The Art of Fiction

By: Ayn Rand

Narrated by: Marguerite Gavin

Length: 6 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

In 1958, and again in 1969, Ayn Rand gathered a small group of her friends and acquaintances and gave an informal course on writing. At once a fascinating philosophical discourse on the art of creation and an invaluable guide for the aspiring writer, these edited transcripts are a treasure that will challenge, edify, and illuminate the way to more powerful writing.

Ayn Rand discusses how a writer combines abstract ideas with concrete action and description to achieve a unity of theme, plot, characterization, and style, the four essential elements of fiction. Here, too, are Rand's illuminating analyses of passages from famous writers, rewrites of scenes from her own works, and fascinating rules for building dramatic plots and characters with depth.

Also, listen to the companion text, Ayn Rand's The Art of Nonfiction.

©2000 Estate of Ayn Rand (P)2003 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"Ayn Rand is a writer of great power. She has a subtle and ingenious mind and the capacity of writing brilliantly, beautifully, bitterly." ( The New York Times Book Review)

Ayn Rand is always bold

This is a concise set of instructions for the thoughtful writer. Rand offers instructions for writing and living an objectivist life.

Chock Loaded

Another must for anyone with an interest in writing and Rand, truly one of the densest and most stimulating writers to this day. Just glance at the love and hate she inspires. While you will not be made into a little Ayn, you will gain insights into how she structures approaching writing fiction. Some of the text even delves into the motivations for writing. Her advice is poignant and delivered in her standard direct style. I highly recommend.

Pure Joy

I was thrilled to have stumbled upon this. To actually hear Ayn Rand's words as she expresses her thoughts about the art of writing. I'm not saying that I agree completely with everything that she says or that what used to work for a writer decades ago still applies today but definitely still amazingly powerful and valuable to be able to hear her thoughts and opinions. Loved every minute of it and will undoubtedly listen to it again.

Educational

Some have shared their distaste for Ayn's self-esteem, but she was a truly great woman who simply knew her own value. There's nothing wrong with accurate self-appraisal.

I found the information she presented to be helpfully instructive as both a reader and a writer.

Ayn Rand on plot structure

If you've ever struggled with writing plot structure in a novel, you will find Ayn Rand's discussion of plot structure most valuable. In this classic "period" piece, her comments on story structure still hold true. AR's discussion of selfishness-as-virtue is a little hard to take, but whether or not you agree with the philosophy of selfishness, the woman knows her craft as a writer. This is a discussion you'll want to hear over and over, as it is fascinating for writers and readers alike.

Nonwriters: The book will make you a better reader

The Art of Fiction gives writers (and readers) tools for thinking about how writing is done, and specially how Ms. Rand wrote. If you read her books, you will particularly find her insights to her own works very helpful. She is speaking of "romantic" literature as opposed to "naturalistic" literature, and shows the differences in the purposes of these types of literature. Much of the criticisms leveled at a book such as "Atlas Shrugged" can be understood in light of the specific type of literature that Ms. Rand wrote, and the purposes of such a type.

I read the reviews before I purchased the book, and find the criticism to be a bit strange. Yes, Arn Rand thinks she is a good writer, and shows examples of other writings that she deemed require improvement - one would expect as much given the purpose of the personal talks that she gave to a group of friends and interested acquaintances that were later edited into this book. The book is short and rather episodic, rather than flowing - again a product of the converting informal lectures into a book.

In any case, as someone who wanted to use the book to become a better reader, I found it very insightful as a reader in general, and specifically as a reader of Ms. Rand.

Get Stein on Writing

First, let me say there are very good nuggets of information in this book. The problem is that the nuggets are hard to hear over her huge ego. 90% of this book is her tearing apart other people's work and never giving any examples of how it could have been done better. The book also gets political from out of nowhere. I'm sure there is good information here, but I struggled to finish listening to this book. If you want to listen to a book on techniques and strategies, I would suggest listening to Stein in Writing. Yes, Sol Stein has the huge ego too, but at least he gives examples to help the listener.

Excellent Content Presented as Only Rand Would

Rand's lecture notes. Overall, excellent, and the performance is excellent. I have not found anything off-putting in the language or tone. Quite the opposite. Rand certainly has her opinions, even strongly held, but that's expected.

Rand's perspective is that her listeners are wanting instruction on writing a work of fiction. The instruction is very practical, and a number of examples are given from her writing and that of others.

There is a lot of stuff in here that anybody who has read a few books on fiction writing will find familiar. However, it is generally presented in a rather unique way, using language, criteria, and emphasis that is totally Rand. For example, the presentation of abstraction, concretization, plot-theme, to name but a few.

At the same time there are many new insights to be had here as well. The emphasis on the underlying layers of character motivations, down to the level of philosophies, is quite good. Also, the Naturalistic vs the Romantic school that runs through the lectures is really interesting, and is something I have not found in other "how-to" books.

Of course, Rand's objectivism underlies all her thinking. The listener may want to have access to a Ayn Rand Lexicon (there is a website for that purpose) in a few cases.

I have taken quite a few notes from these lectures and feel that my understanding of the art of fiction has increased.

Recommended.

Learned a lot about the craft of writing

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, specifically to a writer friend. There are a lot of writing techniques provided, things to think about when writing or editing. It might be considered to be the basics of writing, but these are basics that are easily and often missed by writers, skilled and not.

What did you like best about this story?

The tips on writing, how to create the best storylines and descriptions while getting rid of things that detract from what makes writing good.

What does Marguerite Gavin bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

A straight forwardness about the skills one needs to be a well-rounded, good writer.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

How to craft dramatic scenes, how to create the best out of a plot, how to write the best descriptions. A great book to own for future references.

Any additional comments?

I didn't always agree with her absoluteness about some things, but it was mainly near the end, when telling about her personal preferences. These, she expressed as what's the best and what's not good. Being an apparent non-believer, she had strong opinions about what religious fiction writing portrays. I'd say the last half hour of the book was the least helpful. The rest, I got much out of and would listen to again.

Arn Rand versus Sol Stein-Listen and Take Notes

I had to get past her ego as a great (if not the greatest) writer as she offered advice on how to write better by using examples of what she considered bad writing. They are really good examples of awful writing that somehow got published. I've already listened to Sol Stein on Writing and they do differ on opinions in certain areas, but they offer the same essential advice. I'm not a fan of either of her novels but she is knowledgeable about her field. I prefer Sol Stein as my writing instructor, but this is a decent and worthwhile listen. I listened a second time with pen and paper in hand to take notes.