
Writing Great Fiction: Storytelling Tips and Techniques
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Narrated by:
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James Hynes
Whether you're huddled around the campfire, composing an email to a friend, or sitting down to write a novel, storytelling is fundamental to human nature. But as any writer can tell you, the blank page can be daunting. It's tough to know where to get started, what details to include in each scene, and how to move from the kernel of an idea to a completed manuscript.
Writing great fiction isn't a gift reserved for the talented few. There is a craft to storytelling that can be learned, and studying writing techniques can be incredibly rewarding - both personally and professionally. Even if you don’t have ambitions of penning the next Moby-Dick, you'll find value in exploring all the elements of fiction.
From evoking a scene to charting a plot to revising your drafts, Writing Great Fiction: Storytelling Tips and Techniques offers a master class in storytelling. Taught by award-winning novelist James Hynes, a former visiting professor at the famed Iowa Writers' Workshop, these 24 insightful lectures show you the ins and outs of the fiction writer's craft. Get tips for developing believable and memorable characters, explore how to craft plausible dialogue that serves the purposes of your narrative, compare the advantages of different points of view, and more. A wealth of exercises will inspire you to practice the many techniques you learn. Professor Hynes is an able guide, showing you what has worked for him and other novelists, and pointing out pitfalls to avoid. Writing Great Fiction is truly an exceptional course for anyone interested in storytelling.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.
©2014 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2014 The Great CoursesListeners also enjoyed...




















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Some great tips.
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Time to get writing!
Time to get writing!
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I certainly learnt a lot from them and I recommend every budding writer to read these.
Insightful and Comprehensive
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Specifically, I understand that flashbacks are deliberately placed in the story at specific points.
Great course for authors and readers alike.
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Great pace, insightful, and humble.
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Thorough and Concise!
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Great "read"
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James Hynes Just Made my List…
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Interesting from start to finish
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If you could sum up Writing Great Fiction: Storytelling Tips and Techniques in three words, what would they be?
One of the best audio books I've listened to. Prof. Hynes provides well-organized, thorough, and fascinating lectures. He is a pleasure to listen to. Like reading a great novel, I felt sad when the course was over. A bonus is that he provides reading lists of fiction and how-to for each lecture. He illustrates his talks with examples and analyses of great works of literature. I read these along with the course to enhance the experience.What other book might you compare Writing Great Fiction: Storytelling Tips and Techniques to and why?
Francine Prose's Reading Like a Writer because it is another excellent book on how to write fiction. In some ways Prose's book is more thorough, has more sections, breaks it down into more detail, but Hynes, to me, is more lively and engaging. Though Prose is a truly great read also.What does Professor James Hynes University of Iowa Writers' Workshop bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
His enthusiasm for writing fiction comes through in his voice, tone, expression, and sense of humor. He is just as good as my best college, and grad school professors were.Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
No, it takes time to absorb these lessons. I liked doing some of the readings along with the lectures. Also, he has exercises that take some time and deepen the material, though since I'm already taking a writing class I did not do the exercises.Any additional comments?
This book alone makes my subscription to Audible worth it. His lectures are masterpieces of teaching (and I have been a college lecturer for 43 years).Excellent Instruction on How to Write Fiction
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