The Art Of Creative Writing

by Lajos Egri

Discusses originality, emotion, characterization, improvisation, inspiration, and human nature, and tells how to develop effective stories

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Reference, Audiobook, Unfinished, Art, The United States Of America

224 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1995

About the author

Lajos N. Egri (born June 4, 1888; died February 7, 1967) was the author of The Art of Dramatic Writing, which is widely regarded as one of the best works on the subject of playwriting, though its teachings have since been adapted for the writing of short stories, novels, and screenplays[...]

Reviews

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my third time through this book over several years. This is hands down the best book I've ever read on the art of fiction writing, and I've read all the popular ones. He delineates the key elements that are required to make a story work. Others have been there since, but he was the giant upon whose shoulders they stand. Egri understands how stories work, because he has keen insight into human nature. I am shocked that this book is out of print. It is worth hunting down a used copy. Or, you can purchase his one book that is still in print: The Art Of Dramatic Writing: Its Basis in the Creative Interpretation of Human Motives. Every serious writer needs to read Egri.

[Diane Vallere · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was going to be a book on writing craft, but it turned out to be so much more. Within a few chapters on motivation I recognized myself and a lot of the people who have had an impact on my life (both good and bad). I (uncomfortably) saw my own patterns and realized why I sometimes act the way I do. Holy moly! Not what I expected! It definitely shifted the way I think about characters and the way they interact with each other.

[April · Rating 1 out of 5]

I actively hated this book. This does not happen often.

Caveat: I read this as a reader (to think about books like an author), not a writer. But I cannot imagine trying to write something and this being at all helpful. Maybe in the middle of a major block to get some ideas or inspiration? Even then, I don't see it.

That said, I found the tone smug and the content annoying and, at times, offensive. Instead of telling people how to write, Egri seems to be telling people how smart he is about human nature. He defines love and seems to know exactly why everything happens: "Here: tell a story about this universal truth I've just stated," he seems to say. Not only that, he seems to really NOT understand women even a little bit. And all of his truths seemed like platitudes with examples that I wouldn't want to read.

One thing about writers is that they are all readers. And Egri seems to be writing for writers who have never read anything. Even though I wasn't reading as a writer, I was offended as a reader by his simplicity and condescension. He actually seems to expound on ideas that have no basis in most of the good literature that I've read. He focuses on character and plot (obviously, round characters that you know deeply are critical), but the plot "advice" seems utterly useless, consisting of boring summaries of plots and conflicts he has created.

Ultimately, this was unhelpful in ANY way to me, and I have trouble imagining how it could be helpful to anyone.

[Mountain Learning · Rating 3 out of 5]

The insights around characterization were interesting. A few sketches were unputdownable and left me hanging and curious to know more about the characters as if they were real. But a few characters were stereotypical and have been overused in film and literature since the book's publication in 1995.

And while I do accept that this is a book of its time--the 1990s--with stereotypes and caricatures from that time, I can't help but feel that Egri wrote the book for a male scriptwriter. All the examples in the "Where Do Writers Get Their Ideas?" section were men; women got bit parts or supporting roles as naive or spiteful or promiscuous wives. After a while the character sketches also got repetitive without much diversity in the characters.

[Tsun Tsun · Rating 1 out of 5]

If I ever find Egri's final resting place I will take great pleasure in pissing on his grave. Any useful writing advice that might be in this book is overshadowed by his pretentious nature, disgusting disregard for mental health issues and absolutely feral, rampant misogyny. I came here to learn how to write, not for a man to tell me that good characters don't ever change and women are bad lmao. Even disregarding his views on the nature of women and humankind as a whole, half of the advice is just bad overall.

[SCR · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found some of the ideas in this book incredibly interesting, but it wasn't an enjoyable read. Some of the authors opinions are quite offensive, misogynistic (even for the 90s!) and disturbing. Particularly the examples of his own writing and thought process, which are littered with negative gender stereotypes and violence towards women.

