Writing Great Fiction: Storytelling Tips and Techniques

De: James Hynes, The Great Courses

Narrado por: James Hynes

Whether you're huddled around the campfire, composing an email to a friend, or sitting down to write a novel, storytelling is fundamental to human nature. But as any writer can tell you, the blank page can be daunting. It's tough to know where to get started, what details to include in each scene, and how to move from the kernel of an idea to a completed manuscript.

Writing great fiction isn't a gift reserved for the talented few. There is a craft to storytelling that can be learned, and studying writing techniques can be incredibly rewarding - both personally and professionally. Even if you don’t have ambitions of penning the next Moby-Dick, you'll find value in exploring all the elements of fiction.

From evoking a scene to charting a plot to revising your drafts, Writing Great Fiction: Storytelling Tips and Techniques offers a master class in storytelling. Taught by award-winning novelist James Hynes, a former visiting professor at the famed Iowa Writers' Workshop, these 24 insightful lectures show you the ins and outs of the fiction writer's craft. Get tips for developing believable and memorable characters, explore how to craft plausible dialogue that serves the purposes of your narrative, compare the advantages of different points of view, and more. A wealth of exercises will inspire you to practice the many techniques you learn. Professor Hynes is an able guide, showing you what has worked for him and other novelists, and pointing out pitfalls to avoid. Writing Great Fiction is truly an exceptional course for anyone interested in storytelling.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

©2014 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2014 The Great Courses

Great resource for aspiring writers.

Full of great examples and references to use. If you want to write, you must listen to these lectures. Good insight and coverage of topics important to aspiring writers.

Informative

Very helpful and informative, this is one of the best lectures/audio books on fiction writing

Great advice for first time novelist

I am working on my first novel and found this full of good advice and well supported by detailed references. Students pay $$$$ more for these lectures and exercise. I love Great Courses.

More to a good book than I thought

I particularly enjoyed the professor's reference in numerous fictional stories as examples. Some of them he referenced much more than others and he repeated one phrase from Mark Twain Huckleberry Finn like 5 or 6 times. more diversity would have kept things interesting, however, I still gain exposure to numerous books which I had none before. I particularly enjoyed the earlier chapters but as the lecture progressed I became less interested. For example, the chapters on perspective her point of view I felt like way too much information. anyone wants to know every last detail about certain topics will not be disappointed but other topics I could have been said. All at all very much worth listening to. This teacher deserves to be in the great courses. I spoke this into my phone while driving so forgive any weird structions and send tax respelling

Top notch

Loved it. Best audiobook on writing I've heard.

The author/speaker is gentle, funny, insightful, and never patronizing or pedantic. He is also honest about his own writing process and experiences.

I strongly believe my own understanding of writing is greatly improved, but also my ability to appreciate good fiction as well.

Perhaps the author will not become famous for his own fiction work (which is like winning the lottery these days), but he has definitely contributed to the art by putting together this book.

This book is largely about the creative process of crafting fiction, and is excellent for that. If you're looking for a grammar, spelling, and punctuation manual, however, this is not it.

Solid course

Solid course. Very good analisys of different aspects of writing a novel backed up with examples from well known novels. And finally last chapter is a masterpiece! About being a writer and why author is writing books.

loved it!

so much information yet presented in an entertaining way, my timidity has greatly diminished since listening to this gentleman.

Honest

The teacher spoke with self-awareness and allowed for a wide variety of writers to apply his advice. I was inspired to finally write what I've always wanted.

Very informative!

I absolutely loved this program, I'm on my second listen! very informative for experienced and new writers alike. Highly recommend.

Such amazing advice

I am simply blown away by the wealth of information expertly detailed and delivered in a digestible manner. If you are a writer of any kind you simply must add these skills to your tool belt.