The Art of Fiction: Recent Episodes
Words to Write by Podcast
The Final Take - The Art of Fiction Thinking of reading The Art of Fiction, "Young Writer?" Listen to this podcast first.
Despite dying in a motorcycle crash in 1982, John Gardner achieved immortality (at least in the writing community) with the posthumous publication of The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers. We've been studying and discussing this much recommended book over the past nine months (not full time, we aren't crazy) and we have ... opinions.
And stay for the preview for the next book on our shelf, Ray Bradbury's Zen in the Art of Writing. Both books have "art" in the title, but they couldn't be further apart on the writing advice spectrum. Don't take our word for it, we have an interview with Ray Bradbury scholar, Phil Nichols who hosts the Bradbury 100 Podcast.
Phil Nichols with Ray Bradbury, 2008. (Photography courtesy of Phil Nichols).
What we Really think about Gardner In The Art of Fiction: Notes on the Craft for Young Writers, John Gardner describes, philosophizes, and argues what storytelling elements, from specific detail and scene to genre and theme, achieve the "reader's dream," aka: the suspension of disbelief. Although he is most famous for the idea that a successful story never pauses the movie in the reader's mind while they read, he does not spend much time showing the "young reader" how to do it.
The book is less about how to write a novel and more on what Gardner thinks makes for worthwhile literature. If you've never taking a creative writing course, then the book's ideas on plot, character, and theme, as well as the theories on how stories are put together might be useful. However, the information comes with a big helping of sexism, gate-keeping, and literary snobbishness (circa 1982). The book has aged a bit like milk (and not the plant -based kind).
We will give Gardner props for one thing: his writing exercises are surprisingly good. How good? Check out our favorites with our contemporary interpretations on our Patreon page.
And Now for Something Completely Different Starting next episode, we'll be getting advice from famed science fiction and horror writer, Ray Bradbury. His book, Zen in the Art of Writing, is a collection of essays revealing the process he used to craft some of the most lyrical and influential science fiction / dark fantasy stories, like Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles, and Something Wicked This Way Comes. As a preview, Kim interviews Phil Nichols about Zen.
Phil Nichols did his PhD on Ray Bradbury's screenwriting, edits the journal The New Ray Bradbury Review, and presents the Bradbury 100 podcast. He also teaches film production and screenwriting.
*Awesome Bradbury collage courtesy of Piet Nel.
TLDR: Renee's notes on The Art of Fiction Gardner's Key Terms & Vocabulary Verisimilitude: Specific detail, which achieves and maintains the reader's dream (suspension of disbelief), the simulation of reality in the reader's mind. It’s detail and specificity in writing: describing, illustrating, creating the “dream.” It’s how one triggers suspended disbelief. Gardner says this creates a kind of “simulation of the real world” (22).
Profluence (monocle required for proper pronunciation): A coherent timeline of events in a story, which requires the balance of all elements of fiction working together to form a cause and effect relationship: character, theme, scene, style, etc.
Jazzing Around: Like jazz, it breaks the rules. The best jazz performers are virtuosos are on a completely different level to break the rules and not have it fall apart. They have to be master musicians, the technical quality to produce the music, and the brains that can think of how to change the music to do these various permutations to create something that is considered jazz.
Helen of Troy Moment: When a Craft Book Writer picks an analogy or example and they draw it out way past the point that it actually works and they'd be better off dropping it and go with another method of covering what they're talking about. (see our Helen of Troy rant in Episode 4).
Parts We Recommend from Episode 9 Kim's Chapter Suggestions * Chapter 1 "Aesthetic Law & Artistic Mastery" * Chapter 2 "Basic Skills, Genre, and Fiction as Dream" * Chapter 5 "Common Errors" * Chapter 7 "Plotting."
Kim was a big fan of the discussion about (and the term of) "Jazzing Around," which Gardner includes in Chapter 4, but it probably isn't worth reading a whole chapter on it.
Renee's Chapter Suggestions Not as generous or kind, Renee only recommends reading Chapter 5 "Common Errors," which you don't have to read because she broke down each error on Patreon. Then again, she teaches Freshman Comp, so she is probably not to be trusted.
Gardner's Writing Exercises (aka, The Most Valuable Part of the Book) Although we wouldn't recommend the majority of this book to a young writer learning the craft, we have to give credit where credit is due: Gardner's Exercises. Even with the examples and scenarios he provides (traditional gender roles, anyone?), they really do work out those writing technique muscles. (Seriously, some were quite a workout--listen in at the end of each episode and the bonus episodes to hear us lift these crafty barbells. Trust us, the gains are real).
To get a list of the greatest hits exercises or level up your mad description, plotting, or scene writing skills, join our writing community on Patreon.
Gardner's Best Advice Renee gave Gardner some props on the following bit: As you write your novel, work unit by unit. Focus on the description without worrying about the scene coming up, or dialogue, or backstory, or whatever. Just take it one description, scene, string of dialogue at a time.
Renee is a bit of an over-thinker, a worrier, a red wine drinker...
Kim appreciated Gardner's distinction between literary rules vs principles in Chapter 1 "Aesthetic Law and Artistic Mastery."
Every true work of art--and thus every attempt at art--must be judged primarily, though not exclusively, by its own laws.
-John Gardner
In other words, there are no rigid rules or strict formulas that will produce good art. In that sense, we must critique a piece of writing on its own terms instead of a prescribed set of rules.
A Tribute to Ray Bradbury In our next episode, we read Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury.
Ray Bradbury, born in 1920 and died in 2012, was a literary powerhouse of pulp magazines, novels, screenplays, and essays. He is known mostly for his science fiction, notably Farenheit 451 and The Martian Chronicles series. He published more than 500 works over his lifetime and continues to influence our culture today.
Chapter 7 - The Art of Fiction Wow! We've gotten to the final chapter of John Gardner's book, The Art of Fiction, and it's all about plotting your short story, or novella, or novel (there are, apparently differences). We also learn some fancy plot vocabulary. Oh, and the stripper? Her name is Fanny, and her story is the example that Gardner uses to explain how to devise a plot. Our guess is that most readers don't make it to Fanny, but trust us, she's totally worth it.
The Writing Exercise Take a simple event: A man gets off a bus, trips, looks around in embarrassment, and sees a woman smiling. Describe this event, using the same characters and elements of setting, in five completely different ways (changes of style, tone, sentence structure, voice, psychic distance, etc). Make sure the styles are radically different; otherwise, the exercise is wasted.