[ValTheBookEater]

for a book written in the 60s and republished in the 90s, human beings are referred to as "man" far far too much. this occurs among other stereotypical, one-dimensional, offensive and misogynistic descriptions. it's not even about writing misogynstic etc. characters. alot of the writing on character motivations seem patronising and self-important.

some interesting broad points about curiosity, identification and insecurity but the writing is not for a contemporary audience (or anyone other than man apparently).

[Corey · Rating 1 out of 5]

An absolute waste of time, full of self-masturbatory notions spewed out with a veneer of professionalism.

[Nate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insecurity is the root of all emotion.

This is more a deep dive into the darkest parts of human nature than a step by step writing guide but it was very interesting none the less.

[Tony · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s hard to believe this is a follow-up to the most seminal books on dramatic writing —if not the most important book on the matter ever. This one is boring and repetitive, so I ended up skimming through the last few case studies. Only the last two chapters are worth anything and those are a summary on the points he made in The Art of Dramatic Writing: The Basic Principles of Writing and A Shortcut to Enjoying and Criticizing Plays, Films, and Television Shows.

[Amirhossein · Rating 5 out of 5]

کتاب فوق العاده ای بود. ترجمه به شدت روانی داره. مثال های عالی زده واسه تفهیم مطلب و تاکید زیادی داره روی شخصیت پردازی که کاملا منطقی هستش. تنها مشکلش، غلط املایی زیاد و کلمات نامناسبی هست که برای ترجمه بعضی از لغات استفاده کرده؛ که خب چون اولین کتابی هست که تو این موضوع ترجمه شده تا حدودی منطقی هستش.
پیشنهاد میکنم قبل خوندن کتاب، نمایشنامه های خانه عروسک ایبسن و تارتوف مولیر رو بخونین حتما.

[Mike · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was a slog to get through. All the examples of characters boil down to "awful people in awful relationships." Even for the 60s, a lot of the thoughts Egri expresses about women were outdated. Skip this book and just read "The Art of Dramatic Writing."

[Caleb · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Man is a complex entity. He goes to the theater not only for entertainment, but to understand himself.“

[J.N. Estey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I appreciated a number of the tips on characterization, but I can't give this more than two stars, primarily due to the fact that the author appears to be a raging misogynist masquerading as a philosopher.

The way he projects his own borderline concerning drive for personal importance onto the entirety of the human condition is also troubling; he presents it as a fundamental human truth rather than something he personally struggles with and is thus projecting. Unfortunately, that sentiment colors the entire text unrelentingly. I also condemn the experience he details of abusing his dog in the last section of Chapter 9 as wholly unacceptable (I don’t care if he mentioned it in an attempt to comment on human nature and thus further contextualize literary characterization).

My philosophical two cents: It's not importance that humans strive for; it's metaphorical immortality, which is born out of an evolutionary drive to evade death. I think this is what happens when mammals develop enough intelligence to reflect on the knowledge and inevitability that we, too—all of us—are going to die. The distress this inevitability causes prompts us to try to escape it with the mentality that we're not truly gone if we leave a legacy. This thinking goes back to ancient Greece, to the warriors of “The Iliad” seeking lifelong glory in death. This thinking almost certainly predates literature and, as great writers continue to remind us, is deeply human.

The importance the author describes is primarily external validation, which serves a psychosocial function and is by no means inherently a bad thing. (Albeit, given the extent to which he fixates on it, there may be something more going on there.) In my opinion, this external validation, although also natural and normal and human, is more surface level than the deep-seated, primitive desire to live on, to evade death, to survive, even metaphorically.

[Carole · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another book I purchased back in the 90s and only read now, as I go through my collection of books. The style of writing was relaxing. I appreciated the approach he took in helping me, as a writer, think of the way I can delve deeper into my characters, a more psychological view, and what we face when we have a choice to make in which direction best suits the story.

There are many examples written out to help get a sense of this and I can see this being helpful if you are not used to studying people, their motives and what could have led to their choices.

If you’re expecting a how to write, you should look at other books before moving on to the complexities of character building that leads the story.

