The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers

I think that all of Gardner's advice for beginning writers is valid. I was shocked at the negative reviews that some other readers have posted. They find fault with Gardner because he makes reference to classic works of literature. First off, one does not have to have read EVERY book that Gardner makes reference to in order to understand his point.

What shocks me is that people seem genuinely offended that Gardner thinks that aspiring writers should read! EVERY creative writing teacher expects his students to read as much good literature as possible. Why is this? Because IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO BE A GOOD WRITER UNLESS ONE IS WELL READ. You don't believe me - just ask Stephen King. If you are offended that Gardner expects you to be familiar with names like Hemmingway and Faulkner, you should be ashamed of yourself.

The elitism argument isn't even supported by the text. Sure he talks about Homer and Shakespeare, but he also comments that great writing can also be found in Spider-Man comic books and other unlikely sources. (I am comforted because the negative reviews themselves are not very well-written.)

These are dangerous times we live in. People no longer want to hear that they can't just pick up a pen and be the next Fitzgerald. And who's to say that Fitzgerald is any better than James Paterson, say? It's all relative, is it not?

It is not.

This is a book for the serious writer - for ANY writer who wishes to write better. In order to do that, one must do the work. If this book makes writing sound like a hard thing to do, that is because WRITING IS A HARD THING TO DO. If it is not, you are doing it wrong.

Gardner covers all aspects of fiction techniques: plot, style, genres, voice - everything a beginning writer NEEDS TO AT LEAST CONSIDER. If you don't like this book, find another book on the art of fiction...but I fear you will have the same reaction. Any creative writing book worth its salt will offer the same advice.


Still relevant for writers today   January 22, 2004
 61 out of 64 found this review helpful

I recently re-read this classic book on writing fiction, and found it as relevant today as it was when it was first published. Because Gardner strives for "higher art", his musings and instructions for the beginner go much deeper than ordinary how-to books. His lengthy chapter titled "Interest and Truth" gets to the heart of what fiction needs to be, whether one is writing literary fiction or a crime novel. His "Common Errors" chapter, although relatively short and sounding as basic as one can get, offers some of the best advice on how to improve one's writing, from suggestions to creating dynamic sentences to how to imbue narrative with emotion. "Technique" covers topics such as paying attention to rhythm and word choice and building narrative suspense. Although I yawned during the chapter on plot - Gardner's diagrams and attempts at describing structure were too mechanical for my tastes, I'm sure some readers will read it voraciously. Likewise, his thorough compilation of writing exercises will have some reaching eagerly for their keyboards. I found that the sections that had interested me on my first reading years ago were not the same ones that intrigued me this time, suggesting that this book can grow with the writer.

The biggest flaw in this book, and one which might drive some readers away, is Gardner's personal biases. His intense interest in myth and classics drove his fiction, and it weighs heavily in the examples he provides. Also, he favors examples from his contemporaries - Barthleme, Coover, Barth - who might not interest younger writers who read a different set of cutting edge authors. Still, you need not be familiar with Gardner's examples to understand his points, as he himself makes few assumptions about the reader/student.

Even professional writers can benefit from Gardner's reminders since a revisiting of ideas can only sharpen one's fiction. Aspiring writers will leave these pages with an eagerness to attack their own work and with a set of wise guidelines to help them achieve their best work.


Absolutely and unequivocably the best   July 6, 2002
 34 out of 36 found this review helpful

I wish this book didn't specify young writers in its subtitle because that's likely to turn away older writers if they haven't heard about Gardner and his books. That would be quite a loss but for Gardner and the readers.

As a published author of many book reviews as well as magazine articles and newspaper pieces, I was at a loss as to where to turn when I needed advice on writing fiction. My solution was to take a course and this book was the required reading. Otherwise I would have overlooked it since I would in no way classify myself as young.

It's simply one of the best books available, especially for those who want to write literary fiction and who care about the quality of his/her writing. Character building, plotting, vocabulary, sentence structure, style and the idea of fiction as a dream are studied in depth here. It is a book to be studied and re-studied, read and re-read, for as the reader practices writing fiction and gains more experience, there's more to be found.

At the back of the book there are exercises. These are best done in a group so that you can get the benefits of others' critiques. The concepts here are deep and often open to more than one interpretation -- those come out in a group setting.

Read carefully. Be sure you understand the subtleties of what he's saying. If you give this one a shallow reading, you're likely to misinterpret. If you do, you'll loose a lot.

I'd put this at the top of my favorites books in a list of books for writers along with Jack Bickham's, Dwight Swain's and Gary Provost's books on the craft.


Good, not god-like   February 16, 2000
 27 out of 32 found this review helpful

Okay, first the negatives. Mr. Gardner is (was) a hard-core literary snob. He has no use for 'pornography', horror, science fiction, romance, or anything like that, and at times seems to view the whole purpose of writing as more an extension of the practice of philosophy than as either an art or a craft.

However, within that context he still has a lot of good advice that any writer, including what Gardner would describe as a 'trash' writer, would do well to consider. His chapters on fiction as the art of producing a credible dream-like state in the reader are right on target, and his discussion of the roots of various types of fiction (the short story, the folkloric tale, etc.) are highly edifying. His Helen of Troy example of step-by-step story building could be used to add depth and complexity to even the most straightforward of genre tales.

Overall, I must give hearty approval to this book, even though I feel sure that the author would not give hearty approval to me!


An excellent guide if you already know a whole lot   June 27, 1998
 27 out of 36 found this review helpful

Although there is much to be learned from Gardner's classic, when I've used this text in my college intro to fiction-writing courses, it doesn't fly too well. My students are put off by Gardner's insistence that the young writer is always male, and they usually haven't read many of the works to which he refers. Because Gardner is so exacting about what good fiction is, many students feel paralyzed after reading *The Art of Fiction*--they feel it's impossible to do anything even remotely correctly. But if you can get past those problem areas, then this book is a gold mine. The exercises are provocative and, yes, educational.