Mr. Brownstone always offers up the shouted salvo n  "Keep it short!"n every single time the monthly club meeting of Good News First is called to order. I'll miss Mr. Brownstone, largely because I have poor aim.

Not an Ayn Rand fan, per se -- I haven't read any of her works -- but this book was quite enjoyable and, unto itself, provided more information on the art of writing than anything else I have read. Very illuminating, and if you get past her personality and her forceful nature as to how to write, you can actually learn a lot about writing fiction. Very enjoyable. Highly recommend.

Interesting collection of lectures. After the first couple of chapter it got a bit repetative. I'd recommend people to first read at least the Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged as she gives a lot of examples from her own writing from those works.

Transcripts of informal lectures by Ayn Rand on fiction writing. While the book bears her name as author, the transcripts were edited by Tore Boeckmann with some content deleted. There is still some rambling but gives Rand's views on writing.

The book, The Art of Fiction, is actually a transcription of a workshop Ms. Rand gave about the writing craft, so the voice is different from most writing books. There's a lot of comments directed at "you" but it's something I adjusted to quickly, so I don't think it will cause anyone great distress.

The full review is at http://suziequint.blogspot.com/2012/0...

I believe this book is one of those early rare examples showing the mind of a great writer. One does not have to like her philosophy but no one can deny her ability to write and her skill in this craft. Keeping in mind that this book comes from 1958, when there was no course or certification programs etc. for creative writing, she has put forward whatever she knows in a very detailed way, on writing. I only laugh to some critics here showing "better" examples in this genre from tens of years later; it's just absurd. I think this is one of the cornerstone books for any new writer out there.

I really don't care for Ayn Rand or her ideologies. That being said, I managed to end up loving this book. Yes, Rand is opinionated to the max, but there's good information about the craft of writing to be found here. She gave me a lot to think about and I will be a better reader now.

In the 1950's Ms. Rand gave an informal course from her home to friends in her living room. This book is compilation of the twelve sessions she held in her home.
Wonderfully written and easily understood. Ms. Rand explores the elements of fiction: theme, plot, character and style giving examples from her own work and other classics.

Rand is sure full of herself.

Okay, so she does make some valid points about writing. There is good advice in here. But you have to wade around all of Rand's self-righteousness to find it. I used to think that Rand was just self-confident, but now I realize that she's sort of wacko. There are some claims in here (like how all religion is delusion, or how she belittles H. G. Wells), that I blatantly disagree with.

So I tuned out a little. Audio-read this really quickly while on subway trains, and didn't care if I missed some words here and there. While it does contain some useful advice for writers, there are much better guides out there. I'm not in love with Rand enough to seek out her advice any more.

Excellent guide by Ayn Rand. Exceeded my expectations.

This is not the 101 of fiction for beginners, This should be your second book to read in your writing project.

Very personal experience and insightful tips shared back then in tge form of lectures at Rand's home.

highly recommended

When she’s not disguising philosophical and religious opinions as literary fact, it’s good.

I have not read Atlas Shrugged or The Fountainhead, but this book was difficult for me to glean much new insight. I read it was compiled from some small lectures the Author gave and possibly poorly edited. The thing is so full of rhetoric that I skipped forward through much of it.