The Author's Craft (Classic Reprint) - Softcover

Howe, E. W.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1451005768 ISBN 13: 9781451005769

Publisher: Forgotten Books, 2018

Synopsis

Discover practical ideas on writing across novels and plays, and how to keep the art true to life.

This edition examines how writers choose a path through life’s clashing ideas and how they turn raw experience into art. It argues that the artist’s job is to record what is, not what ought to be, and to avoid letting sentimentality derail honest craft. You’ll find a clear look at how books and plays shape their material, how audiences respond, and why business realities matter to creativity.

The author challenges common myths about writing for the stage and offers plain-speaking guidance on technique, structure, and purpose. It’s a practical, no-nonsense exploration of how great writers balance vitality with form, and how editors, agents, and readers influence the final work.

• Understand how writers shape real life into compelling characters and scenes.


• Learn why a play can be easier to write than a novel, and what that means for pacing and structure.


• Gain a grounded view of the publishing world, agents, and the business side of art.


• Get recommended mindsets for staying true to your artistic vision while engaging readers.

Ideal for readers who want pragmatic guidance on writing, editing, and sustaining honest storytelling across genres.

About this title

Product Description

Excerpt from The Author's Craft A young dog, inexperienced, sadly lacking in even primary education, ambles and frisks along the footpath of Fulham Road, near the mysterious gates of a Marist convent. He is a large puppy, on the way to be a dog of much dignity, but at present he has little to recommend him but that gawky elegance, and that bounding gratitude for the gift of life, which distinguish the normal puppy. He is an ignorant fool. He might have entered the convent of nuns and had a fine time, but instead he steps off the pavement into the road, the road being a vast and interesting continent imperfectly explored. His confidence in his nose, in his agility, and in the goodness of God is touching, absolutely painful to witness. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

About the Author

Enoch Arnold Bennett, the son of a solicitor, was born in Hanley, Staffordshire in 1867. He was educated locally and at London University, before working initially as a solicitor's clerk, but soon turned to writing popular serial fiction and editing a women's magazine. After the publication of his first novel, 'A Man from the North' in 1898 he became a professional writer and some of his best and most enduring and acclaimed work, including 'Anna of the Five Towns', 'The Old Wives' Tale', 'Clayhanger', 'The Card' and 'Hilda Lessways' followed over the next twelve years. Soon after the outbreak of the First World War, Bennett was invited to join the War Propaganda Bureau, concerned with finding ways of best promoting Britain's interests. He was in good company, as others who contributed to this effort included Conan Doyle, John Masefield, G. K. Chesterton, Sir Henry Newbolt, John Galsworthy, Thomas Hardy, Rudyard Kipling, Gilbert Parker, G. M. Trevelyan and H. G. Wells. Bernard Shaw knew nothing of the Bureau, but attacked what he believed to be jingoistic articles and poems being produced by British writers. Bennett was the one chosen to defend their actions. He served on a War Memorial Committee at the invitation of the then Minister of Information, Lord Beaverbrook, and was also appointed director of British propaganda in France. His spells in Paris added to his reputation as a man of cosmopolitan and discerning tastes. After the War he inevitably returned to writing novels and also became a director of the 'New Statesman'. Bennett's great reputation is built upon the success of his novels and short stories set in the Potteries, an area of north Staffordshire that he recreated as the 'Five Towns'. 'Anna of the Five Towns' and 'The Old Wives' Tale' show the influence of Flaubert, Maupassant and Balzac as Bennett describes provincial life in great detail. Arnold Bennett is an important link between the English novel and European realism. He wrote several plays and lighter works such as 'The Grand Babylon Hotel' and 'The Card'. Arnold Bennett died in 1931.

Edition details

• Publisher: Forgotten Books
• Publication date: 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1451005768
• ISBN 13: 9781451005769
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 126