Crafting the Very Short Story: An Anthology of 100 Masterpieces

Rating:
Summary: Save your money
Review: If you are looking for tips to improve your writing, look elsewhere.

The 'instructions' could all fit on one page and consist of such helpful hints as "choose your voice, point of view, and setting...the choice is entirely up to you". "Write a rough draft..." "Edit your draft for logic, clarity, and plausibility." "Continually read excellent fiction."

The section of exercises is simply a list of 20 topics with this instruction: "Write a very short story about one of the following:"

The glossary is less than two pages long and has no examples.

I was expecting each story to have an introduction that told me why it is a masterpiece and what to look for. There is an index of stories by voice, point of view and setting. Those are fairly obvious.

Another sad lesson in not judging a book by its cover.

Rating:
Summary: More than Expected
Review: While looking for an anthology of short stories, I came across this "textbook" and the most diverse assortment of short story writers I have ever seen. For those who appreciate the poetry of judicious prose this is a find.

Also liked the sections categorizing voice, point-of-view, and setting. Great technical examples that show rather than tell you the differences. Bought it, kept it, still using it, and now even recommending it. Respectful creative writing that will help keep the genre thriving.