The art & craft of the short story / Rick DeMarinis.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

The Art & Craft of the Short Story explores every key element of short fiction, including story structure and form; creative and believable characters; how to begin and where to end; and the generation of ideas; as well as technical aspects such as point of view; plot; description and imagery; and theme. Examples from the work of a wide variety are used. The author includes five of his own stories to demonstrate these topics.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Demarinis (Borrowed Hearts), a veteran short story writer and writing teacher who recently retired from the University of Texas, here presents an anecdotal and insightful guide to writing short stories. Excerpting and quoting writers both well known and obscure, Demarinis lays out the paradox of short story writing, i.e., that nobody knows how to do it other than what to avoid. In demonstrating the murky process of creating short stories, he uses his own work sparingly but effectively. Like others, he emphasizes the importance of writing every day, also noting that stories are more likely to come out subconsciously and that a story's meaning may not be clear to the writer for some time. Setting aside exercises in writing plot summaries and identifying the beginning, middle, and end of stories, Demarinis takes a more passive and intuitive approach. Although his book can be read for its entertainment value alone, it will undoubtedly be useful for writing courses and workshops. Suitable for both public and academic collections.DRobert Moore, Raytheon, Sudbury, MA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.