Gardner's One Weird Trick to Plotting "Good Art" * Work backwards (from) or forwards (to) a central conflict. * Give your character agency and trouble (trouble should be both internal end external). * Beginning, exposition should be shown, not told. * Middle: make them suffer, go to great lengths. * Ending: Denouement: wrap it up but not too tightly. * His one weird trick? Give that $#@% a theme, yo.
Pick a Plot, Any Plot In this chapter, Gardner spends a lot of time describing what types of plot one could write, what's wrong with those plots and...well, that's it. If you want to know how to write any of these plots, you'll have to read a different book. Below are a few he covers. Keep in mind his favorite plot, the one that--you guessed it--rules them all is the Energeic Plot.
Plots Gardner Complains About * Argumentative Story * Picaresque Plot * Allegorical Plots * Secret Logic Plots * Mythological Plots
Vocab (c'mon, you know he gave vocab tests...) Energeia (or Energeic Plot): Aristotle (him again...why aren't we surprised?) coins the term, Energea, in Physics. And, indeed, the term is used mostly in science to describe the laws of movement. However, in terms of writing, an Energeic Plot is a Goal Centered Plot.
And although you may not be able to parse the difference between actuality and potentiality, you, Dear Writer, are probably very familiar with the Energeic Plot.
May I present the one...the only...STORY ARC! (And the crowd goes wild!!!)
The Argumentative Plot
An argumentative story is one with an opinion, an agenda. Similar to an Allegorical Plot but less preachy.
For example, the underlying arguments in older science fiction, like The Time Machine, Brave New World, and Fahrenheit 451, can sometimes get in the way of its own plot.
Check out this nugget from Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land.
"Please, Jubal. He's got to learn how to behave. I'm trying so hard to train him."
"Hmmph! You're trying to force on him your own narrow-minded, middle class, Bible Belt morality. Don't think I haven't been watching."
"I have not! I haven't concerned myself with his morals; I've simply been teaching him necessary customs."
"Customs, morals-is there a difference? Woman, do you realize what you are doing? Here, by the grace of God and an inside straight, we have a personality untouched by the psychotic taboos of our tribe-.--and you want to turn him into a carbon copy of every fourth-rate conformist in this frightened land! Why don't you go whole hog? Get him a brief case and make him carry it wherever he goes-make him feel shame if he doesn't have it."
"I'm not doing anything of the sort! I'm just trying to keep him out of trouble. It's for his own good."
Jubal snorted. "That's the excuse they gave the tomcat just before his operation."
So you noticed how he addressed her as "woman" too...yeah...Gardner and Heinlein would have enjoyed chatting over drinks.
The Picaresque Plot These novels revolve around a roguish protagonist from low born society and their episodic adventures. Think Don Quixote or Huckleberry Finn. In some ways, these novels are almost the equivalent of a trade paperback, but there's no real character arc tying the adventures together. Although the protagonist may learn a lesson of some kind, those lessons rarely carry into the next chapter. Gardner claims these stories are only interesting if the protagonist is in actual peril or danger.
The Allegorical Plot
Plato's Allegory of the Cave. Orwell's Animal Farm. Melville's Moby Dick. Novels or stories with Allegorical Plots use symbols--such as animals on a farm to illustrate communist Russia, or a story about a boy and his whale--to carry a moral agenda or teach some lesson, usually religious or political. Gardner warns writers against it, saying the reader feel manipulated because the plot has been manipulated to fulfill an agenda.
Continuing the Conversation: Social Science Fiction as Protest Literature
Many genres of science fiction exist: Hard Sci-Fi, Space Opera, Apocalyptic, Dystopian, Time Travel, etc, etc, etc. One sub-genre, Social Science Fiction, tackles sociological and psychological themes. Allegorical and/or argumentative in its plot, the first science fiction novel was Social Science Fiction: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Little do people know, she also wrote the first Post-Apocalyptic novel, The Last Man.
Science Fiction writers have wielded the genre for its unique ability to remove us from the context of our moral failings or conflicts so that we can un-desensitize ourselves and see what we've chosen to forget (District 9 expertly pulls this off). With a rich history of Utopian science fiction, Soviet writers in the 20th Century wrote in the genre as a form of free expression (or propaganda). And although we're all familiar with Margaret Atwood's Handmaid's Tale, a long, rich history of science fiction female authors have used the genre to draw attention to gender equality, such as Octavia Butler's male pregnancy short story, "Bloodchild," or critique patriarchy, like in Joanna Russ' "When It Changed" which is similar to Charlotte Gilman's novel, Herland, written in 1916.
Gardner's Author Gender Ratio
Gardner only mentions ten new authors in Chapter 7, only two of which were women: Flannery O'Connor, Eudora Wetley.
A Tribute to Flannery O'Connor
Flannery O'Connor (1925 - 1964) was a short story writer, novelist, and columnist. Her stories, "A Good Man is Hard to Find," is heavily anthologized and read by just about every undergraduate in the United States. She received her MFA from the Iowa Writer's Workshop where she began drafting her first novel, Wise Blood. Although she wrote two novels, she is most famous for The Complete Short Stories, a collection curated posthumously and which was awarded the National Book Award in 1972. Gardner mentions O'Connor, along with Eudora Welty, for the unique, iconic Southern Gothic style in which they write.
Chapter 6 - The Art of Fiction
Gardner promises to show us the proper way for the young writer to achieve artistic mastery. Doesn't that sound marvelous? We take him to task on his analysis and advice on the techniques of Imitation, Vocabulary, The Sentence, Point of View, Delay and Style from chapter 6 of The Art of Fiction.
And for this week's activity, we practice the art of Delay (the paragraph before the climax of a character discovering a body). On the episode, we workshop Kim's paragraph and decide what makes for a truly tense elements goes into building tension and developing "the joy of having something unfold in front of the reader." Curious for more words of wisdom? Listen to our extended discussion during which we discuss Renee's paragraph about a runner discovering a body.
The Writing Exercise Write the paragraph that would appear in a piece of fiction just before the discovery of a body. You might perhaps describe the character's approach to the body he will find, or the location, or both. The purpose of the exercise is to develop the technique of at once attracting the reader toward the paragraph to follow, making him want to skip ahead, and holding him on this paragraph by virtue of its interest. Without the ability to write such foreplay paragraphs, one can never achieve real suspense.
Leveling Up w/ Gardner's Techniques * Writing Exercises are good for you (like Broccoli and Vitamins) * Imitate old stories and Copy old prose * Keep the Vocab simple and consider learning Greek or Latin * Experiment with looooong sentences * Learn how to identify the beats in language * Point Of View (Essayist 3rd Omniscient Gardner's ❤️) * Delay the Climactic Scene * Develop your Voice (but don't act like you're trying to develop your voice...I don't know, write casual)
Gardner's POV on Point of View First Person POV Here's an example of First Person
Sadness crept over me—a sadness I didn’t question, a sadness so profound I understood it could not have come from life, or any source within my conceptual scope, but instead seeped into me from the very air, from the whole extant universe in which I was less than a speck, sadness that was not emotion but the awareness of vast emptinesses.
— Frank Conroy from Stop-Time: A Memoir
Gardner's not a huge fan of first person POV, nor the writer who wields it, apparently.
First-Person allows the writer to write as he talks, and this may be an advantage...but first person does not force the writer to recognize that written speech has to make up for the loss of facial expression, gesture, and the like, and the usual result is not good writing but only writing less noticeably bad.
Third Person Subjective Gardner isn't a fan of this POV either. He also gives it short shrift, saying "that something is wrong when it becomes the dominant point of view in fiction."
Here's an example. Note how close the psychic distance is. It's the thoughts in real time in Lilly's mind in her voice. But it's third person (in this story, the POV actually shifts between two characters...so in a way, it's mixing third person subjective with omniscient. Clever.
But no, there's no time for that. There's time for going out with the boys, and stayingout till all hours, and never mind that some of the boys are women, no, never mind that, it's just, I'm sorry, honey, I'll be home late tonight, don't wait up, and don't worry, honey, we'll get around to a little evening out for ourselves one of these days, too.
Well, baloney. He wasn't fooling anyone. And she was going to prove it.
C.J. Hribal, from "Morton and Lilly, Dredge and Fill"
Third Person Objective Gardner claiims this POV is good for short fiction and that "its limits are obvious..." ...um...yeah...wait, what?
Gardner describes the third person objective as "identical to third person subjective except that the narrator not only never comments himself but also refrains from entering any character's mind." Think the unthinking camera, as objective as possible.
He picked up the two heavy bags and carried them around the station to the other tracks. He looked up the tracks but could not see the train. Coming back, he walked through the barroom, where people waiting for the train were drinking. He drank an Anis at the bar and looked at the people. They were all waiting reasonably for the train. He went out through the bead curtain. She was sitting at the table and smiled at him.
Ernest Hemmingway, "Hills Like White Elephants"
Authorial-Omniscient POV In other words, the narrator is as all knowing (and sometimes as opinionated) as a god. The narrator sees what all of the characters see, what they feel, what they think. All perception is available and "occasionally dips into the third person subjective to give the reader an immediate sense of why the character feels as he does, but reserves to himself the right to judge" (Gardner).
The narrator not only knows all, but can be a little judgy too (as gods are or tend to be).
There was a great deal of fussing to be done before Mr. Summers declared the lottery open. There were the lists to make up—of heads of families, heads of households in each family, members of each household in each family. There was the proper swearing-in of Mr. Summers by the postmaster, as the official of the lottery; at one time, some people remembered, there had been a recital of some sort, performed by the official of the lottery, a perfunctory, tuneless chant that had been rattled off duly each year; some people believed that the official of the lottery used to stand just so when he said or sang it, others believed that he was supposed to walk among the people, but years and years ago this part of the ritual had been allowed to lapse. There had been, also, a ritual salute, which the official of the lottery had had to use in addressing each person who came up to draw from the box, but this also had changed with time, until now it was felt necessary only for the official to speak to each person approaching. Mr. Summers was very good at all this; in his clean white shirt and blue jeans, with one hand resting carelessly on the black box, he seemed very proper and important as he talked interminably to Mr. Graves and the Martins.
Shirley Jackson, from "The Lottery"
Essayist-Omniscient Not to be confused with authorial omniscient, the god-like narrator in essayist omniscient POV telling the story has a personality, a dialect, a tone, and an opinion. I'm pretty sure Lemony Snicket (Daniel Handler) would hit the mark.
Gardner mentions Charles Johnson in reference to the Essayist-Omniscient. It's also the first and only black writer Gardner refers to in The Art of Fiction, a rare feat, to be sure.
From the table, they could see through the kitchen window that Jackson and his two assistants had straightened out Lavidia's legs and were carrying her on a stretcher to the open door of a hearse idling just yards from the front porch. Brown's eyes rolled toward the ceiling; he said something pious in a deep voice, reached across the table, and stroked Faith's hand. "What will you do now, child?"
Do? Faith paused, squinting her eyes to clear her head. The kitchen had changed. You could locate nothing misplaced, nothing out of the ordinary, for as a housekeeper Lavidia was meticulous; but the kitchen's former gloss of permanence was gone. Its smell was still that of the dry cotton fields just outside the open window above the sink, of browning bread Lavidia had baked just two nights before; yet Lavidia was gone. Though old, dissipated, sometimes evil, she had been the focus of the farmhouse since her husband's death, its most crucial node, surely its mistress. Without her the kitchen, the house, the world beyond fell apart. Fruit cabinets on the wall still held sweet jellies preserved in the odd-shaped bottles Lavidia salvaged like a scavenger from house and yard and rummage sales; her stiff mops and silver pail still rested in the corner by brooms she'd assembled by hand. Then what had changed? Certainly not the things themselves. Studying Lavidia's dresses heaped in a washtub by the door, her pipes in their dusty rack on the kitchen table, and dry lifeless wigs, Faith felt her answer emerge from the contours of these objects: none of them was for her; they belonged, related to no one. Even Lavidia, perhaps, had not made them her own, because -- with her death -- they seemed suddenly freed to be as they were. Empty things, cold, without quality, distant. Without order -- it was evident -- there could be no life, no sense to things, no way to awake in the stillness of morning and move from the day to and through the terror of eveningtime.
-Charles Johnson, from Faith and the Good Thing
Gardner's Gender Ratio for Chapter 6
Continuing the Conversation: Mimesis
So are writers born or made? Depends on who you ask. There is no shortage of writing craft books on the market (given Renee has like 50+ of them and without them we would not have this podcast). Aristotle's Poetics and Plato's Republic were perhaps the oldest, at least to survive the ancient world, and define the tenants of western storytelling to this day. Focusing on tragedy, Aristotle organized a story into the structure we know so well: a beginning, middle, and end. He said story and poetry (also the sculpture and the flute) were all a mimetic, as in, copies of the world around us.
Aristotle said story and poetry (also the sculpture and the flute) were all a mimetic, as in, copies of the world around us.
A story is not reality but a simulation of life, just like this painting "is not a pipe" It's a painting of a pipe. Get it?
Plato also saw poetry, writing, and art as a kind of copy; however, he was most concerned with the purity or closeness to the real. Since poets like to play with imagery, meaning, and such with their metaphors and similes, Plato called poets liars.
The philosophy that story is imitation laid the foundation for most of our most famed writers' educations. Chaucer, Shakespeare, Byron, Milton all received classical educations. But as all beginning creative writers discover: learning what makes a good story is only one piece of the equation; how one learns to imitate is quite another.
The Art of Learning Creative Writing So how did these greats learn to "copy" the world so artfully, expertly, impressively? Is it even possible to learn to be a creative writer? Or, indeed, creative? It depends on who you ask. Gardner advocates for writers to have a background in a university education, with an emphasis on the canon and the classics. Today, all creative writing departments on college campuses have agreed the workshop model, a group of writers getting together discussing and critiquing a draft, is the best method to learn to write creatively. Yet, most MFA programs require courses that include analysis of published work, both contemporary and classic.
So what if you don't have access this (very expensive) model? Can one really teach themselves?
But what, exactly, does a creative writer teach oneself to write? Today, we have craft books, but how did creative writers develop craft before there was a writing craft book market? Gardner mentions and even advocates copying, or copywork as I've seen it named on the internet, as one technique. Essentially, you pick a piece of writing you admire and you copy it word for word, preferably by hand (handwriting as opposed to dictating on the computer creates a deeper learning experience).
Hemingway claimed to have taught himself, but he did receive instruction from Ezra Pound. Bukowski went to community college, but never went to university. One could argue Jane Austen (and most female authors of her time) taught herself. She received some formal education until the age of ten, but that was pretty standard for upper middle class women in the 19th C. The rest of her education took place at home. (Luckily, her father had an extensive library).
Here are a list of some famous writers who used this method: Benjamin Franklin, Jack London, and Ernest Hemingway.
Additional Resources & Further Reading * Aristotle's Poetics * Plato's Republic * Mimesis Wikipedia * "In Defense Of Creative Writing Classes and Nuts & Bolts" by Richard Hugo. * "Creative Writing in English Education: An Historical Perspective" by Alice Glarden Brand * "Towards a Creativity Framework" by Irina Surkova * "The Rise of Creative Writing" by DJ Myers * "Want to Become a Better Writer? Copy the Work of Others!" by Brett & Kate McKenzie
A Tribute to Joyce Carol Oates Joyce Carol Oates (still alive today!) was born June 6th, 1938. Winner of the National Book Award and National Humanities Medal (among many, many others) she has created an impressive body of work--a staple of contemporary American fiction. She was the first in her family to graduate high school and received her Master's Degree from University of Wisconsin-Madison. Extremely prolific, she is a novelist (58 novels!), playwright, poet, and short story writer. Her most famous story, "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been," is heavily anthologized.
Chapter 5 - The Art of Fiction
Enough with the theoretical, in this episode we get some practical advice out of Gardner's book, The Art of Fiction. Specifically, he tells us what we're doing wrong. We discuss a few of what Gardner calls clumsy errors before moving onto Faults of the Soul - Sentimentality, Frigidity, and Mannerisms.
The Writing Exercise Write an acceptable example of purple prose--that is, highly self-conscious and arty prose made acceptable by subject, parodic intent, voice, etc
Gardner's Common Errors (and spelling ain't one of 'em) What Happens When We Error?So what happens when we error? According to Gardner, "we are abruptly snapped out of the dream, forced to think of the writer or the writing." How does this happen? Below are the writing mistakes that "break the dream."
*For examples of these error and how to fix 'em, go to Patreon.
Errors we cover in the Episode w/ Examples (you're welcome) Elevated Shifts in Diction (ie: trying to sound fancy) Here's an example of stylistic sin, from none other than the master himself:
The writing has most of the usual qualities of falsely elevated diction: abstract language...cliche personification, Latinate language where simple Anglo-Saxon would be preferable.
-John Gardner's The Art of Fiction
We're confident that one was pretty self explanatory.
Too Many (Introductory) Infinitive Verb Phrases What the heck is an Infinitive Verb Phrase? Starting sentences with verbs ending in "ing" and sometimes "to." Not to be confused with "ing" subjects (what's called a gerund, ie: Running is fun).
Example of Introductory Infinitive Verb Phrase:
Running to the store, I picked up some apple juice.
Gardner says, used intentionally, the infinitive slows down the action. Used badly, it "chops up the action in fits and starts."
It creates other problems too, like the sense something is happening almost by itself. The reader has to juggle multiple actions at once must also keep the action in mind before the subject.
So how should writers use infinitives?
Here's an example from George R.R. Martin, a master at writing action clearly and sequentially (IRO: In Renee's Opinion).
Note where Martin puts verb phrases in a sentence (in italics).
Ser Vardis swiveled, bringing up his heavy shield. Bronn turned to face him. Their swords rang together, once, twice, a testing. The sellsword backed off a step. The knight came after, holding his shield before him. He tried a slash, but Bronn jerked back, just out of reach, and the silver blade cut only air. Bronn circled to his right. Ser Vardis turned to follow, keeping his shield between them. The knight pressed forward, placing each foot carefully on the uneven ground. The sellsword gave way, a faint smile playing over his lips. Ser Vardis attacked, slashing, but Bronn leapt away from him, hopping lightly over a low moss-covered stone. Now the sellsword circled left, away from the shield, toward the knight’s unprotected side. Ser Vardis tried a hack at his legs, but he did not have he reach. Bronn danced farther to his left. Ser Vardis turned in place.
- from George R.R. Martin's Game of Thrones
Martin places the verb phrases after the subjects, so the reader doesn't have to wait for who is doing what. This is particularly important when writing movement. Who is doing what should be in the right order, one thing at a time, so the reader can see it. EVEN if things are happening at once (infinitives allow Ser Vardis to both swivel AND bring up a shield in one fluid movement), even though the reader can only read one word at a time.
Imagine if Martin wrote: "Bringing up his heavy shield, Ser Vardis swiveled." Or: Swiveling, Ser Vardis brought up his shield." Yuck... Logic isn't the only thing swiveling in these sentences.
Also, note the sequence of events, how organized every movement is in the paragraph. Martin practically gave stage directions.
Faults of the (lol) SOUL: Sentimentality, Frigidity, Mannered Writing Just in case you were a little self conscious about your grammatical errors, did you know they can also cause cancer? These errors (of the soul) include: Sentimentality, Frigidity, and Mannerisms.
Sentimentality: Writing with unearned emotion, drama, or moral.
A sentimentalist is one who desires to have the luxury of an emotion without paying for it.
Oscar Wilde Novelist, Playwright, Poet Kim and Renee decided that if it keeps hitting your heartstrings (admit it, you still cry when Frodo goes to the Undying Lands), then it earned your tears. If it only works once--or hardly the first time--and it seems ridiculous, then it's probably sentimental and you should throw stones at that writer.
I'm pretty sure Mr. Wilde had this scene in mind...🙄
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkP6JkpJo7A Frigidity: Cheating the Reader Definition: When a writer shows a flippant disregard for the reader's investment in the story, which is the fault of the writer not connecting emotionally with the character. Action heroes come to mind.
Renee deeply apologizes for the following example. If you're a millennial, then you were most likely spared the Rambo movies. Whoever you are, Renee in no way suggests you watch it. Don't go on. Go back while you still can. This is not the way. Take heed and go no further...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgspbZ0oOOIDude, I warned you...
Mannered Writing: Writing that sacrifices readability. The writing is so elaborate or verbose the reader either can't connect with the characters or follow the plot (as per our Purple Prose activity and discussion in the episode).
Example of Mannered Writing (discussed in the episode):
But then again I wonder if what we feel in our hearts today isn't like these raindrops still falling on us from the soaked leaves above, even though the sky itself long stopped raining. I'm wondering if without our memories, there's nothing for it but for our love to fade and die.”
- from The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro
Now compare that with the (non-mannered) prose style from another book from the same author, with a character talking about a similar topic: memories.
Example of straightforward prose (same author, same subject):
Memories, even your most precious ones, fade surprisingly quickly. But I don’t go along with that. The memories I value most, I don’t ever see them fading.
- from Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Gardner's Gender Ratio for Chapter 5
Continuing the Conversation: Sentimentality
Thomas Kincade, Painter of 🤮🤮🤮
So what do literary types mean by the term, Sentimentality? It refers to a style of writing popular in the 18th Century. Think over the top emotion, which eventually just makes us desensitized.
Abolitionist Poetry was a defining genre during that time, such as "A Slave's Address to British Ladies", written by a white woman appealing to an audience of mothers.
Hear, and help the kneeling Slave.Think, how nought but death can severYour lov’d children from your hold ;Still alive—but lost for ever—Ours are parted, bought and sold!
-Susanna Watts
The Sentiment goes: how would you feel if your child was ripped from your arms, bought and sold into slavery and never seen again? That's why slavery is wrong and we should abolish the practice! Now who is with me!?
If this poem pings your cringe-dar, you're not alone. There's obvious reasons a contemporary reader takes issue with this. One, this experience is horrific, but feels empty and preachy at the same time. Two, a few lines hardly does the tragedy justice. Three, being a mother does not an authority on loss make. In other words, this educated white lady is assuming, somehow, she can invoke the sympathies of a black slave whose child was sold into slavery--and that it's an effective strategy. The sentiment, therefore, does not ring true. It's false, rather presumptuous, and leaves a bad taste in our mouth.
Now, take for example the following, which is much more effective commentary on abolishing slavery.
The American people have this to learn: that where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob, and degrade them, neither person nor property is safe.
Frederick Douglass Abolitionist, Orator, Writer, and Stateman Interested in this topic? Here are some links: * Pamela; or Virtue Rewarded by Samuel Richardson * An Apology for the Life of Mrs. Shamela Andrews by Henry Fielding * The Critic; or A Tragedy Rehearsed by Richard Sheridan * Sentimental Poetry
A Tribute to Virginia Woolf
Virginia Woolf (Adeline Virginia Woolf) was born in 1882 and died in 1941. One of the most important and influential authors of the 20th Century, she was an essayist, memoirist and novelist in England. She was educated at King's College in London and was a defining figure of Modernism in literature. She, along with her husband, co-founded Hogarth Press. Her first book, The Voyage Out, was published in 1915, followed by some of her most famous works: Mrs. Dalloway (1925), Orlando (1927), To the Lighthouse (1928), and A Room of One's Own (1929). Her work tackled subjects such as class and suffrage, and played with form and langauge. She pioneered "stream of consciousness" writing, breaking away from the style of the Victorian novel.
I would venture to guess that Anon, who wrote so many poems without signing them, was often a woman.
-Virginia Woolf
Chapter 4 -The Art of Fiction
After last episode's mother of all chapters, we get a reprieve - a much shorter and lighthearted chapter devoted to those weird genres of metafiction, deconstruction, and jazzing around (that last one we're pretty sure Gardner made up.) While we do discuss Gardner's take, we mostly just have fun geeking out over our favorite examples of the genres. But, just when you think it's all congenial conversation, we come upon an eye-raising quote by Gardner, and once again, the knives come out. For our exercise, Renee shifts her memoir into poetry and we discuss the results.
Want to hear Kim's story reformed into both prose and verse (and hear Renee's critique wherein she finally gets her money's worth on that useless MFA degree in Poetry)? Check us out on Patreon and become a member. Members get access to bonus content, like Renee going on and on about poetry, chapter SnarkNotes, and a community of writers–your hosts included!–working toward improving our craft as writers. Join our newsletter and and get a free bonus episode!
The Writing Exercsie Write a short piece of fiction in mixed prose and verse.
This Week's Vocab with a side of examples...and Chauvinism! Meta-Fiction So what does it look like to get all Meta in your Fiction?
- Princess Bride (the book not the movie)
- Gone Girl (again, the book not the movie)
- Sort of but not really Deadpool
Deconstruction "All meta-fictions are deconstructions but not all deconstructions are meta-fictions."
-John Gardner.
Who doesn't like a deconstructed fairytale?
