Graceful Lie, The: A Method for Making Fiction

Rating:
Summary: Truly inspiring!
Review: As a new elemetary school teacher, I am always looking for interesting ways to inspire young minds in the writing process. I set out to write a unit for fourth and fifth graders on the craft of science fiction writing. Initially I had little luck finding just the right book that I could adapt to meet the needs of my students. However, Petracca's Graceful Lie presented me with exactly what I needed to provide the children with a step by step model of writing the perfect science fiction story. This book was put to a true test as I attempted to channel the creativity of children by introducing a new writing genre in the classroom...and it passed with flying colors!

Rating:
Summary: Graceful Lying Has Never Been So Much Fun
Review: For many years poetry has been my medium of expression, but in the last few years I've returned to writing fiction again. Having Michael Petracca's book as a compendium to return to again and again has been wonderful. I have felt encouraged and validated to experiment with form and language. His ideas make sense and provide me with enough structure to try new things, look critically at what I'm doing, and lie, lie, lie, hopefully with grace. I appreciate his sense of playfulness and wonder at what one can create when one trusts the process of writing, getting stuck, becoming unstuck, and moving through those tricky dance steps of words on paper. I also find that I am a more critical and appreciative reader of others' writing. I recommend Michael Petracca's book to anyone wanting to know about the craft of fiction, either to enhance and facilitate one's own writing or to see how others go about it.

Rating:
Summary: Graceful Lie, The: A Method for Making Fiction
Review: Moving from one genre of writing to another can be difficult: I'm a journalist wanting to write fiction. Despite consultations with other books, I always seem to get hung up on plot development for the mystery book I harbor inside my head. The Graceful Lie has helped me hatch an escape route to get those ideas out of my head and into my computer. I particularly like the writing samples Petracca provides, and his overall tone, which is light, instructive and helpful. For example, the practical guidance in chapter 4 laid out clearly how out to deal with plot, my own biggest challenge. I find that after reading these suggestions, examples, and discussions, I feel better prepared to complete my mystery novel. I'd recommend this book to anyone who's got the yearning to write good fiction.