Aspiring writers, teachers, avid readers - read this book! Ayn Rand, known for her objectivist philosophy and brutal logic, breaks down the writing of fiction stories into clear, succint ideals with artful practicality.

I'm not an aspiring fiction-writer. I imagine that this book would be extremely helpful to someone who is. It provides conceptual frameworks for understanding fiction-writing that were new to me, and useful even in understanding and appreciating fiction. I suspect it will help me to better understand some of my reactions to things I read, and perhaps even to anticipate them. That would be really useful. :-)

I believe this may be the most insightful book about writing that I have ever read. Ayn Rand is not about to accept any of the common cop-out explanations for writing: "Well, it just turned out that way." "I felt like doing it like that." "It seemed right." She declares that everything you write is because of some premise you hold in your head, whether you realize it or not, and that the key to good writing is to learn how to identify and shape those premises as you wish.

Her understanding of plot is more distinct and complete than that of any other writer I've heard explain the issue. For Rand, plot is all about definite purpose. This extends even to her descriptions, where every sentence is evaluated for how well it advances the (sometimes many) purposes of its paragraph. Rand draws a distinction between Romantic writing and Naturalistic writing. Romantic writing, she says, examines the underlying motives of human decisions, while Naturalistic writing claims to set down things 'as they are' but makes no value judgments. I found this insight helpful, as it explains why some books called classics are engaging and memorable, while others seem to wander without a point.

Some may find Rand's philosophy hard to get past. She certainly isn't shy about communicating it to you. Some may also find Rand's self-aggrandizing to be a distraction. (As she openly says early in the book, she believed herself to be the best writer of her time.) However, in my opinion, the clear advice she offers is too valuable to pass by. The fundamentals of good fiction are all here in this slender volume.

Note: Because of my own self-censoring, I skipped most of Chapter Eight, which dealt with love scenes. Readers who wish to guard their hearts from such things (and those under 15) will probably want to do the same.

You have to dig to find the gems. If you can get past her ego, there's some great instruction here. She is certainly not open minded and believes her approach to be not only the best way ...but the only correct way. She frequently insults other authors while picking apart their texts. If you're intolerant to this sort of thing, this may not be the book for you.

An amazing "left-brained" approach to writing fiction. Rand was a writer who began with her themes in mind, and then wrangled her stories to fit them.

An excellent resource for writers.

Ayn Rand looks at the philosophy of aesthetics, the psychological challenges of writing, and offers a ton of valuable nuggets of wisdom.

A very engaging book. And as the subtitle suggests: for readers as well. :)

I'm not a big fan of Ayn Rand's philosophy, but this book offers a few good insights into fiction writing.

I used to love Ayn, now I'm starting to hate her. She is so arrogant that I found it hard to get through this book, even though it is of great interest to me right now.

A good guide for on the fence writers who aren't quite sure in their abilities and need that little extra push to get to writing in earnest. I don't agree with everything Rand had to say (both here and in her other books), and her ego is unmistakably present throughout her guide. However, this is offset when one considers how incredible a feat it was that, when she came to the US, Rand was barely able to speak English. This feat is compounded by how she was able to produce three novels, a novella, and numerous works of nonfiction (including this cogent little guide and it's counterpart about nonfiction).

Ultimately, this little guide was invaluable in helping me better understand the bare essentials of fiction writing and how to better enjoy fiction as a reader.

Reading this book makes me want to re-read all of Ayn Rand's books which I read as a teenager. We The Living stands out in my memory as one of the best books I've ever read - time to read it again, I think. In The Art of Fiction, Rand holds back nothing, sharing her views with bold authority and confidence. She's not one to sit on the fence about her ideas and I find that refreshing. If you are a fan of Ayn, you'll enjoy this lecture on literature.

elibrary

I don't like her politics but I completely agree with her philosophy of writing fiction. I think she is the only writer who uses
a theoretical framework to structure her novel.