How fiction works cover

How fiction works

by Oakley Hall

"In 1989, Oakley Hall published The Art and Craft of Novel Writing, a classic text that Pulitzer Prize-winner Robert Stone called "simply the best book in print to examine the strategies and necessities involved in the making of a novel."" "In How Fiction Works, Hall has expanded and deepened his instruction, adding exercises and new examples as well as advice on all forms of fiction, including short stories, short-short stories and novels. He covers every fictive technique, from plot and characterization to word choice, voice and style." "The key to Hall's teaching method is his brilliant use of examples. Throughout the book, he emphasizes the importance of reading and evaluating fiction with an eye toward craft. To this end, he offers more than one hundred excerpts from literature, illustrating through analysis and advice how fiction works."--Jacket.

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Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?