Writing in General and the Short Story in Particular

This book is like a tactical nuke: small, dense, and explosive. Rush Hills was a literary editor of the old school, in charge of fiction at Esquire in the days when you could say with a straight face that you read it for the articles. In WIGSSIP he explains what the literary short story is, how it differs from the sketch or 'slick fiction', and how to go about writing one yourself. This isn't a manual, more of a mediation on that most elusive and evocative of forms, the literary short story, but the ideas of coherence, moving characters, and a crisis point are vital ways for an aspiring author to rise above the traps of the mundane.

***

Updated for 2017: I return to WIGSSIP whenever I'm having trouble with my own fiction. This time show more around, the advice centered on character, and your character's roundedness and capacity for change. I think Hills is right. Get the character right, and the rest will flow naturally. show less

This is subtitled "an informal textbook," and, boy, is it informal. I read it cover to cover and never found anything about "the Short Story in Particular." Often rambling, seemingly in no particular order, the book is saved by the author's hilarious and absolutely scathing denouncements of commercial fiction.

I think if you get one good insight, a book like this is worth it. This one provides at least a half a dozen worth thinking about.

The section on "moving" vs. "fixed" action is extremely useful, especially for undergraduates. It's interesting to read a book about short fiction by an editor (not a writer) of short fiction.

Very good overview of requirements for a good short story. Worth keeping and re-reading occasionally.

Will be finishing shortly. Invaluable. Will have a permanent spot on the shelf.

Will be finishing shortly. Invaluable. Will have a permanent spot on the shelf.