Writing Manuals For The Masses: The Rise Of The Literary Advice Industry From Quill To Keyboard

Preface......Page 6
 Praise for Writing Manuals for the Masses......Page 9
 Contents......Page 10
 Editors and Contributors......Page 13
 List of Figures......Page 18
Introduction......Page 20
The “Origin” of Literary Advice (Antiquity–1846)......Page 23
Preliminaries: From Classical Poetics to Professional Advice......Page 24
The Disputed Origin of Literary Advice: Edgar Allan Poe’s “Philosophy of Composition”......Page 27
The Bifurcation of Literary Advice: “The Art of Fiction”......Page 29
Form and Content of Literary Advice Handbooks from the Era of the Handbook and Beyond......Page 30
Literary Advice Moguls......Page 34
Advice in Literature......Page 36
The Role of Women in the Advice Industry......Page 38
Creative Writing and Literary Advice......Page 41
Interviews and Literary Advice......Page 43
Hollywood Gurus and Advice Serials......Page 45
The Writing Memoir......Page 47
Advice in the Digital Literary Sphere......Page 49
How to Read This Book......Page 52
References......Page 56
Part I From Fictioneering to Wattpad......Page 63
Introduction......Page 64
The Art of Discussing Fiction......Page 68
The Story of the Short Story......Page 75
Atalanta’s School of Fiction......Page 82
Conclusion......Page 87
References......Page 91
Introduction......Page 95
What Is a “Professional” Writer?......Page 97
Art as Mystery......Page 102
The Writer and the Painter......Page 103
The Prefaces......Page 107
The Deeply Wondering and the Really Sentient......Page 109
The Professional Students......Page 110
“History Develops, Art Stands Still”......Page 115
References......Page 119
Introduction......Page 122
Author’s Guides, Agents, and Yearbooks: The Late-Victorian and Edwardian Literary Advice Industry......Page 123
“Novel-Writing Taught in Ten Lessons!”: Literary Composition as an Art and Authorship as a Trade......Page 125
Challenges and Opportunities for Writers in a Changing Literary Marketplace......Page 128
Men of Genius, Literary Value, and the Business Side of Books......Page 132
“Prepare for Serious Work”: Diligence, Professional Practicalities, and the Rules of the “Art of Fiction”......Page 135
Gender, Fiction, and Literary Advice......Page 138
References......Page 140
Introduction......Page 143
“How Writers Work”: Literary Advice in the Author Interview......Page 147
Prestige and Pencils: The Paris Review Interview......Page 152
Author Interviews and Online Literary Advice......Page 156
Conclusion......Page 161
References......Page 162
Background to Literary Advice Online......Page 166
The Rise of Wattpad......Page 169
How to Get Ahead on Wattpad......Page 171
Off-Site Sources of Advice for Wattpadders......Page 172
On-Site Advice and Support......Page 173
User Comments......Page 176
Conclusion......Page 177
References......Page 178
Part II Case Studies of Literary Advice......Page 181
Introduction......Page 182
Visual Plot Models as Central Nodes......Page 183
In the Beginning There Was… Aristotle......Page 185
A Development of Linear Plot Models: From “Freytag’s Pyramid” to “Field’s Paradigm”......Page 186
A Polar and a Circular Model Both Become Linear......Page 192
The Mountain Model, a Synthesis......Page 196
Plot Models as Generative Tools with the Hero’s Journey......Page 203
Conclusion......Page 205
References......Page 207
Introduction1......Page 210
Body and Energy......Page 214
Decor and Characters......Page 216
The Studious Apprentice......Page 218
Entrepreneur......Page 222
Conclusion......Page 223
References......Page 225
Introduction......Page 228
The Extracurriculum of Writing Instruction......Page 229
Teachers as Obstacles to Writing Ability......Page 231
Advocating for Universal Writing Ability......Page 232
The Role of the Unconscious in Writing......Page 233
Issues of Control and Creativity......Page 237
The Holistic Nature of Writing......Page 240
Elbow’s Writing Without Teachers: The Informal Affecting the Formal in Aesthetic Education......Page 244
Conclusion......Page 246
References......Page 247
Introduction......Page 251
End-Less Writing: Writing’s Event......Page 253
Gifted: Creative Receptivity......Page 259
Besideness: Making a Difference......Page 264
References......Page 272
Introduction......Page 274
Therapeutic Writing: A Longstanding History and a Heterogeneous Field......Page 276
Programmed Versus Non-restrictive Writing......Page 277
Jessica Kingsley Publishers: Turning Readers into Writers......Page 280
Three Therapeutic Writing Oeuvres: Gillie Bolton, Kate Thompson, and Celia Hunt......Page 283
Conclusion......Page 287
References......Page 292
Part III Adopting and Resisting Literary Advice Culture......Page 297
Introduction......Page 298
Exercises in Uncreativity......Page 301
The Logic of the Index......Page 304
Self-Expression via Copying Vs. Copying as Self-Expression......Page 307
Literary Advice for the Twenty-First Century?......Page 309
References......Page 314
Introduction......Page 316
Creative Writing in France:  The Atelier d’écriture......Page 318
François Bon’s Outils du roman......Page 320
Minor Literature in an International Context......Page 322
Minor Literature in the French Context......Page 325
Conclusion......Page 327
References......Page 329
Introduction......Page 332
A Short History of Creative Writing Advice in the Hispanic World......Page 334
From Boom to MFA: The Rising Influence of Creative Writing Programs in Twenty-First-Century Hispanic Literature......Page 338
The Impact of Workshop Poetics on Hispanic Literature......Page 342
Conclusion......Page 345
References......Page 348
15 Work and the Writing Life: Shifts in the Relationship Between ‘Work’ and ‘The Work’ in Twenty-First-Century Literary-Advice Memoirs......Page 352
The Absorption Narrative: Labor Transformed by Artistic Critique and Vice Versa......Page 354
Visions of Autonomous Production: Twentieth-Century Models of Literary Advice......Page 357
Caught Between ‘Work’ and ‘the Work’: Literary-Advice Memoirs of Late Capitalism......Page 362
Conclusion: The Ambivalent Politics of the Literary-Advice Memoir......Page 368
Bibliography......Page 371
Introduction......Page 373
The “Advicization” of Contemporary Reading/Writing Culture......Page 374
Curating Advice in Contemporary Fiction......Page 376
Telling Your Story, or Let’s Build a Home......Page 378
The Empire Strikes Back, or No, You Really Shouldn’t Tell Your Story, and the Evils of Graphomania......Page 381
Sanctifying Solitude and the Dangers of the Single Story About Writing......Page 385
“I Wanted to Start with Truth and End with Art”......Page 388
Conclusion: How to Make Literary Fiction Matter in Digital Culture?......Page 391
References......Page 393
Index......Page 395