Red Smith famously said, "There's nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein." Good writing is such a pleasure to read, but so difficult to achieve that when we come across a beautifully written novel or short story, we often wonder how the author did it -- how he or she got from blank page to The End.
The Story Behind the Story: 26 Stories by Contemporary Writers and How They Work is a peek behind the curtain. There are many fine writers represented, including Peter Turchi, Charles Baxter, Antonya Nelson, and Andrea Barrett. But the fun comes from reading about the process of creating the story you just read (Robert Cohen admits he was "cackling" all through the writing of his short story "The Varieties of Romantic Experience").
Even if you're not cackling throughout, for anyone interested in the writing process, you'll enjoy what these authors have to say in and about their work.
written on Thursday Jun 21, 2007
writing,
sweating,
book.
