How to Write a Novel

I address myself to the man or woman of talent—those people who have writing ability, but who need instruction in the manipulation of characters, the formation of plots, and a host of other points with which I shall deal hereafter. Although no school could turn out novelists to order there is yet enough common material in all art-work to be mapped out in a course of lessons. I shall show that the two great requisites of novel-writing are (1) a good story to tell, and (2) ability to tell it effectively. Briefly stated, my position is this: no teaching can produce "good stories to tell," but it can increase the power of "the telling," and change it from crude and ineffective methods to those which reach the apex of developed art. - Summary from the preface (2 hr 40 min)

Chapters

The Object in View	11:25	Read by Brett W. Downey
A Good Story to Tell	8:39	Read by Brett W. Downey
How to Begin	27:30	Read by Brett W. Downey
Characters and Characterisation	12:47	Read by Brett W. Downey
Studies in Literary Technique	15:14	Read by Brett W. Downey
Studies in Literary Technique--Continued	15:51	Read by Brett W. Downey
Pitfalls & The Secret of Style	18:31	Read by Brett W. Downey
How Authors Work	20:08	Read by Brett W. Downey
Is the Subject-Matter of Novels Exhausted	15:08	Read by Brett W. Downey
The Novel v. The Short Story & Success: And Some of Its Minor Conditions	15:00	Read by Brett W. Downey

Reviews

I enjoyed listening to this book. Reader read a bit fast though.

(4.5 stars)

Danni

Excellent reader! Perfect for this instructional text.

(4 stars)

A LibriVox Listener

Upon first glance I thought this would be a dry and humorless book. Almost immediately, I found both the text and reader to be quite dynamic which dramatically kept my attention and focus. I would endeavor to purchase a hard copy of the book. The chapters leave no fluff or unnecessary information. One thing is that there are quite a few references within the book that are dated, mostly of authors not so popular or as canonized as perhaps in the era this book was published. However, the examples the book uses to illustrate what to do are general and appropriate for modern readers.

Thorough overview of how and why to write

(5 stars)

guitarmanvt

Just the broad sample of writing wisdom I've been seeking. Well-read.

excellent