Such a thoughtful examination of what is good writing. ( )

Great essays and experiences. For writers of all stages, this is a good place in which to turn and examine the craft, and think about what you are doing and why. ( )

These essays for writers focus on content and are based on close readings across an amazing range of styles--from Joyce to Carver. Baxter here is interested in identifying some of our unexamined modern assumptions and conventions, then arguing for writing in opposition to them. The contents (with some of my notes): Dysfunctional narratives (Nixon, the deflection of blame and debasement of language); On defamiliarization (wonder); Against epiphanies (epiphanies as a middle-class expectation); Talking forks: fiction and the inner life of objects; Counterpointed characterization (contasting characters used as relief); Rhyming action; Maps and legends of hell:notes on melodrama; Donald Barthelme Blues; Stillness. ( )

Not a writing craft book in the literal sense, this is a collection of craft talks. Mostly they center on problems in or with contemporary fiction, which is not as dour or negative as it sounds; rather, it presents the challenge and promise of rules and habits engrained in writers and writing culture. It is often funny, beautiful, and/or thought-provoking. It is, in fact, more or less the perfect book for trying to "find the rules, break the rules."

Also, it's painfully quotable. I used around twenty Book Darts. ( )

http://12frogs.com/reading/reviews/20... ( )