- Wicked
- Into the Woods
- Watchmen
Jazzing Around (or All of the Above) * The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy * Rick & Morty
This example of Jazzing Around was brought to you by Prosetnic Vogon Jeltz reading the Third Worst Poetry in the Galaxy:
Gardner's *New Gender Author Reference Ratio
*We thought it might be important to remind our listeners that the author gender count only applies to new authors mentioned. Gardner, for example, mentions and references Shakespeare in every chapter so far. We only count him as a mention author in the gender count for chapter one. This is why the author count gets smaller and smaller for each episode. With that said, Gardner referenced Jane Austen's novel in chapter three and then referenced her by name in Chapter 4. However, we do not count her in the author gender ratio for chapter 4 because we only count new authors mentioned.
When the Chauvinist Gets Meta Perhaps inspired to get all Meta on his own, Gardner makes a funny:
"That language carries values is obvious. Again and again this book speaks of the writer as 'he,' though many of the best writers I have read or have taught in writing classes are female. English, like most languages, is covertly male chauvinist."
-John Gardner
Don't forget, Dear Listener...Gardner only mentions on average one female author per chapter. So, yeah, it's obvious Gardner is aware of his pronouns. Dare we say...his attempt at being Meta was a success. He really does discredit himself! What an achievement. Well, perhaps he does deserve some credit.
Continuing the Discussion: A Tribute to bell hooks
This month, we lost a beloved author, scholar, and feminist: bell hooks. She was born in September 25th, 1952 and died December 15th, 2021. She was an educator and an author of scholarly articles and books which focused on numerous social justice themes such as feminism, gender, education, and race to name just a few. Ain't I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism, Teaching to Transgress: Education and the Practice of Freedom (on a personal note, this book directly inspired Renee's pedagogical philosophies and practices), and All About Love: New Visions. She received her PhD from University of California Santa Cruz and taught at many institutions, such as Yale, UCSC, and City College of New York.
In response to Gardner, we offer an appropriate response to chauvinism and racism in the English language from her essay, "The Language of Power":
"Initially, I resist the idea of the “oppressor’s language,” certain that this construct has the potential to disempower those of us who are just learning to speak, who are just learning to claim language as a place where we make ourselves subject. “This is the oppressor’s languages yet I need it to talk to you.” Adrienne Rich’s words. Then, when I first read these words, and now, they make me think of standard English, of learning to speak against black vernacular, against the ruptured and broken speech of a dispossessed and displaced people. Standard English is not the speech of exile. It is the language of conquest and domination; in the United States, it is the mask which hides the loss of so many tongues, all those sounds of diverse, native communities we will never hear, the speech of the Gullah, Yiddish, and so many other unremembered tongues" (hooks).
This is the oppressor's languages, yet I need it to talk to you.
Adrienne Rich Poet "Reflecting on Adrienne Rich’s words, I know that it is not the English language that hurts me, but what the oppressors do with it, how they shape it to become a territory that limits and defines, how they make it a weapon that can shame, humiliate, colonize. Gloria Anzaldua (link) reminds us of this pain in Borderlands/La Frontera when she asserts, “So, if you want to really hurt me, talk badly about my language.” We have so little knowledge of how displaced, enslaved, or free Africans who came or were brought against their will to the United States felt about the loss of language, about learning English. Only as a woman did I begin to think about these black people in relation to language, to think about their trauma as they were compelled to witness their language rendered meaningless with a colonizing European culture, where voices deemed foreign could not be spoken, were outlawed tongues, renegade speech" (hooks).
Chapter 3 - The Art of Fiction
Moving along to Chapter 3 in The Art of Fiction. We go to war over the various dichotomies that (what Gardner claims) make good fiction, his weird beef against experimental fiction--or what he calls "intellectual toys," and why he chose a weird moment in Helen of Troy to serve as his example to illustrate the novel. Let's just say there's a lot of sacking, burning, and pillaging--and not just on Gardner's part--in this episode. Don't worry, no heels or cities were harmed in the recording of this episode. For our exercise, Kim plots a realistic short story, beginning with the climax and working backward.
Want to hear Renee take a stab (hehe) at this exercise (and not actually follow the prompt), go to Become a Patron!">Patreon and become a member. Members get access to bonus content, like Kim helping Renee figure out what makes a good plot, extra show notes, and a community of writers--your hosts included!--working toward improving our craft as writers. In the episode, Kim proposed we come up with the Climax to a plot for each other. Our task was to work backward from that Climatic plot point.
The Writing Exercise Plot a realistic story, beginning with the climax and working backward. What characters are needed for the climax and what are they like? What must be dramatized to authenticate the climax? How many scenes are necessary to achieve the climax?
Main Ideas (it's ok, you can copy off my test) It's Pro-fluence not Pro-fluence This episode is brought to you by the word "Profluence," as in a coherent timeline of events in a story described in the most pedantic manner possible.
We also discovered this is a magical word which, when spoken, transforms you into a caricature of a snooty British dude with a handlebar mustache and a monocle. Oh, Hedonism Bot, we love you...
Gardner's Dichotomies
- Immediate Pleasure vs Aesthetic Vision
- Poetic vs Essay Style
- Conventional vs Innovative
- Theme vs Message
- Primary vs Secondary Emotion & Meaning
- The Trojans vs The Achaeans
Other Important Stuff
- Scene
- Plot Emotion
- Symbolism
Definition of Scene Renee particularly liked Gardner's definition of scene.
By scene we mean here all that is included in an unbroken flow of action from one incident in time to another...The action within a scene is "unbroken" in the sense that it does not include a major time lapse or a leap from one setting to another--though the characters may, of course, walk or ride from one place to another without braking the scene, the camera, so to speak, dollying after them The action within a scene need not be "unbroken" in the sense that it includes flashbacks or brief authorial interruptions for background explanation. The scene is not broken, in other words, when a character's mind drifts from present surrounding to some earlier scene, which is then vividly set before us for the time the flashback lasts.
Renee thinks this works as a great definition of a scene because it's time based. A scene is happening before the reader's eyes, as if they are there with the character, seeing what the protagonist sees, doing what the protagonist does. Just like in film, it's unbroken real time action.
Author/Book Shoutouts from the Episode * Barbara Kingslover's The Bean Trees and The Poisonwood Bible * Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale and The Testaments * Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl * Homer's The Iliad * Howard the Duck * Very Bad Things * Clueless
Gardner's Gender Ratio
A Tribute to Jane Austen and Mary Anne Evans (George Eliot) Although Gardner mentions both of these authors, it's important to note he did not mention them by name, only by the books they wrote. It's also interesting to note Gardner has mentioned not one, but two women authors in the text so far who wrote under male pen names (see Karen Blixen/Isak Dinesen in the previous episode). Coincidence? We think not.
Mary Anne Evans (George Eliot)
Born in 1819 and died in 1880, Mary Anne Evans was a key player in the Victorian literary scene in England. Notably prolific, she was a playwright, novelist, translator, editor, critic and poet. She wrote seven novels, most notably Middlemarch, which has been adapted into both a tv series and a literary web series. Gardner mentions her novel, Middlemarch, in chapter 3 as an example of a "resolution of irony."
Jane Austen
Jane Austen was a defining literary figure in the birth of the 18th Century novel. She was born in 1775 and died in 1817 and her six novels focus primarily on women maneuvering complicated social circles and constraints. Some of her most famous novels are Emma, Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, and Mansfield Park. Her literary legacy is tightly woven into the fabric of the western canon and pop culture. Her works have been adapted into countless films, television shows, satires, comics, art, etc. To only include a short paragraph to summarize her importance of her legacy breaks Renee and Kim's hearts. Gardner mentions her book Emma in succession with Middlemarch and King Lear. (And to know he didn't even bother to mention her by name...).
Chapter 2 - The Art of Fiction
On to Chapter 2 of John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction. We begin with Gardner's opinions about grammar, and our opinions about those opinions. Then we move on to his definition of genres and the great importance of “verisimilitude.” Wrapping up the discussion, we figure out what Gardner thinks makes for a true artist writing great literature. For our exercise, Renee has described a landscape as seen by a bird, she did not mention the bird.
And if you want to hear Kim’s take on the exercise, consider becoming a Patreon member. By becoming a member, you’re not only helping out with our podcast expenses, you’re joining us on our journey to improve as writers. We’d love to hear your opinion on the book, and how we’re doing as well.
The Writing Exercise 4a. Describe a landscape as seen by an old woman who’s disgusting and detestable old husband has just died. Do not mention the husband or death.
4b. Describe a lake as seen by a young man who just committed murder, Do not mention the murder.
4c. Describe a landscape as seen by a bird. Do not mention the bird.
4d. Describe a building as seen by a man who’s son has just been killed in a war. Do not mention the son, war, death, or the old man doing the seeing; then describe the same building, in the same weather and at the same time of day, as seen by a happy lover, do not mention the loved one.
Verisimilitude (vərəsəˈmiləˌt(y)o͞od) Verisimilitude (vərəsəˈmiləˌt(y)o͞od): The appearance of being true or real.
-Oxford English Dictionary
(Number of times Renee attempts to say this word in the episode...9).
Gardner's verisimilitude means detail, as in the "show" in the show, don't tell rule. It's detail and specificity in writing: describing, illustrating, creating the "dream" in the reader's mind. It's how one triggers suspended disbelief. Gardner says this creates a kind of "simulation of the real world."
In all the major genres, vivid detail is the life blood of fiction... The reader is regularly presented with proofs--in the form of closely observed details--that what is said to be happening is really happening.
In other words, because effective story telling achieves the dreamlike state in the reader's mind (suspension of disbelief), a writer must include specific detail and description because that's how the reader accesses that dream.
The Main Ideas (you're welcome) There's Three Genres of Fiction * Realistic Writing requires the writer to simulate real life, make the events as realistic as possible. * The Tale requires not convincing of how real it is but how sincere/world building through language. * The Yarn...um, here you go:
[The Yarn teller] tells outrageous lies and simultaneously emphasizes both the brilliance and the falsehood of the lie; that is, he tells the lie as convincingly as he can but also raises objections to the lie, either those objections the reader might raise or, for comic effect, literal-minded country-bumpkin objections that, though bumpkinish, call attention to the yarn's improbabilities."
Gardner also makes a point about experimental fiction, but he covers that in his next chapter (and we cover it in our next episode). In other words: bla, bla, bla, Mark Twain. And maybe Kurt Vonnegut (and that's a big maybe). Needless to say, this episode has been brought to you by the Jumping Frog of Calaveras County. We promise, no frogs were harmed in the making of this episode.
Author Personas In this episode, we discuss a bit about authors who have adopted "tortured" or gothic personas, or had those personas imposed upon them. Here's an image of Edgar Allen Poe...an early for of "branding?"
Continuing the Discussion: Fiction & Brain Science In great fiction, the dream engages us heart and soul; we not only respond to imaginary things--sights, sounds, smells--as though they were real, we respond to fictional problems as though they were real: We sympathize, think, and judge.
Gardner's observation here was more scientifically accurate than he knew. Researchers discovered what our brains do when we read fiction. It turns out, reading fiction really is a simulation of the real world. Using fMRi machines to map the brain, they discovered that reading the word "cinnamon" and "jasmine" activated the olfactory regions of the brain. So when you were reading Harry Potter and felt like you were totally "there" at Hogwarts...in a sense, you really were. Of course, the process is much more complicated and nuanced than that. Here's a succinct description of how the brain processes fiction:
Theory of Mind
As I see it today, the ability to read awoke inside me some long dormant craving to be mentally alive.
Malcolm X Civil Rights Leader Theory of mind is the ability to see from another person's POV and reading fiction develops this skill. Without the benefit of having access to all of the real life experiences the world has to offer, reading fiction gives us access to social situations and experiences we might never have.
For those interested in this topic, check out this podcast episode Renee teaches in her literature and creative writing classes from Rough Translation: "Anna in Somalia" to illustrate the power fiction can have on our lives.
Further Reading * Reading cinnamon activates olfactory regions * Simulating Fiction: Individual Differences in Literature Comprehension Revealed with fMRI * Reading Fiction Improves Brain Connectivity and Function * Reading fiction and reading minds: the role of simulation in the default network * Neurobiology Research Findings: How the Brain Works During Reading
Authors/People We Mention * Stephen Colbert (as an example of satire when discussing "yarns.") * John Hodgman * Jonathan Swift * George R. R. Martin * J. R. R. Tolkien * Gabriel Garcia Marquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude * Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eye * Emily Dickinson * Edgar Allen Poe * Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, Watchmen
Woops! Kim got John Hodgman’s book title wrong. The books are: The Areas of My Expertise: An Almanac of Complete World Knowledge Compiled with Instructive Annotation and Arranged in Useful Order and More Information Than You Require
Gardner's Gender Ratio
*We've compiled the complete list of all authors he's mentioned in each chapter. You can access the list on Patreon.
A Tribute to Karen Blixen (aka Isak Dinesen)
The sole female author Gardner mentions in this chapter is Karen Blixen under her pen name, Isak Dinesen. She is a Danish writer who wrote the notable memoir Out of Africa (film) and story Babbette's Feast (film) both of which were made into Academy Award winning films.
Chapter 1 - The Art of Fiction
We're starting our first book - John Gardner's The Art of Fiction. Let's find out why writing instructors and bloggers keep recommending it to aspiring writers. We'll try to figure out what Gardner means by aesthetic law and if the literary cannon is worth a read, and we'll address the (male) elephant in the room, er book.
As promised, we're also doing one of the assignments from Gardner's book. We soft balled it this time, choosing to analyze the common elements of the superhero genre. On the podcast we discuss superhero costumes. If you want to hear more, check out our Patreon site where we discuss the "good guys fight each other trope." Patreon is a way for us to cover our hosting services and production costs. In addition to giving out extra content, we hope to build a writers' community. Check us out!
The Writing Exercise List the customary elements of one or more of the following: a gothic romance, a murder mystery, a yarn, a TV situational comedy, or some other popular genre (Superhero Movies!). What are the philosophical implications of each of these elements? What do these elements seem to mean psychologically? What are some possible symbolic meanings? The genre’s listed are all “popular”; that is, their appeal is usually just adventure or entertainment. Suggest ways in which they might be elevated to serious fiction?
Aesthetic Law Vocab (you know, just in case there's a quiz) Aesthetic: a set of principles underlying and guiding the work of a particular artist or artistic movement.
"Every true work of art--and thus every attempt at art...must be judged primarily, though not exclusively, by its own laws."
-John Gardner
Kim's take on Gardner's Aesthetic Law: It's not that there's a rule you can't break (in fiction) but there's guidelines...the reason it's there is because when you break it you run into other problems.
Renee's take: There are no such things as a set of hard rules when followed will produce a perfect story.
Continuing the Discussion: The (Western) Literary Canon
"In order to acheive mastery, he [the student writer] must read widely...Though the literary dabble may write a fine story now and then, the true writer is one for whom technique has become, as it is for the pianist, second nature. Ordinarily, this means university education, with courses in the writing of fiction, and poetry as well."
-John Gardner
So what is the Western Literary Canon - the Canon Gardner refers to in his book? What does that term mean? Originally, the "canon" referred to the books of the bible sanctioned by the Church. Now, however, it's a collection of curated texts, what many call "The Classics," sanctioned by those who have the power to decide what represents "us," our culture, traditions, and values (aka, what students read in school). Essentially, The (Western) Canon is a set of literature, art, and music, agreed upon by scholars and tradition, deemed "classics."
Think of the canon as a kind of literary mix tape bestowed upon the masses. The problem: the "canon" has traditionally been made up of white men, because white men have traditionally been the ones in power. (Even today, women, people of color, the LGBTQ community, or and other marginalized groups are commonly excluded, denied, or flat out erased. Here's looking at you NY Times Books). Prior to the 19th Century, Europe/England had curated that tradition. Given America was a colony of England, the colonists brought that canon with them. As America produced its own literary works, England and Europe discounted many notable American authors, claiming they didn't really have a tradition; therefore, they would be excluded from the literary canon--deemed unworthy, essentially.
But then there was Edgar Allen Poe. Many poets we consider household literary names now were once discounted because they were American. Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson weren't yet considered "worthy" enough for European scholars because, well, Americans weren't considered to have a culture. But then Edgar Allen Poe wielded the techniques of the European masters so well he could not be ignored. American authors were breaking the literary mold (see Walt Whitman's free verse style) and gaining popularity with audiences in Europe, with or without the blessing of European scholars. Eventually, American literature was given a place at the "tradition" table.
So we ask you, Dear Listener. What texts in the 21st Century will be considered "classics" 100 years from now? Who will be in power and who will decide?
Further Reading * De-Canon * The Voice in the Margin UC Press * Goodread's Literary Canon Books * In Defense of the Literary Canon by Aatif Rashid, Kenyon Review
"...always be aware of the possibility of total defeat whether the reason for that defeat seems right or wrong"
Charles Bukowski Author What Craft Books might Gardner have read? In the podcast we speculate on what sort of craft books were out when Gardner wrote The Art Fiction. A web search has come up with the following books.
- Elements of Style by Struck and White (1918 & 1959)
- Aspects of the Novel by EM Foster (1927)
- On Becoming a Writer by Dorothea Brande (1934, 1981, with forward by Gardner)
- The Lonely Voice: A study of the Short Story by Frank O’Connor (1962)
- On Writing Well by William Zinsser (1976)
- The Language of the Night by Ursula K. Leguin (1979)
- Creating Short Fiction by Damon Knight (1981)
Other noteworthy craft books from the era:* Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg (1986) * How to Write A Damn Good Novel by James N. Frey (1987) * The Writing Life by Annie Dillard (1989) * Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury (1990)
Gardner's Gender Ratio A quick google search for Gardner's The Art of Fiction will result in quite a few blogs and youtubers lamenting Gardner's strict use of the male pronoun throughout this text. Your hosts, Kim and Renee, are old enough to remember when this was standard practice in written texts. But they also remember when it changed. Although we are quite aware of the "well, it was the eighties" argument, we also know conversations about gender equality and inclusion were already heated in Gardner's time. He was an academic after all, teaching at San Francisco State and The University of Detroit.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, In The Art of Fiction, Gardner drops authors' names like a toddler drops candy on Halloween. For each chapter, we will provide the number of mentioned authors but also the Gender Ration of said dropped authors. This goes beyond a pronoun. The exclusion warrants correcting. Or, as She-Hulk might say: Patriarchy Smash!
A Tribute to Gertrude Stein
Gertrude Stein was born in 1874. She is the author of Tender Buttons, The Making of Americans, and The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, among many other novels, poems, and plays. She was raised in Oakland, CA but spent the majority of her life in Paris where she hosted a salon featuring Pablo Picasso, Fitzgerald, and Henri Matisse, among others. She is the only female author referenced in chapter one of The Art of Fiction.