Short Story-Writing: An Art or a Trade?

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Fagin, N. Bryllion (Nathan Bryllion), 1892-1971.

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource : multiple file formats

Place of Publication:

Salt Lake City, UT : Project Gutenberg,

Summary:

"Short Story-Writing: An Art or a Trade?" by N. Bryllion Fagin is a guidebook on short story writing, written in the early 20th century. The text explores the craft of storytelling, focusing on the distinction between treating writing as an art form or a marketable skill. Fagin discusses the implications of commercialism in writing and critiques standardized methods of teaching that prioritize sellable content over genuine expression. The opening of the book sets a reflective tone as Fagin delves into his own experiences as a teacher in the "Technique of Short Story-Writing." He contemplates the significance of every story, which he views as living entities shaped by their creators. He articulates his inner conflict regarding the educational practices that mold aspiring writers into conformists, adhering to market demands rather than exploring their unique voices. Through this lens, Fagin critiques the writing industry's tendency to promote formulaic storytelling, illustrating how it can hinder authentic literary expression and reduce the quality of the short story form. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Contents:

Overture

Action

"O. Henryism"

The moving pictures

Verboten

The artificial ending

Form and substance

Finale

Effect.

Credits:

Charlene Taylor, Eleni Christofaki and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)

Notes:

Reading ease score: 59.9 (10th to 12th grade). Somewhat difficult to read.

Release date is 2021-10-23