Fiction Writer's Handbook

by Hallie Burnett, Whit Burnett

This book offers practical advice on every aspect of writing novels and short stories: plotting and narrative development, characterization and dialogue, sources of material, planning an opening, roughing out chapters, using suspense and emotional color, rewriting and highlighting and much more. Examples drawn from the works of outstanding writers, past and present, illustrate each point, making this the perfect handbook for professional writers and students.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Reference

224 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1979

Reviews

[R.a. · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars.

Founders and first editors of Story magazine Hallie and Whit Burnett composed this Fiction Writer's Handbook. Though published over 40 years ago, the "practical advice" as well as the contributing writer anecdotes still hold up.

From writer "skills" of observation and habit development to a wonderful section on the novella, the Burnetts' handbook becomes a solid anchor of reference for anyone delving into the dangerous waters of creative prose writing and publishing.

The section on Henry James' The Ambassadors is particularly interesting. And, insights from Maugham, Chekhov, Sartre, Fitzgerald, Mailer, Salinger and others keep the reader-writer's attention. After all, almost all to all cited were / are master craftspeople.

The only setback to this guide seems the repeated "When we were [editors] . . . and name dropping tales. Relayed often throughout, they leave an impression of self-congratulations beyond fact--an impression of "fame and prestige" which furtively approaches complacency and even elitism. Yet, the pride taken in establishing a periodical such as Story is warranted and wholly understandable.

And, the Burnetts' handbook provided this little writer with one great solution to that well-established curse: "Writer's Block."

A wonderful read and reference, overall.

[Leland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whit Burnett was the founder of the American literary magazine Story. He and his wife Hallie planned to write a book together on how to write short stories before his death. It didn't materialize until afterwards, when Hallie compiled Fiction Writer's Handbook from her own recollections and his notes, expanding its original scope to include the novel and novella. It is both a practical guide to writing and a collection of anecdotes about the who's who of 20th century American literature. Whit and Hallie came into contact with dozens of writers from Robert Frost to J.D. Salinger, and offer plenty of insight into their lives and creative process.

I found the first three parts extremely valuable. These are "Self Examination of the Fiction Writer", "Elements of Fiction", and "A Writer's Material." These cover all the broad existential questions that see any new writer plagued with doubt. The rest of the work is devoted to breaking down the technical processes of writing a story in each form. I am yet to test the practicality of all of its advice, but it is a useful reference that gave me some strong insight into what to expect.

If I have any gripes with Fiction Writer's Handbook it is that it feels a bit slight towards the end. Also, excerpts from stories are posted as filler with no real exegesis. Other than that, it is one of the better creative writing books I have read.

[Hans Sandberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice primer on fiction writing, maybe a bit dated by now, but you will still find useful thoughts like this in it.
"Also, or perhaps it is even paramount, the writer must learn to dramatize his theme, rather than delivering it by exposition. Too many stories are told, rather than happening. On this depends, too, the success of the story at capturing the reader. No matter how sensitive, perceptive, etc., a writer may be, if he doesn't manage to get a grip on the reader by page 2, he's done for."

p 179 (1975 Ed)

[Stefani · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read a bunch of these how-to guides on writing fiction and the consensus is that it can be helpful to know what works and what doesn't, but that applying those rules, at least consciously when you do your own writing is difficult. This book had some helpful suggestions gleaned from famous authors, but were buried deeply within self-congratulatory passages about the high level of fiction the book's authors were involved with publishing.

[Gianluca Bisquadro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very useful but in a way didn't help me much realize what a novel could really look like. I simply don't have the knowledge to get all the references and the subtext and therefore the advice seems farfetched. Some other books about screenplay anf story have been far more broad in dealing with story beats and motivation.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dated and difficult

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was given to me a long time ago. Essentially, it explores the craft of writing fiction in the classical sense. Topics covered include such things as plot, characters, and writing a punchy first paragraph. The main focus of this book is on the short story, as the writer and her late husband where the driving force behind STORY magazine for nearly thirty years from the 1940's to the 1970's. The novella and the novel are also looked at briefly.

One entertaining aspect of this book is that as it was written in the early Seventies, quotes crop up along the lines of "one time I was speaking with William Faulkner and he said...". They also mention Borges and Nabakov in the since of being young, on the fringe, writers. I know that both of these guys were already fairly old in the 1970's, but I am assuming that this book was written in fragments over the lifetime of the Burnetts' career.

Most of the information contained here has probably occurred to anyone that has ruminated on the aspects of writing traditional, linear fiction. However, I believe that it is still a good resource in that it fleshes out those thoughts. It would be interesting to see a rebuttal to this book from someone like Burroughs or one of the Bizarro guys.

[Kathy McKenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Technologically dated but wonderfully insightful and inspiring for a writer.

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

I marked a lot of passages in this book. There's a lot of insight into the art/craft of writing fiction, but also an air of literary superiority and egoism that tainted the book for me. Glad to be done with it.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author draws upon her long experience as co-editor of Story Magazine to give advice and tips on writing fiction. She discusses the elements and addresses both short stories and full length novels.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book to have. It has exercises about how to write novel and what mistakes to avoid. It's a good book to use as a reference.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Especially good in its focus on shorter fiction, this book covers a lot of basics as well as philosophical discussion about the purpose of writing.