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The Writing of One Novel
In The Writing of One Novel, Irving Wallace shows how the basic idea of a novel about the Nobel Prize awards took form over sixteen years, tells of the false starts, the persistent detective work, the many drafts, the elation, the despair, the work inseparable from the writer’s craft. His book has been widely hailed as a unique portrait of a writer’s work.
John Barkham, Saturday review
“How do novelists create works of fiction? The answer—better than any critic could hope to give it—is provided in this literary autopsy by Irving Wallace, one of the most widely read novelists of the day I cannot recall ever having read a laboratory report of this type before. No one interested in writing, editing, or just reading fiction should miss this professional postmortem. It ought to be made a standard text in writing schools.”
NATIONAL
“Mr. Wallace, who kept journals and diaries at every stage of progress (in writing The Prize), has managed to make it all come alive for us, permitting us a sense of sharing in the making of the book.”
CLEVELAND
“Wallace’s anatomy of a best seller is a fantastic record of almost total recall.”
SAN FRANCISCO
“The Writing of One Novel is an extremely valuable book for writers, and because its author is the eminently successful Irving Wallace it can be read avidly by a much wider circle of enthusiasts. Wallace is a best seller extraordinary and this present book is a comprehensive survey of how he came to write, how he wrote and how he was affected by the reception of The Prize The book seems utterly honest.”
ST. ST. LOUIS
“Never before have I seen a successful writer tell so much about the ways of his work.”
LOS ANGELES
“Irving Wallace’s candid and searching account of the conception, gestation and birth of The Prize... I found it a fascinating and revealing book... an excellent case study of what went into and came out in a single novel.”
John Barkham, Saturday review
“How do novelists create works of fiction? The answer—better than any critic could hope to give it—is provided in this literary autopsy by Irving Wallace, one of the most widely read novelists of the day I cannot recall ever having read a laboratory report of this type before. No one interested in writing, editing, or just reading fiction should miss this professional postmortem. It ought to be made a standard text in writing schools.”
NATIONAL
“Mr. Wallace, who kept journals and diaries at every stage of progress (in writing The Prize), has managed to make it all come alive for us, permitting us a sense of sharing in the making of the book.”
CLEVELAND
“Wallace’s anatomy of a best seller is a fantastic record of almost total recall.”
SAN FRANCISCO
“The Writing of One Novel is an extremely valuable book for writers, and because its author is the eminently successful Irving Wallace it can be read avidly by a much wider circle of enthusiasts. Wallace is a best seller extraordinary and this present book is a comprehensive survey of how he came to write, how he wrote and how he was affected by the reception of The Prize The book seems utterly honest.”
ST. ST. LOUIS
“Never before have I seen a successful writer tell so much about the ways of his work.”
LOS ANGELES
“Irving Wallace’s candid and searching account of the conception, gestation and birth of The Prize... I found it a fascinating and revealing book... an excellent case study of what went into and came out in a single novel.”
- GenresNonfiction
Paperback
First published January 1, 1968
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About the author
Irving Wallace
182 books293 followersIrving Wallace was an American bestselling author and screenwriter. His extensively researched books included such page-turners as The Chapman Report (1960), about human sexuality; The Prize (1962), a fictional behind-the-scenes account of the Nobel Prizes; The Man, about a black man becoming president of the U.S. in the 1960s; and The Word (1972), about the discovery of a new gospel.
Wallace was born in Chicago, Illinois. Wallace grew up in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He was the father of Olympic historian David Wallechinsky and author Amy Wallace.
Wallace began selling stories to magazines when he was a teenager. In World War II Wallace served in the Frank Capra unit in Fort Fox along with Theodor Seuss Geisel - more popularly known as Dr Seuss - and continued to write for magazines. He also served in the First Motion Picture Unit of the Army Air Force. In the years immediately following World war II Wallace became a Hollywood screenwriter. He collaborated on such films as The West Point Story (1950), Split Second (1953),and Meet Me at the Fair (1953).
After several years in Hollywood, he devoted himself full-time to writing books. Wallace published 33 books during his lifetime.
Wallace was born in Chicago, Illinois. Wallace grew up in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He was the father of Olympic historian David Wallechinsky and author Amy Wallace.
Wallace began selling stories to magazines when he was a teenager. In World War II Wallace served in the Frank Capra unit in Fort Fox along with Theodor Seuss Geisel - more popularly known as Dr Seuss - and continued to write for magazines. He also served in the First Motion Picture Unit of the Army Air Force. In the years immediately following World war II Wallace became a Hollywood screenwriter. He collaborated on such films as The West Point Story (1950), Split Second (1953),and Meet Me at the Fair (1953).
After several years in Hollywood, he devoted himself full-time to writing books. Wallace published 33 books during his lifetime.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 29, 2016
'The Writing of One Novel' by Irving Wallace is the biography of a bestseller of his called 'The Prize', a fictional account of what happened during the course of a week before the presentation of four Nobel Prizes in Stockholm. The author famously took 16 years (on and off) to complete the novel which has over 40 characters in around 800 pages. Often dismissed as a 'popular book by a popular author' by critics and 'tailor-made for motion pictures', this book provides a fascinating account of the painstaking process involved in even writing a 'popular book'. Calling the three stages of writing his book as Conception, Gestation and Birth, Wallace attempts to explain all the background work that goes into producing such an effort.
In Conception, he outlines how the idea of writing something around a potential scandal during awarding of the Nobel Prizes occurred to him and how he went about the process of doing the research before even attempting to write the book. Following that, he shared practices that he obsessively follows in his writing and that of other successful authors during that time.
In Gestation, Wallace explains the grueling process of editing by multiple people. Everyone from the lawyers to publicists to copy editors to literary agents to friends and family have constructive and not so constructive opinions on characters, scenes and plots. Each of them have to be carefully considered and then defended or dismissed. It was particularly interesting to read him talk about the process of selling the book to motion pictures. Arguably the most fascinating aspect of this book was Part 3 called Birth in which he explains how the critics and the readers received his work. He criticised the tendency of critics to question the motives of the author in writing a book as well as he felt that that was not a fair critique. If anything, the content in terms of characters and plots is what must be criticised.
Overall, a great way to get into the mind of one of the most successful authors in the history of English language publishing and lot of valuable advice for rookie authors.
In Conception, he outlines how the idea of writing something around a potential scandal during awarding of the Nobel Prizes occurred to him and how he went about the process of doing the research before even attempting to write the book. Following that, he shared practices that he obsessively follows in his writing and that of other successful authors during that time.
In Gestation, Wallace explains the grueling process of editing by multiple people. Everyone from the lawyers to publicists to copy editors to literary agents to friends and family have constructive and not so constructive opinions on characters, scenes and plots. Each of them have to be carefully considered and then defended or dismissed. It was particularly interesting to read him talk about the process of selling the book to motion pictures. Arguably the most fascinating aspect of this book was Part 3 called Birth in which he explains how the critics and the readers received his work. He criticised the tendency of critics to question the motives of the author in writing a book as well as he felt that that was not a fair critique. If anything, the content in terms of characters and plots is what must be criticised.
Overall, a great way to get into the mind of one of the most successful authors in the history of English language publishing and lot of valuable advice for rookie authors.
June 2, 2017
Loved this. I regard this as a study text for all those who are curious about the process of writing a fictional novel and want to delve into the intimacies and "behind the scenes" that goes into one. Valuable tips for those who are beginning their own journey as writers too!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews