Steering the Craft by Ursula K. Le Guin
Published by The Eighth Mountain Press
Reviewed by Leigh Kimmel
After having won both the Hugo and the Nebula Awards (two of the top awards in the science fiction field), Ursula K. Le Guin certainly has the credentials to write a how-to book for writers. In true master-fashion, Le Guin goes beyond the usual "how-to" manual format to create a volume that will be useful for writers at all skill levels. The newest beginner will find plenty of basic information on story structure and technique, while writers of many years' experience will be able to hone their skills to turn merely saleable stories into truly memorable ones.
Le Guin does not simply offer lists of tricks and gimmicks for achieving various effects. Instead, she leads her students on a guided tour of language and story through examples, discussion and exercises. The examples range from Mark Twain and Jane Austen to Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and each has been carefully chosen to illustrate the specific point that Le Guin wants to make about the craft of writing.
The exercises are in many ways the most important part of the book, and what make it useful for the entire range of writers. In each one, the student is asked to write a passage that creates a given effect -- perhaps prose that is specifically meant to be read aloud, or that communicates effectively without adjectives and adverbs, or that uses a specific point of view. Some of the exercises involve taking material from earlier exercises and rewriting it in particular ways.
In addition to being useful for writers at all skill levels, this book is also designed to be used both by the individual writer and by formal writing groups and classes. Teachers of creative writing at the high school and college level will want to give serious consideration to using this book as a text. It is also a useful source for face-to-face and by-mail writers' workshops.
Review posted November 3, 2010
Buy Steering the Craft: Exercises and Discussions on Story Writing for the Lone Navigator or the Mutinous Crew