The Writer's Notebook: Craft Essays from Tin House by Dorothy Allison

The Writer's Notebook: Craft Essays from Tin House Reviews

• 
  Robin Kirk

  There are some very good pieces in this book -- Steve Almond's essay on writing sex scenes is excellent (it's not about the sex, but character, of course). The brief piece on the revisions behind
  The Great Gatsby was fascinating -- and comforting. Even Fitzgerald didn't get it the first time. He took the editorial comments made by Maxwell Perkins very seriously and generously, looking for the meaning in them rather than resisting them.
  
  Some nuggets:
  
  In "Making a Scene," Anna Keesey quotes Marilyn Robinson saying, "the reader is patient, ... is you're showing something that is of significance and if your prose is good and if there are no missteps or squanderings of the reader's attention, then the reader will follow you anywhere."
  
  Well, that's a lot of IFs! But I get it...
  
  Chris Offutt writes about the difference between "polishing" and revising -- and I am guilty, guilty, guilty of the former and not so hot at the latter... I will hone a sentence until it absolutely gleams, not seeing the weakness all around it. This piece is the best in the book. "Revising requires a cruel and ruthless objectivity with which you essentially perform surgery on yourself without anesthesia" (207).
  
  For Offutt, the first draft is pure vulnerability, which (hopefully) translates into what he calls "reader empathy." And that is not the space to be in to revise. The transition between the two is time -- letting that first draft sit. "Try to see what the story is, rather than what you are trying to force it into. If you've done that first draft successfully, you've tapped into your intuition, your impulses, your unconscious, your problems of the day, whatever emotional state you are in... [for revision] you need to forget what it is you've tried to do, look at the story, see what it has become, and begin to attempt to fix it, to revise it, to improve it" (209).
  
  Offutt always cuts off the opening and closing of the first draft, since the story is usually starting later and ending sooner. He also keeps every draft separate (!) so that he can go back and see what he did (I would find this completely impossible). He is fearless -- switching scenes, combining characters, hatcheting exposition. But the polishing -- repeated words, punctuation etc. -- is the last thing to be done...
  
  Another good quote. "Adverbs are the weakest words; verbs are the strongest. Many, many times I've found that I have the wrong verb so I'm attempting to cheat and modify the wrong verb by using an adverb" (212). Wiush it was shorter so I could put it on a tshirt.
  
  Peter Rock also had a good quote from Julio Cortazar, quoting Hector Quiroga: "Tell the story as if it were only of interest to the small circle of your characters, of which you may be one. There is no other way to put life into the story."
  
  In this exploration of show vs. tell, Rock goes on to say this. "Telling in stories often attempts to simplify, to clarify, but when it's really working, telling complicates and adds dimension to the experience of the story. It interprets situations and characters, and it invites us to do the same. It involves us" (239).
• 
  Zach

  This is a good collection of essays by a collection of top notch writers. They are mostly lacking in the area of "hard craft," meaning that they are composed more of metaphysical musings instead of practical writing advice. There is of course some of that, as essays on writing unavoidably delve into advice-giving at some point. But the impression given is definitely one of a casual conversation, not a lecture. It's like sitting at a round table with the authors while they share their wisdom. The best essay, for me, was Jim Krusoe's. He talked about "bad" words, and how sometimes something that seems wrong may be more revealing than a "perfect" word selection. Also excellent was Steve Almond's essay on writing sex scenes, which was as entertaining in itself as it was illuminating about bad sex [writing]. Those are the only two that really stuck out for me, though by no means is that meant to diminish the others. While there were a couple essays I could have done without, they were short enough an inoffensive enough that the book is well worth reading.
• 
  Madeline

