What If?: Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers

As a writer and teacher of creative writing I find this a gold mine for starter activities and longer writing exercises. It lets you try out approaches and techniques rather than being a how to guide to creative writing- and most importantly shares with you the results of other writers (both famous and unknown) who have done the exercises.

The great thing about this book is that the chapters are so short and give you exercises to do right now without a lot of prerequisite preparation. I have written a few stories just based on the exercises. They unearth valuable memories that can be used to enliven stories.

The authors also point out that *everybody's* life is printworthy. If you take the time to remember the large tangle of interesting experiences you've had, many can be used in fiction.

I've done a lot of reading on writing fiction, and this is by far one of the best. While other books talk about how to go about writing, this one gives you exercises designed to guide you to putting those ideas into practice. It's guarenteed to improve your writing! My writing group has used it for about a year and the members love it.

I like the fact this book gives you a mini-workshop you can take at home. Whereas it is not a substite for really tuition, it is a mine for new ideas and plots. I lent it to my creative writing teacher a couple of months ago and he hasn't yet given it back to me! My only problem with this book is I didn't really understand the point of a couple of exercises, but then again it might be because I am not a native English speaker. However, it's still a good purchase if you don't have the time or the inclination to go to a workshop.

I am a beginning writer with very little experience. This book, along with "Writing Down the Bones"(Natalie Goldberg) and "The Art of Fiction"(John Gardner), is an absolute must if you want to write satisfying and realistic stories.