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  • Published: 15 July 2017
  • ISBN: 9780143111634
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 256
  • RRP: $35.00
Categories:

The Kite and the String

How to Write with Spontaneity and Control--and Live to Tell the Tale





A targeted and insightful guide to the stages of creating a full-length work without falling into common traps, while wisely navigating the writing life, from an award-winning author and longtime teacher

A targeted and insightful guide to the stages of writing fiction and memoir without falling into common traps, while wisely navigating the writing life, from an award-winning author and longtime teacher

“A book-length master class.” —The Atlantic

Writing well does not result from following rules and instructions, but from a blend of spontaneity, judgment, and a wise attitude toward the work—neither despairing nor defensive, but clear-eyed, courageous, and discerning. Writers must learn to tolerate the early stages, the dreamlike and irrational states of mind, and then to move from jottings and ideas to a messy first draft, and onward  into the work of revision. Understanding these stages is key.

The Kite and the String urges writers to let playfulness and spontaneity breathe life into the work—letting the kite move with the winds of feeling—while still holding on to the string that will keep it from flying away. Alice Mattison attends also to the difficulties of protecting writing time, preserving solitude, finding trusted readers, and setting the right goals for publication. The only writing guide that takes up both the stages of creative work and developing effective attitudes while progressing through them, plus strategies for learning more about the craft, The Kite and the String responds to a pressing need for writing guidance at all levels.

  • Published: 15 July 2017
  • ISBN: 9780143111634
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 256
  • RRP: $35.00
Categories:

Praise for The Kite and the String

Praise for The Kite and the String

"A book-length master class." --The Atlantic

"Mattison is so canny and experienced that her insights are hugely relevant for all of us who write. Indeed, this book goes right next to James Wood's How Fiction Works on the shelf by the desk." --Sven Birkerts, author of The Gutenberg Elegies and The Art of Time in Memoir

"In this superb book about writing and her own surprising beginnings as a writer, Alice Mattison shows us how to create the vivid dream of successful fiction. If you want to be a writer, read this book." --Susan Cheever, author of Drinking in America

"An essential guide . . . a gold mine for writers across a spectrum of experience levels. Mattison's conspiratorial 'we the writers' tone is charming and lively, and her breadth of knowledge makes her an effective and instructive authority. Perfect for aspiring writers or those trying to make it over a bump in the road." --Booklist (starred review)