
The Soul of Creative Writing
goodman Richard(Author)
Routledge (Publisher)
1st Edition
Published on 21. September 2017
Book
Hardback
141 pages
978-1-138-53871-9 (ISBN)
Description
"I have a faith in language," said the poet W. S. Merwin. "It's the ultimate achievement that we as a species have evolved so far." Language is a deep ocean of living words, as varied as undersea life. It is a gift inherited by each person when he or she is born; it can be corrupted and regulated, but it cannot be owned. It is an enormous, complex, inexhaustible gift. The Soul of Creative Writing is a tribute to language and to its potentials. It explores the elements of language, style, rhythm, sound, and the choice of the right word. Richard Goodman paints an image of how language can produce a life and meaning that otherwise cannot exist in the symbols themselves.
Goodman's stunningly creative collection was written after a lifetime of working and struggling with language. He collects rich examples from writers of the past and present, both great and small, and uses them to illustrate how each element of our written language can be used. The book begins with an analysis of words and how they can be used to create music on the page. Goodman uncovers the strength of words, writing about the shades of meaning that make the search for the exact word both arduous and immensely rewarding. He discusses how to find the proper title and how to find a fitting subject. He show how to create nonfiction work that is vivid and memorable through the use of the same techniques fiction writers employ.
Goodman's volume is written with humor and clarity--with fascination and reverence. Writers will find it an indispensable source of creative inspiration and instruction. In Goodman's words, "reading is a tour of a writer's efforts at manipulating language to create art, to create flesh and blood and mountains, cities, homes, and gardens out of inky symbols on the page." To literary critics, this book will be a guide to understanding the tools and devices of great writing.
Goodman's stunningly creative collection was written after a lifetime of working and struggling with language. He collects rich examples from writers of the past and present, both great and small, and uses them to illustrate how each element of our written language can be used. The book begins with an analysis of words and how they can be used to create music on the page. Goodman uncovers the strength of words, writing about the shades of meaning that make the search for the exact word both arduous and immensely rewarding. He discusses how to find the proper title and how to find a fitting subject. He show how to create nonfiction work that is vivid and memorable through the use of the same techniques fiction writers employ.
Goodman's volume is written with humor and clarity--with fascination and reverence. Writers will find it an indispensable source of creative inspiration and instruction. In Goodman's words, "reading is a tour of a writer's efforts at manipulating language to create art, to create flesh and blood and mountains, cities, homes, and gardens out of inky symbols on the page." To literary critics, this book will be a guide to understanding the tools and devices of great writing.
Reviews / Votes
"Who needs another book on writing? If it's this one, you do. Richard Goodman examines-with the same curiosity, wit, and good sense that characterized his gem of a memoir, French Dirt-the soul of the writer's life. I loved this book and will keep it nearby when my own well has run dry and I need inspiration, prodding, or reminding that writing is both vocation and delight, worthy of a life's dedication."K. L. Cook, author of The Girl from Charnelle
"Any writer should read all these delicate, dear essays who wants to write anything better than she or he has done before, be it fiction, essay, poem or merely sentence."
Sena Jeter Naslund, author of Ahab's Wife
"The Soul of Creative Writing is a wonderbook of meditative instruction. Goodman's sympathy for the writer's dilemma, the warmth of his urging, the brightness of his enthusiasms all remind us that courage lies inside encouragement. Like the best teaching from the most inspired teachers, it's simply invaluable."
Molly Peacock, author of The Second Blush
"Goodman knows the importance-and often the struggle-to find the right words. He not only teaches writing, but he is a writer, with credits including The New York Times, Creative Nonfiction, Harbard Review and Saveur.... He refrains from lecturing or chiding, instead choosing to gently guide the reader/writer... Reading this book, I feel Goodman making me a better writer.... For the first time, I feel like I could do something evocative and memorable in creative nonfiction, an area where I myself have been afraid to tread.... For renewing my excitenment about what I've chosen to do for a living, this book deserves 13 explanation marks".
Stephanie Dickison (review published in Writer Magazine)
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Weight
454 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-138-53871-9 (9781138538719)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Richard Goodman
The Soul of Creative Writing
Book
03/2009
1st Edition
Routledge
Unfortunately, price unknown
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Person
Richard Goodman is the author of French Dirt: The Story of a Garden in the South of France and The Bicycle Diaries: One New Yorker's Journey Through 9-11. He has written articles and essays for The New York Times, Harvard Review, Michigan Quarterly Review, Vanity Fair and other national publications. He lives in New Orleans.
Content
Introduction
Part 1: Words
1. The Music of Prose
2. In Search of the Exact Word
3. The Secret Strength of Words
4. Some Things English Can't Do-and Shouldn't
5. The Nerve of Poetry
Part 2: Writing
6. Using the Techniques of Fiction to Make Your Creative Nonfiction Even More Creative
7. Finding a Great Title
8. The Eminent Domain of Punctuation
9. It's About Nothing: Finding Subjects for Creative Writing in Everyday Life
10. Maxims about Writing
Part 1: Words
1. The Music of Prose
2. In Search of the Exact Word
3. The Secret Strength of Words
4. Some Things English Can't Do-and Shouldn't
5. The Nerve of Poetry
Part 2: Writing
6. Using the Techniques of Fiction to Make Your Creative Nonfiction Even More Creative
7. Finding a Great Title
8. The Eminent Domain of Punctuation
9. It's About Nothing: Finding Subjects for Creative Writing in Everyday Life
10. Maxims about Writing