Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne

Author:Renni Browne
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2011-04-21T04:00:00+00:00

All this time Tweedledee was trying his best to fold up the umbrella with himself in it, which was such an extraordinary thing to do that it quite took off Alice's attention from the angry brother. Tweedledee's attempts ended in his rolling over, bundled up in the umbrella, with only his head out. And there he lay, opening and shutting his mouth and his large eyes, looking more like a fish than anything else.

"Of course you agree to have a battle?" Tweedledum said in a calmer tone.

"I suppose so." The other crawled out of the umbrella. "Only she must help us dress up, you know."

So the two brothers went off hand in hand into the wood, and returned in a minute with their arms full of things—bolsters, blankets, hearthrugs, tablecloths, dish covers, and coal scuttles.

"I hope you're a good hand at pinning and tying strings?" Tweedledum said. "Every one of these things has got to go on, somehow or other."

Alice had never seen such a fuss made about anything in all her life—the way those two bustled about, and the quantity of things they put on, and the trouble they gave her in tying strings and fastening buttons. Really, they'll be more like bundles of old clothes than anything else by the time they're ready.

"Arrange that bolster round my neck," Tweedledee said.

Alice draped the bolster around him as best she could. "What will this do?"

"Do? Why, it will keep my head from being cut off, of course. You know, it's one of the most serious things that can possibly happen to one in a battle, to get one's head cut off."

C. Yes, they're all in there. With the description of the pizza man, we even managed to work a proportion problem into a single-page exercise.

"But, Ernestine, honey, I swear I was never anywhere near the John Smith motel."

"Not according to Helena," Ernestine said.

Winthrop felt like a small boy with a baseball bat in front of a broken window. A boy who hadn't broken the window.

"Ernestine, you've got better sense than to listen to a troublemaking fool like Helena Basquette. Why only last week—"

The doorbell rang.

Ernestine propped her cigar on the ashtray at her arm and went to the door.

A tall young man held out a steaming, fragrant box. "You the guys that ordered the pizza?"

"Winthrop, sweetie," Ernestine called over her shoulder, "are you responsible for this?"

Block, Lawrence, Telling Lies for Fun and Profit. An entertaining nuts-and-bolts book on fiction technique, one of the best. Dialogue section is excellent, particularly helpful on the technique of ellipsis.

Burnett, Hallie, On Writing the Short Story. The best book we've found on the subject.

Conrad, Barnaby, The Complete Guide to Writing Fiction. Inspiring, helpful essays on theory and technique by the director of the Santa Barbara Writer's Conference and a wide range of well-known fiction craftsmen—from Elmore Leonard to Eudora Welty.

Drury, John, Creating Poetry. Thoughtful, knowledgeable, practical advice that helps writers see with the poet's eye. Useful exercises.

Field, Syd, The Screenwriter's Workbook. The best hands-on guide we've found, by a veteran who knows his subject and knows how to teach it.

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