Particulars Regarding This Task - Your Reactions to Readings

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Books on Fiction Writing Utilized in the Algonkian Novel Writing Program

• "The Art of Fiction" by John Gardner (a great primer for this commercial program)
• "Writing the Breakout Novel" by Donald Maass (another good primer)
• "Write Away" by Elizabeth George (a no nonsense primer, and humorous)
• "The Writing Life" by Annie Dillard (a look at the struggle)

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As you've noted on the novel writing program website, the above books are listed as must reads for this program. Therefore, the purpose of this forum is to nudge you into taking what you've learned from these four books and utilize knowledge gained to enhance and edit your own novel-in-progress.

As with the other forums, you must post a new topic in this forum before answering the following three questions regarding each of the four assigned books:

• 1. How did the book help you as a writer? What overall aspects of it taught you something?
• 2. What two or three major lessons did you learn from the book that you can apply to your writing and/or your novel?
• 3. Was there anything in the books that obviously conflicted with lessons and readings in our novel writing program. If so, what were they?

NOTE: This needs to be fulfilled before you can successfully graduate this program, and with our assistance, hopefully move forward to agent representation and commercial publication.

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