  I rarely find craft essays fun to read, but these are actually very enjoyable. Lots of writers, most of which I've actually heard of, all contributing essays on very specific topics in writing. Sample titles include "When to Keep It Simple" by Rick Bass, "Revisioning The Great Gatsby" by Susan Bell, "Fairy Tale is Form, Form is Fairy Tale" by Kate Bernheimer, "Le Mot Incorrect" by Jim Crusoe, "Lost in the Woods" by Antonya Nelson, and my personal favorite, "Hard Up for a Hard-on" by Steve Almond (if you only ever read one craft essay on how to write a successful sex scene, make it this one).
• 
  Spencer

  This is not your Mother’s writing manual. Hell, Tin House’s new book of craft essays, by a wonderful host of heavy-hitting writers, is not a manual at all, and it is so much the better for it. The Writer’s Notebook takes its name seriously when presenting seventeen sexy essays that avoid giving step-by-step instructions, but confidently leads the reader on a pleasant hike up the mountain of writing craft. Leave your own notebook in the other room, but keep your pen handy, you may need to underline a few choice gems. These essays, while dealing with some of the usual suspects with renewed pizzazz, delve deeper and ask you to think about certain elements in a different way, like Mathea Harvey’s deliciously bizarre turn at imagination and writing in “The Mercurial World of the Mind.”
  The Writer’s Notebook manages to lure you in and befriend you, but just when you think it’s going to reveal the secret to writing success, it chuckles and admits it’s merely trying to get you thinking about writing from a different and fresh perspective. Often the authors confidently divulge their wisdom in the clever guise of their own mistakes, as in Peter Rock’s “The Telling that Shows: Some Provocations from inside the Story.” Mr. Rock states “---“ This seems to be the general tone of the Notebook. Even as Margot Livesey points out Shakespeare’s mistakes and success in, “Shakespeare for Writers: Sixteen Lessons.”
  If you are seeking the distilled wisdom in the form of a key to success, turn left and follow the heavily trodden path of 12 step programs. However, if you want to journey with Tin House’s fantastic stable of wise Authors and Poets, Authors that speak with great character and kindness, then follow them down the bramble trail and pick up this Writer’s Notebook. You’ll emerge with some minor gashes in your writerly thinking, but the scars and these essays will likely help you write better stories.
  
• 
  Wendy

  This is a great little collection of essays by some notable contributors. I have to admit that my favorite chapter here was Steve Almond's hilarious little gem about the awkwardness--and near impossibility--of writing about sex ("Hard up for a Hard-On", which, coincidentally, includes both lovely and nauseating examples. Consider yourself warned). Other notable chapters that I found particularly helpful include "Performing Surgery without Anesthetic" by Chris Offutt on revisions, "Making a Scene" by Anne Keesey, "Generating Fiction from History" by Jim Shepherd, and even (surprisingly?) "Shakespeare for Writers" by Margot Livesy. I found a few chapters too esoteric and/or vague, such as "The Mercurial Worlds of the Mind" about writing imaginary worlds in which the author's enthusiastically bizarre style I found almost impossible to follow. Bottom line, I'd recommend this to any student of creative writing. Good essay fodder here, to be sure!
• 
  FutureBoy

  I've been a professional writer for 19 years. This book was given to me by someone who knows that I am always keen to improve my skills.
  
  This book is atrocious, pretentious garbage.
  
  "The Mercurial Worlds of the Mind," a chapter written my Matthea Harvey, is the most agonising piece of writing I've ever forced myself to suffer through.
  
  But I wanted to complete this book so that my one-star review carried more weight.
  
  I read this book so that you don't have to. I have saved you, and you are welcome.
• 
  Sam

  Each essay I've finished has sent me either to my journal or to the keyboard.
• 
  Rachel

  A nice collection of essays on the writing craft by some very talented writers.
• 
  Aaron Burch

  I've owned this book for over a decade, since it came out, but apparently never dug in much more than an essay or two, and/or I forgot what I had read. I've been reading one of these every morning to start my day, which has been a treat. Some of these essays I love, some are "fine," some I found pretty forgettable and could have done without... but that seems pretty par for the course for an anthology. And the faves—in the first half, especially, it seems: Dorothy Allison, Steve Almond, Susan Bell, Aimee Bender, Lucy Corin, Margot Livesey—will stick with me and be rereads.
• 
  Brendan

  An over-sell of the authors. But it's a reader-friendly book and I enjoyed the variety of perspectives.
  
