the 77 million who came of age just as the Civil Rights and antiwar movements were causing the culture of the U.S. to drastically change.”

She has taught literature and writing at U.C. Davis, at Georgetown and at the George Washington University in Washington, DC, and has been a Writer-in-Residence at St. Mary’s in Moraga, California.

Married and the mother of two children, she is also the author of the novels, Failure to Zigzag and The Physics of Sunset, the nonfiction book, The Architecture of the Novel, and the memoirs, A Pocket History of Sex in the Twentieth Century, and most recently, The Wrong Dog Dream. She lives in Point Richmond, California.

Reviews

[Tandava Graham · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you picked up this book because "architecture" in the title sounded like something logical and structured, then this isn't actually what you're looking for. If you're looking for something fuzzier, more abstract, and incessantly anthropomorphic, then you've come to the right place. An example:

"It is the mind of the book that will finally know all that it will need to say, as if through an act of its own prophecy. This is why we turn the story over to itself, trusting that it can and will, under its own power, transform."

Okaaaay, I guess, but it doesn't really give us much to do as the actual writer. And it doesn't get much better than that. There are a few good nuggets scattered around, but you've got to wade through a lot to find them.

Perhaps this is meant more for someone who's already written some books and is looking for a more intuitive approach, though the intuition involved here tends to feel more subconscious than superconscious. The author may be describing her own experience of writing a novel, but doesn't seem willing to leave that bubble to communicate clearly with us outside of it.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some good observations about writing here, but the presentation is rather disjointed--Vandenburgh admits to having trouble organizing her thoughts in the acknowledgements. She goes about drafting novels in a very free-form, unstructured way (nothing wrong with that!), but I think this approach works against her in a non-fiction book about writing. My biggest barrier to gleaning information from this book is the fact that nearly half of it is an extended encyclopedia of writing terms. There are some standards here, like "conflict", "empathy", and "evil", but also invented terms and phrases I wouldn't have known to look up, such as "the way we name a river" (under W) and "your story's needs" (under Y). This forces you to read the encyclopedia chronologically--I noticed terms are re-referenced only in later sections, which seems to confirm my decision to read this way--and yet, reading an encyclopedia like this can be downright dull. There are some great little gems hidden in here (I liked "revelation" and "fairy tale"), but I found it hard to retain the disjointed, alphabetical list. Some definitions are lengthy, spreading over multiple paragraphs or pages, while others are overly vague and much too short. I think it would be more beneficial to read the books referenced here instead: Wood's "How Fiction Works", Lamott's "Bird by Bird", King's "On Writing", Forrester's "Aspects of the Novel".

[Anna Moorhouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hitting the Books: A Plot vs. Story Deathmatch!

Seeing as I will be starting my second draft from scratch, I liked Vandenburgh’s insistence that your provisional draft (i.e. early, crappy draft) needs to be written entirely in scene, as if you are a physical witness to the events that are happening in the story, rather than as a summary of scene. I know this is something I struggled with in my first draft... [Read More]

[E · Rating 1 out of 5]

I just couldn't get anywhere with this one. I really tried, but the writing was in a form so abstract that it had next to no relevance to me. I don't mind abstraction if it's followed by a nice, concrete, "We can apply this principle when, for example..." sort of thing, but this had no concrete examples. I appreciate the (extremely) extended metaphor of the novel as a living, breathing thing with a mind of its own, but this book just really didn't help me at all. I have so many more books awaiting my attention that it seemed a waste of time to keep trying to slog through it.

[Edgar Guedez · Rating 5 out of 5]

if you're thinking about writing a fiction novel, this is a must read. The author explains the structure of the fiction novel in detail, with an example that she cleverly uses to strengthen her proposals. In the second part of the book, there is a dictionary of key terms that any aspiring author should be aware of. This is an excellent book for people who want to learn the craft of writing.

[J'aime Wells]

DNF at very painful 24%. I suppose there must be writers out there for whom this book would be inspiring and helpful, but I'm not one of them. Perhaps it's aimed at literary types who care more about their book being unique than about finding readers who will like it? I kind of boggled at the statement that "every book has its own unique structure," and that "no one can tell you your book's structure." Uh? There are plenty of great books about story structure. I feel like I enjoy writing more, and write better stories, after having read some of them. But then, I'm an unrepentant genre writer, and I want readers to enjoy my books. I care more about those things than about creating something absolutely unique. I didn't recognize or relate to the experience of writing she described at ALL. It sounds like misery to me.

