{"product_id":"9781387281893","title":"Plotting the Short Story","description":"\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003eHow Successful Authors Write Short Stories: Learning the Plot\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMost beginners seem to have the idea that the\u003cbr\u003e writing game is a very easy game to play, as easy as ping-pong, for\u003cbr\u003e instance. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA few of them have acquired a fair education; others, not\u003cbr\u003e so fortunate, are equipped with nothing but a gnawing desire to\u003cbr\u003e write, and on first appearances it seems to them that it should prove\u003cbr\u003e to be a very simple matter to weave their ideas into readable\u003cbr\u003e stories.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSome of them have a vague idea of what a plot is, but they\u003cbr\u003e know-nothing about BALANCE, INCITING MOTIVES, CRUCIAL SITUATIONS,\u003cbr\u003e CLIMAXES, etc., and care less. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen they read in their favorite\u003cbr\u003e magazine a cameo-like story by some master writer, they do not\u003cbr\u003e realize that the author may have labored for days over that story,\u003cbr\u003e rearranging words, eliminating paragraphs and even whole pages from\u003cbr\u003e the original draft, and reconstructing the plot after he has torn it\u003cbr\u003e to pieces half-a-dozen times. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe words flow so smoothly, the\u003cbr\u003e characters stand out so clearly, the plot is so simple — how easy\u003cbr\u003e it must be! But these writers are soon disillusioned when the\u003cbr\u003e rejection slips begin to roll in on them with the regularity of\u003cbr\u003e well-oiled clockwork. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNot until they have served a long\u003cbr\u003e apprenticeship do they learn that authorship is as much of a\u003cbr\u003e profession as surgery is and that, as in all other pursuits, it is\u003cbr\u003e simply a matter of the survival of the fittest.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo writer can hope to achieve real success in the\u003cbr\u003e writing field unless he is well-grounded in the fundamentals of plot\u003cbr\u003e construction, nor can he avoid an atmosphere of SAMENESS in his\u003cbr\u003e stories and give them the stamp of cleverness and originality unless\u003cbr\u003e he constantly adds to his store of plot material. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"The plot's\u003cbr\u003e the thing,\" and the writer who relies solely upon inspiration to\u003cbr\u003e furnish him with suitable plots for his stories cannot begin to\u003cbr\u003e compete with his more practical brother craftsman who stimulates his\u003cbr\u003e imagination with tid-bits from real life, as it were, and builds the\u003cbr\u003e foundations for his stories with the same care and exactitude that a\u003cbr\u003e stone mason would employ in building the foundation and framework of\u003cbr\u003e a house.  \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eGet Your Copy Now.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"PublishDrive","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47133208871152,"sku":"9781387281893","price":3.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781387281893_p0.jpg?v=1763711365","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781387281893","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}