joshuanovalis's review against another edition
Strikes a beautiful balance between a systematized methodology toward narrative craft and the unpredictable nature of most memorable artistry.
kellylynnthomas's review against another edition
3.0
Again, Burroway has good information but she's kind of obnoxious and condescending and it can make the good info hard to swallow. This book will at least be better for improving your craft than any of the shitty commercial books on writing you can get at a regular book store, and older editions are cheap on Amazon or Half.com.
moberle's review
informative
medium-paced
4.25
Wow! A book with actual good advice on how to write fiction! Wish I had actually bought it instead of doing my University's stupid online-access thing.
nerodia2348's review against another edition
4.0
There were some ideas about writing in this book I didn't agree with and some points during which I felt the author was being a bit bossy. I'm not a fan of restrictions on creativity. Still a useful read, though. There are lots of writing prompts and recommended reading throughout. Plenty to get people thinking outside the box in their writing process.
zoet's review against another edition
5.0
Loved all the stories and the really substantial suggestions on fiction technique!
likecymbeline's review against another edition
My creative writing program assigned this as the only "essential textbook," although it is no longer available new and no one is there to hold us accountable for reading it. I took my sister's copy, asked if it was okay if I marked it up a bit as I went, and there are a lot of places underlined in pencil, sometimes more than once. It's a very practical look at scenes, at dialogue, things you might think of unconsciously or believe fall into place 'naturally,' but it takes a step back and asks the writer to take seriously the craft of writing on a conscious and deliberate level. I don't know how it fares to other writing guides--most I've read are the kind that say the trick to writing is writing--and you can see that it's purpose is for a creative writing class (especially short fiction), but I'll be going back to those underlined passages as I work through my own writing.