[Madisyn Telkep · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't for the life of me get through this book, I really tried to give it a chance and kept in mind that the author was in different time period but I wasn't having it. It was annoying with pacing ideas , does make good point in character writing but it's was pilled on top of more unnecessary info. If you are looking for unopinionated this book is not it. I'm definitely returning this book back to my local library

[Grace Nean · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this book is not a full looking glass into story structure (if that’s what you’re hungry for), it is a rich looking glass into humans and characters.
Which is what we really love about stories in the end.

It taught me a lot about myself. About people and discovering characters in my creative endeavours.

Survival, security & the importance of being important.

Every man has eternity written on their hearts and in spite of change we long for a constant.

[Eszter Beáta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nagyon nagy reményekkel fogtam neki a könyvnek, hogy konkrét és gyakorlati tippeket fog adni az írással, az egész folyamattal, lépésekkel kapcsolatban, azonban viszonylag kevés szempontot, és azok szemléltetésére millió történetrészletet tartalmaz a könyv. Tény, hogy nagyon izgalmas sztorikat kerekít ki egy-egy elemből, tehát elhiszem a szerzőről, hogy nagyon ért a kreatív íráshoz, de senki se várjon ettől gyakorlati szakkönyvet!

[TJ Edwards · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is an excellent book for the aspiring writing for motivations and purpose for your characters, however, the chapter on love was a bit over the top and beaten to death. While I felt the rest of the book was quite unbiased, there seemed to be a bit more behind that chapter. Certainly still one worth owning for the writing shelf!

[Cynthia Wylie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is immensely helpful for creative writing of any sort. A friend (ex-friend as it happens) gave me, "The Art of Dramatic Writing," which I loved. However, it's really about plays which I don't write. So I bought this one as an audio book. It breaks down the importance of premise, character development and conflict. Don't forget to read the Appendices. The narrator was excellent, too.

[Ariaaria · Rating 3 out of 5]

اگر کتاب‌های زیادی در باب نمایش‌نامه‌نویسی خوانده باشید این کتاب تقریبا بی‌فایده است...
اما کتاب در توصیف و تبیین چند نمایشنامه‌ای که سعی دارو به آن‌ها بپردازد بسیار موفق است... در کل برای کتاب‌های ابتدایی گزینه بسیار مناسبی‌است.

[Speranta · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting read, as it emphasis the understanding an author needs to have of the human nature. The examples were very easy to follow and they give a trail for understanding the multitude of question one needs to make to get to a plot.

[Art · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this on Audible, not the CD. Since Goodreads doesn't allow me to add editions anymore, I will write this here.

It was interesting. Instead of a lot of do this, do that, almost the whole book was example. It make it more interesting to me.

[آروین آبادی · Rating 3 out of 5]

کتاب خوبیه اما انتظار می‌رفت که بیشتر به اصول و اصطلاحات تئاتر بپردازه ولی اینطور نبود عملا اومده یه سری از نمایشنامه‌های معروف رو کنار هم صرفا جمع آوری کرده و خیلی خیلی کم به توضیح اصطلاحات پرداخته.

[Ben Bumpus · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Economic forces, the threat of war, or any national calamity, such as a depression or an inflation, can influence the temper of people so thoroughly that it can mean the complete reversal of what the majority wished or clamored for twenty-four hours earlier." No truer words.

4 stars. Classic. Still good information, does not feel stale or dated.

[Kieren Smock · Rating 5 out of 5]

there are some parts of this book obviously written by a man of the time, but the advice is solid, functional, and enlightening. overall an excellent text for considering how narratives are created, and breaking down the components on how to create better characters.

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I've read about creative writing. It has concrete advice and actionable techniques.

[Weckea · Rating 1 out of 5]

Useless!!!!!!!

[Saii · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing guidance on writing! It really helped me in a lot of aspects.

[Conor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thought this was going to be more of a technical book but it’s mostly philosophical musings on the authors extremely nihilistic view of human nature and his own mini-stories. Not bad but not great.