I didn't feel like this book and I are a reasonable mismatch or difference of opinion and approach, like "I'm a plotter and she's a pantser." I felt more like I wanted to learn to play the piano, but she was determined to teach me to paint abstracts.

[Sarp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meandering. Full of repetition and fluff. Only occasionally useful as a book on the novel craft.

[David DeLuca · Rating 1 out of 5]

If a paranoid schizophrenic wrote a book about how to write a book, this would be the result.

[Kellie Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Priceless

Vandenburg has written the essential guide for the writer that discovers their novel rather than plans it. Highly recommended if you are that sort of writer.

[Sandra Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a visual artist with a keen interest in creative writing, I fell in love with Jane Vandenburgh's right-brained approach to crafting a novel. While other writing how-to books often focus on formula and writing a story from the "top down", Jane offers the visually pleasing metaphor of building a novel from the foundation up through a well-crafted house of juxtaposed scenes arranged room by room. Paradoxically, the story still possesses an order and logic of its own accord when allowed to organically develop this way; harmoniously uniting creativity and coherence as a string of Fibonnacci numbers spiraling outward.

Like any good architect, Vandenburgh doesn't rely on pure abstraction; she delves into the wisdom of great storytellers who have gone before that have developed tried-and-true methods for story construction. Her reach for solid wisdom extends all the way to the ancients such as Aristotle and Sophocles. Vandenburgh exhibits a strong understanding of the history of storytelling and the humility to call upon this wisdom even in her contemporaries who have written on the craft. This includes the delightful Ann Lamott who I have revisited lately, who also gives the foreword.

Jane encourages the writer to avoid the mistakes of novice and experienced writers alike - to refrain from the sins of authorial intrusion, self-indulgent dialogue, and heavy-handedness to control the story and characters. Using a simple storyline that takes shape over the course of the book, Jane shows story principles in action and reinforces concepts. Finally, she offers a glossary of all these terms and sometimes offers additional insights.

Though this was a library loan, I plan to buy this book to add to my references. I believe I will glean wisdom from this book again and again. Whether I paint a story with pigments or words, I hope to touch on these sound principles of truth and beauty.

[Chris Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I think some type of outline can be beneficial, Vandenburgh suggests a path of just writing as many scenes as possible to just get the story down in words. She then reminds you that this will be a very rough first draft, and many, many additional drafts will be required to firm up your story. I found the following to be the best advice from this book: 1) the first draft will not be great writing or the best version of your story; 2) many subsequent drafts and revisions will be required to improve the story. And both of these are points are perfectly acceptable, and to be expected. So start writing and don't beat yourself up for not matching the quality of your favorite authors.

Although I did find some useful information and a very different perspective than approaches that I have tried, I still found the book to be a little light on useful advice. I prefer Stephen King's "On Memoir" or James Scott Bell's "Conflict and Suspsense".

[Pam Torres · Rating 5 out of 5]

Her writing style can be abstract but I found it incredibly inspiring. The way she describes how a story reveals itself and how plot and story work together really made sense. One of the things that we all struggle with is fighting to keep the work we have done, all those countless hours. Our drafts are "provisional drafts", which means that we will inevitably throw out the good with the bad, but that it is OK. She reassuringly says,"If its any good it's true and if it's true it will always, always come back to you." How cool is that!!

[Ladyseishou · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are two parts to this book - the author's essays on writing which I found to be very insightful and helpful. I especially appreciate her advice regarding the provisional draft, something that is akin to the novel writing task for NaNoWriMo. The second part was more or less an expanded glossary of literary concepts and terms. There was still bits here and there to pick up but the reading was a little drier and harder to get through. All in all however, the book is definitely worth a look.

[Judy Croome · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can't put my finger on what I found difficult about this book. The author's enthusiasm, her knowledge and her excellent insights into writing a novel weren't enough to keep me reading until the end. I started this book three times...and each time I couldn't plough my way through more than 40% of it. This is one of those books that just doesn't "talk" to me, but I think others may find it useful.

[The Escapery · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great guide to novel writing for the perplexed, the lost, and the discouraged. Skip over the novel in progress she uses as an example, but take in her notes on form. They make you feel less crazy, more excited to venture into the wilderness of writing.

[Loren Jenkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Want to write? Read this and learn how.

[Comestor]

The book doesn't live up to its blurb, and its title is deceptive. This is a collection of personal reflections, not a handbook. I wanted to like it, but I didn't.