Fiction Writing: Learn from the Masters
May 29, 2009 by Allison Boyer
Filed under Jobs
I don’t often write about fiction on this site, mainly because my experience lies with nonfiction writing. Yes, there is still a fiction market out there. I’ve even written some fiction, though none of it published by anyone other than myself on a personal website. Most of it is kept hidden away on my computer – projects for a rainy day that don’t really deserve readers’ eyes just yet.
Image: sxc.hu
In any case, I think that one of the best ways to learn about the art of fiction writing is to read the type of fiction you aspire to write yourself. There’s nothing wrong with being inspired by some of the greats who have come before us. So, I’ve put together this list of works of fiction that are really special because they have something to teach.
I have to admit, when I first started this list, I was just putting together a list of my favorite books, and it spiraled out of control a bit. I’ve honed in on specific books that have very strong attributes instead…and I’ve narrowed the list to just 20 titles. It was like choosing between my children.
I’m not the most well-read person in the world. I try to be, but there aren’t enough hours in the day. So, there are gaps on my list for sure, and I’m counting on you all to fill them. In my opinion, though (and based on what I’ve read in my life), these are the 20 works of fiction every aspiring fiction writer should read:
- “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe (read it online here)
- Remains of the Day by Kazou Ishiguru
- The Awakening by Kate Chopin
- The Laramie Project (play)
- Crime and Punishment by Fyodor M Dostoyevsky
- “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant (read it online here)
- World War Z by Max Brooks
- Hamlet by William Shakespeare
- 1984 by George Orwell
- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
- On the Road by Jack Kerouac
- The Quiet American by Graham Greene
- The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
- White Oleander by Janet Fitch
- The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
- Angles in America by Tony Kusner (play)
- The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
- Candide by Voltaire
- A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
- Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Yes, I’m well aware that there are amazing works missing from this list. I’ve focused here on books, short stories, and plays that, after reading, I feel have made me a better writer. Feel free to leave a comment with a work of fiction that has changed the way you think about fiction writing.
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OMG. I’ve got enough summer reading to take me into 2015. Good list, Allison.
Almost every work of fiction I read changes my thoughts on writing in some way. But if you want to read something unusual, I’d recommend “Cloud Atlas” by David Mitchell.
The Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall really made me reconsider how I construct my writing and the detail I put into it. I’m also told that, as an aspiring writer, I should read The Curious Case of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon, short stories by Alice Munro (who just won the Man Booker International, incidentally), and Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie.