Product Description

Contributors include Lee K. Abbott, Charles Baxter, Ray Bradbury, Raymond Carver, Shelby Foote, John Gardner, Joyce Carol Oates, John Updike, Tobias Wolff, and Flannery O'Connor, among others.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1345626 in Books
• Published on: 2000-06-30
• Released on: 2000-07-27
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .66" h x 5.26" w x 7.85" l, .69 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

From Amazon.com
"As a writer," says Andre Dubus, "you are constantly in training. Day after day, alone at your desk, with no one watching you or even depending on you, you take your position on the playing field." Letters to a Fiction Writer, which was inspired by Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet, is a reminder that there is actually a whole community out there sharing your Sisyphean task. These 33 letters are written by authors such as Ann Beattie, John Gardner, Joyce Carol Oates, and Tobias Wolff. Lee K. Abbott (Living After Midnight) addresses the obligation of the fiction writer to "write it all goddamn down." Raymond Carver ponders the relationship between writing and alcoholism (upon recovering from it, he says, "I was so grateful to have my health back, and my life back, that it really didn't matter to me in one large way if I ever wrote anything again or not"). David Bradley discusses the difficulty of being an as-yet unpublished writer: "Most professions," he says, "pay bright prospects to develop their skills.... There are no such positions in writing."

Trying to make it as a writer is discouraging, yes. "If you can stop," recommends Reynolds Price, "you probably should. Try cabinet-making." But if you're all thumbs with a band saw, clasp this book to your breast and don't let go. For in it there are words of wisdom, wit, encouragement, and enticement that are sure to help you through that "strange and particular torture" that comes, according to Nicholas Delbanco, "after four hours of sitting with a paragraph you know to be poor." Of course, the true key to being a writer, say many of the authors included in this anthology, is writing. "Show up for work as dutifully and with as little fanfare as any civil servant," says Rosellen Brown. "Stop thinking of becoming an author," says Stanley W. Lindberg, editor of The Georgia Review, "and work instead to become a writer." And finally, intones Janette Turner Hospital (The Ivory Swing), "When rejection slips or rotten reviews come in ... have one stiff drink, say five Hail Mary's and ten Fuck-You's, and get back to work." --Jane Steinberg

From Library Journal
Busch, the author of 22 books including A Dangerous Profession: A Book About the Writing Life, brings together letters by 33 authorsAamong them Shelby Foote, Ray Bradbury, and Joyce Carol OatesAwho graciously share their thoughts on the art of writing and being a writer. There is always the danger of unevenness in a collection of letters, many of which are personal correspondence, but Busch chooses well. Many aspiring fiction writers will feel that the authors are speaking directly to them. Some, such as Raymond Carver, talk about the dark side of fiction writing, in his case his battle with alcoholism. In this age of E-mail, a letter from a friend seems like a wonderful prize to be savored over and over. This collection gives that same feeling and will be dipped into many times. To inspire and instruct both new and experienced writers, this book is recommended for all libraries.ALisa J. Cihlar, Monroe P.L., WI
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Novelist Busch offered his views on the writing life in A Dangerous Profession (1998) and now presents a set of letters from established writers to anxious beginners. Many are authentic correspondence, others are letters-by-invitation written specifically for this volume, and all convey the writers' personality and offer glimpses into their approach to this mysterious practice. Richard Bausch hands down his "Ten Commandments," believing how you live is more important than technique, although number 10 states: "Be wary of all general advice." Rosellen Brown writes generously and knowingly about the balancing acts writing requires and admits that when asked how she managed to publish nine books, teach, and raise children she responds, "I said no a lot." Each contributor, from Charles Baxter to Andre Dubus, Reynolds Price, Melanie Rae Thon, and Tobias Wolff, makes the point that writing fiction is a serious business involving deep commitment and ongoing sacrifice. And Joyce Carol Oates takes it one step further: "The novel is the affliction for which only the novel is the cure." Donna Seaman