  Favorites:
  "Performing Surgery Without Anesthesia" - Chris Offutt
  "(Mis)Adventures in Poetry" - D.A. Powell
  "Le Mot Incorrect" - Jim Krusoe
  "Hard Up for a Hard-on" - Steve Almond. It's a funny read, whether you write sex scenes or not.
  
  Adverbs are the weakest words; verbs are the strongest.
  - Offutt
  
  
• 
  Maggie

  While I found the opening essay irritating (why write an entire essay about how writing can't be taught and in fact, the author loses all information about writing as quickly as she ever learned it in a book full of essays meant to help teach writers?)
  there are a few essays that were invaluable to me. Well done!
• 
  Coleman Bigelow

  This is a great collection for any aspiring writer. Lots of masterclasses packed into one volume. It's particularly helpful how all the writers share examples of the type of writing they admire and then break it down into parts. I loved the lessons from Shakespeare and le mot incorrect chapters.
• 
  Emma Burcart

  There are some really helpful craft essays in here, a few I marked up and will likely revisit again.
• 
  Theo

  This was a really solid anthology, I'll definitely be coming back to re-read a good number of these essays.
• 
  Christina Homer

  Incredibly helpful essays on craft, a book that no writer should be without.
• 
  Natalie (CuriousReader)

  This collection of essays focus on writing but have rather different approaches - some specifically talk about poetry, about Shakespeare, about fairytales and about specific books like The Great Gatsby. Others have more general ideas, theories and advice that could be applied to a wide variety of people and stories I think. I found some of the essays too heavy in quotes and examples - which really took away from my personal connection to what exactly was being said, instead I kept being annoyed at being thrown into so many different stories in one short essay. It's one thing to illustrate a point with a quote - which many did, but in my opinion a few of these essays could've lost some of the quotes to become clearer. "Place" by Dorothy Allison, "When to keep it simple" by Rick Bass, "Making a Scene" by Anna Keesey, "Performing surgery without anaesthesia" by Chris Offut, and "(Mis) Adventures in Poetry" by D. A Powell I found to be very interesting and useful in terms of writing. My favourite essay may have been "Character motivation" by Aimee Bender which I didn't only find useful in terms of writing but also particularly interesting from a readers point of view. All of the essays mentioned I found to be thought provoking in some way or other, and would recommend to anyone wanting to get some pointers for writing - not just writing fiction, some of these I thought could be applied to school related writing as well.
• 
  butterbook

  What to make of this collection? As a whole it was all over the place--one essay would read like it belonged in an academic journal, another like it was meant to be copied and distributed to an intro to creative writing class at the community college. The essays themselves were decent if the author could decide on the focus, and I will say I got at least *some*thing out of each of them once I figured out where they were going.
  
  Some of them, of course, never went anywhere, instead reading like the notes to an unprepared lecture (here's something I was thinking about the other day... oh, and also this--which reminds me of this!), and at least a few came straight out of somebody's dissertation (there's something unmistakable about the smell of I-wrote-this-for-credit).
  
  Yeah, I dunno. That's all. I guess I just expected more from a craft essay collection from Tin House. I rounded it off to a healthy three stars since these three essays:
  
  --Place (Dorothy Allison--easily the best essay in the book)
  --Making a Scene (Anna Keesey--the unfolding/infolding bit was especially useful)
  --The Telling that Shows (Peter Rock)
  
  would have each earned a solid 4.5 if taken on their own.
• 
  Matt

  I'm being a little generous with my rating - I'd have preferred a 3.7 or 3.8, but chose to round-up instead - mostly because, for all that they profess to instruct and suggest, some of these essays did little more than explain a genre, form, or trend without bothering to handle either the technical aspects or the possible usefulness of these things.
  
