The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers (original 1983; edition 1991)

Gardner’s primer on constructing “the vivid and continuous fictional dream” is so sweeping and generous that he can find something to admire in writers as diverse as Melville and Barthelme. At the same time, his savaging of rookie mistakes sent me hunting through the book to make sure he wouldn’t pronounce my work irredeemable. I believe he has, once and for all, shamed me out of my indiscriminate use of the introductory infinite-verb phrase. I also appreciated his advice on mastering the meter of sentences, creating suspense and understanding the relationship between plot and theme. ( )

I think that this is just as valuable for active readers as well as writers. The discussion of aesthetics is the best one I have ever encountered, and the explanations of the mechanics of literature have significantly increased my perception of the craftsmanship of great fiction. I am looking forward to rereading many times to remind myself of these attributes. ( )

I've read this through several times over the years, continue to find useful bits and help. Only negative I would offer is that he offers up the works of surrealist, "jazzing", metafictional writers such as William H. Gass and Donald Barthelme throughout, when solid mainstream fiction is what is being taught here. I remember when I first read this as a young man, thinking that the writers he mentions must be good to read for examples and inspiration. Instead, I realized over time that they were not popular authors or even particularly good ones. Certainly not authors to read if one's aim is mainstream literary fiction. So, take the odd author choices with a grain of salt, and what remains is one of the best books on writing ever written. ( )

Gardner's "The Art of Fiction" is one long yet vivid lecture on writing fiction. As Gardner puts it, the goal is to create a powerful and uninterrupted "fictional dream" and this book is about what that entails. The book is broken up into two parts. Part one is a primer on what is writing and why to do it. Part two is a more technical discussion on various processes and techniques.

I found Gardner's voice strong without being inflexible, and the contents struck a good balance between inspirational and helpful. The topics it covers may be basic, but I think they're essential and Gardner's slightly acerbic voice makes it an enjoyable read. ( )

I suspect those who accuse Gardner of being arrogant, egotistical, condescending, etc., ad nauseum are likely to be the sort who either have an ideological agenda of their own, or prefer their egalitarianism served with a thoroughgoing relativism. Gardner was never soft-spoken in stating his opinions, and he had the good sense not to qualify every opinion with "that's just my opinion," or "ymmv," or "but what do I know."

I find Gardner's opinions welcome and often enlightening. His allusions to numberless works which I have yet to read -- and some I only learned about from him -- are an inspiring challenge to read more. The fact that he doesn't water down his message to spare the ego of his less experienced readers is a sign of respect for them -- they can take it, because the alternative is a vapid mediocrity. And if they can't take it, well, they're free to write scathing reviews castigating the hubris of a dead man.

The theoretical and practical concepts and techniques discussed in the book are reasonably thorough and engaging. It is clear that his purpose is to challenge would-be writers to aim for the very best, while making clear -- for those actually paying attention -- that good-enough-for-publication writing is achievable by most anyone willing to put in the time. The implicit idea here is that if you want to be a writer, you will have to put in the time anyway, so why not aim to be a very good writer? I fail to see how this is anything but an inspiring affirmation to anyone who really wants to write. ( )