I liked Ayn Rand's assertion that fiction should be a writer's philosophy made concrete, illustrated by a clash of values. She is emphatic about using specific details but not willy nilly, rather to support the characters and situations to make a point. She trashes James Joyce for being so obscure. I borrowed her Atlas Shrugged as an audiobook to study her approach. But audiobooks take so much time and it expired before I finished. I think I got the point. I liked her emphasis on striving for excellence, but her utter disregard for others seemed a bit disturbing. ( )

A great book on how to write good fiction. I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in writing. It's also very easy to read. ( )

I have quite a few books by popular authors on how to write (Stephen King, Terry Brooks, etc.) but of all of the ones I've read this one is the best and most helpful. Whereas most authors tell you "Well, there's not really any rules to writing" and then toss out a few breadcrumbs of their own process in a disorganized manner, Ayn Rand lays everything out objectively, covering topics as varied as how to find inspiration and get over writer's block to the actual structure and process of putting a story together, to the development of individual style.

What's even more amazing, however, is that Ayn Rand did not write this book per se. Although all of the ideas and words are hers they are transcribed from a seminar that was recorded on cassette and edited later. From having read a number of Rand's other works I would have to say that the editor did a marvelous job; if I did not know beforehand that the book wasn't written by Rand I would not have discovered it simply from reading it.

Unfortunately this also happens to be the book on writing most discriminated against. For instance, I have seen people criticize it because Rand references her own works as examples, yet I have yet to see anyone criticize Stephen King or any other modern author for doing the same. To me it is only logical that a highly acclaimed author would reference their own works when talking about how to write fiction. After all, isn't that why you buy a book by a given author to begin with, because you like how they write and want to know their own thoughts on their own writing? Therefore my advice would be to read this book and compare it to other authors' books on writing and see for yourself. The worst that could happen would be for you to end up writing two best-selling novels that stay in print for 50 years and are considered among the most influential novels ever written in English. ( )