  That being said, the essays that WERE instructive, I will be looking back to for decades to come. These writers have helped me to actively rethink my approach towards character, scenes, setting, revision, even Shakespeare. Though I'll admit, I was sold when the essay on writing sex-scenes (something that, in both literature and film, I find more often than not space-filler) actually made me want to write a sex scene. This one's going on my writing desk for quick access.
• 
  Steve

  It's always interesting when people from the "creative writing can't be taught school" write books that help you to do just that. They're either redefining what it means to be "taught," or they're just hypocrites, and they need the money. Having said that, I think this is a very good book on writing. Written by different authors, they're more like essays than a how-to book. They talk about things like plot and structure and challenge you to look at them from new angles. It should also be noted that most of these guys are writers of literary fiction, creative non-fiction and poetry, so if you're planning on writing the next Tom Clancey novel, this may not be for you.
• 
  Steven

  These are not how-to craft essays although you can glean some how-to from them. They are mostly structured as, or modified from, talks given at Tin House Writers Workshop seminars. So they have that inspiring and motivating quality to them that highly competent, literate, and passionate people bring when they talk about something they love. This book is in kinship with the Iowa Writer's Workshop book The Eleventh Draft. My favorite line in the book is Chris Offutt's on revision: "Revising requires a cruel and ruthless objectivity with which you essentially perform surgery on yourself without anesthesia."
• 
  Julie Holland

  This is a nice and fun set of essays regarding writing, specifically short fiction or flash fiction writing. I enjoyed all of the ideas from each author as to what makes a story to them, and I genuinely never got bored, which is astonishing since typically with books that are another person's opinions of what makes a good story usually bore me. I would say that this collection is very approachable and I really did like it.
• 
  Mark

  Seventeen essays on the craft of writing from Tin House writers' workshop leaders Aimee Bender, Dorothy Allison, and Jim Shepherd. It's a good bunch of writers and a good bunch of essays on the nuts and bolts of writing... plus a bonus cd. [
  full review ]
• 
  Sheryl Nantus

  I'll admit it - I'm a writing craft book junkie. If I see it on the shelf and it survives a prelim glance, I'll buy it and read it.
  
  This is a great book. If you're looking for some help in getting focused or improving your writing, grab a copy and enjoy.
  
  Especially the chapter on sex scenes.
  
  ;)
• 
  Melissa

  For teaching. A wide variety of good ideas here.
  
  I really like D.A. Powell's essay and it helped me explain something to students that is often hard to explain: the idea that not knowing what you're doing and/or encouraging the subconscious is good. Anna Keesey's essay on making scenes is also very useful.
• 
  Robyn

  The chapter "Place" by Dorothy Allison was by far my favorite. "Le Mot Incorrect" by Jim Krusoe took second place.
  
  One of my friends reviewed it in his
  online magazine Propeller.
• 
  Ryan

  I won this book through Goodreads Giveaways. The collection of essays does a nice job of covering a wide range of issues relevant to aspiring writers. The quality of the advice is middling. I would recommend checking it out if you are interested in a textbook/creative essay hybrid.
• 
  Cecile

  Not quite as strong as John Gardner's "How to become a novelist" but still up to par with the usual mastery that demonstrate the people at "Tin House" (my personal favorite as far as literary mags go).It contains interesting views about the craft.
• 
  Sara

  There is an essay for every writer in this "notebook." The one by Dorothy Allison was by far my favorite though. It is definitely one that I will use again for teaching. I know that I will look to it again and again for advice on my own work. I heartily agreed with much of what I read.
• 
  Gary McDowell

  Out in March 2009.
• 
  Wendy

  Pete Rock's essay makes me want to find his books and read them. I already love Antonya Nelson but after reading "Lost in the Woods," I understand why.