Writing In General And The Short Story In Particular

If you are looking for one of the greatest books to help you begin writting short stories, with just the right amount of novel writing guidance to go with it, this is your book. Starting by explaining the difference in planning and writing each of these generes, and ending with a great number of chapters which explain how to do all the things needed to write a great simple short story and often a simple chapter of a larger story. From the characterization to the plotting of your genre. Openings, closings and foreshadowing are added to the middles you already have in mind. Tension, stress and motivation are other suspense tools to add to a story. Beginnings and endings are important but when would you determine where to start and where to end...usually after a great first draft. But most of all, all of these things are written in terms that the writer can, or should be learning, to understand. All of this and a whole lot more trimmed down in bite sized packages of knowledge that will make it all fun to do! The worst that could happen would be to really learn to understand and appreciate short stories and novels.Don Bell, Glendale, Arizona tinkerbelldos@cox.net

As an editor, not a writer, Hills brings an unusual perspective to the subject. Sadly, he's quite a rambler and I occasionally found his style to be impenetrable. (Dare I say an editor needed an editor?)There are some good thought provoking bits throughout the book, but they are weighed down by a disproportionate (and evenly distributed) amount of needless chatter and reiteration. The sections are pleasingly short (generally 2-4 pages) but many of them could have been even shorter. In some cases, I felt a section did little to expand upon what was stated in its title. An example being "Knowing a Character," over half of which is made up of arbitrary needling questions.I did find Hills' talk of "slick fiction" (a term for cliche pulp fiction) and how it has moved from the magazine short story to the modern television show interesting. Unfortunately, I found his instructive voice less informative than his recollection of history.If you're looking for insight into what makes the short story tick, Hills' book may get the job done but it is at times arduous and frustrating. I would instead recommend a book like Damon Knight's  Creating Short Fiction: The Classic Guide to Writing Short Fiction .

L. Rust Hills (d. 2008) was fiction editor at Esquire from 1957 to 1964. The obituary for him in the LA Times (Aug. 16, 2008): "L. Rust Hills, the former longtime fiction editor at Esquire who was known for publishing the work of the best American writers during his 30 years at the magazine, has died. He was 83." The reason I bought this book was to learn from such a distinguished person in the area of fiction writing. I am a bit disappointed, however, in this book because he presents too much information in one paragraph. The contents of this book could have been better presented in an encyclopedia format. Hills seems be showing how the elements of writing (in general or short story) are interrelated. But he lacks in explaining those elements (fundamentals) in an easy-to-understand way. He tries, though, with sporadic examples. On the positive side, there is definitely things to be learned from Hills. I especially liked his comments on what works in fiction (and doesn't work) as opposed to his explanations.

I own thirty plus writing books and by far Rust Hill's book "Writing in General and the Short Story in Particular" would be the writing book I would be stranded with on a desert island.He breaks down every part of a story in small sections that really helps the reader understand the topic of writing. You will come out of reading this book and feeling like you know all the major concepts and will be able to apply them to your work of fiction.Hands down, this is the best book on writing. I have used it time and time again to refresh the concepts of fiction. I highly recommend this book to everyone who writes fiction, especially short fiction.To amazon, please put this on the kindle!

I bought this book after having borrowed it from the college library. I wanted to be able to keep it handy, because it's much more concise and clear than other books that promise the same thing. The author doesn't spend much time on theory, but rather gets down to the bare bones, wich is really helpful when you've read many similar titles.Purchase this as a quick read but also as a reference book. The bullet points and reminders are useful to go over when editing.

Not sure if my opinion counts because I am not a professional writer. I read this book because I like to read and I became interested is seeing what it was about because of its title. Some of this book's content was interesting but it did not capture me and I had to force myself to keep reading it to completion. No regrets for having spent the time to read it but it was not enjoyable.

Do wonder why so many short stories have a vague or slight theme; if a short story has to have an internal shift in a character; what the difference is between a short story and novel besides word count?Do you write sketches and wonder why they're not short stories? Do you want some good advice that isn't formula, nor abstract opinion?This book is easy to read, is beautifully written, and is funny, urbane, and humble.

I'm not an aspiring writer, but I often read things like this to become a better reader. The author's observations are so spot on in addressing what I like to see in a story, and also what I don't like to see. He mentions many passages in literature that I've always marveled at (and enjoyed). As an avid reader, possibly taking some time to learn about the craft will enhance your understanding and appreciation of the writer's task at hand. Thought it well worth the time...

Hills has views on things.He also has complete clarity on what constitutes a good literary short story, and having read his book it’s hard to disagree with him.Although he’s wrong about Browning.

Good condition, essential reading.