THE ICE PICK

How Fiction Works : the Last Word on Writing Fiction from Basics to Fine Points, by Oakley Hall. Cincinnati : Story Press, 2001. 228 p. $18.99. Includes bibliography of Suggested Reading and index. ISBN: 1-88491-049-1.

I don’t know about being the "last word on writing fiction." I don’t think there is such a thing on writing fiction, or anything else. But if you’re tired of how-to-write books that tell you what to do, but don’t show you how it works or that are filled with jargon you don’t understand, this may be the book you’ve been looking for, because Hall teaches mainly through showing you examples of what works and what doesn’t. By studying the samples he provides of both good and bad writing and his explanations of why they seem to work, or fail to do so, you can analyze the examples and learn how to improve your own stories.

The book covers the basics of dialogue, plot, description, characterization, and point of view, as well as the finer techniques, like using symbols and indirection, that can make your writing special.

Above all, the book gives practical, direct advice that you can use. For example, if you have always been told that short sentences are necessary to show fast action, Hall shows that "run-on sentences have a speeded-up, breathless quality that is effective as well." Or if you want to figure out how you can follow the oft-given advice to put your descriptions "in action," but you’re just trying to describe a person or a landscape, Hall shows you, through examples, how to depict people and scenes "in motion," by making the portrayal exciting and vivid.

At the ends of the chapters on plot and character are brief lists of what Hall calls "First aid," to help you if you run into problems. And there is a similar list for dialogue. I’m usually not crazy about end-of-chapter summaries, but these lists add to what is covered, rather than simply being restatements of material. Thus, I found them helpful not merely as review aids and further learning tools while writing, but as checklists against which to measure my work when revising.

The second part of the book contains two short stories and a discussion of certain elements in novel-writing: beginnings, endings, flashbacks, and the process of writing itself. For example, if you are having trouble getting your novel’s beginning to work, Hall not only gives a number of suggestions to help you, but also warns you not to worry about the beginning so much you get hung up on it, because first chapters are frequently discarded after the author really gets into the story.

The appendix of Suggested Reading has nine lists of books that different authors consider to be classics or "required reading" for writers. While most of the books are not science fiction, fantasy, or horror, the lists do include books every writer should be familiar with, not only to show us what has been done, but also to inspire us.

This book is not a list of rules. Nor is it an easy book. Although it is written in a very clear, straightforward, and easily understood style, Hall requires you to think about what you are reading, not only in this book but in your other reading, as well. However, if you have found other how-to-write books to be unsatisfying or downright confusing, this book may help you understand what to do and how to do it to make your story the best it can be.

{Published in SF and Fantasy Workshop Newsletter, Apr. 2003.}