★★★★★ : Imaginative Writing: The Elements of Craft (Penguin Academics Series) (3rd Edition) (Paperback) by Janet Burroway, reviewed by C. J. Singh on amazon.com, copy posted October 5, 2013 – See all my reviews
(The following is an addendum to my review of the previous edition that was posted on 8 April 2007.)
Janet Burroway’s Imaginative Writing: The Elements of Craft, 3rd Edition adds several new short stories, nonfictions, poems, dramas and drops some of the ones in the second edition, keeping the overall page count of the book about the same. Notably enhanced are the chapters on drama and on poetry. The drama section includes several examples of a newly popular genre, the ten-minute play.
Although marketed as a textbook for Creative Writing 101, this book can serve as an excellent primer for self-teaching. On completing the brief “try this” exercises included, you’ll acquire a good understanding of the craft elements and be able to judge whether the comments on your work by other apprentice writers in a workshop or your friends are on the mark or not. Beware that even positive, flattering comments (“I loved this image…”) can mislead you.
editingcraft 