Vivid and Continuous: Essays and Exercises for Writing Fiction

Title Page, Copyright

vivid and continuous Essays and Exercises for Writing Fiction john mcnally VIVID& continuous u n i v e r s i t y o f i o wa p r e s s, i o wa c i t y University of Iowa Press, Iowa City 52242 Copyright © 2013 by John McNally www.uiowapress.org Printed in the United States of America Design by April Leidig No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the publisher. All reasonable steps have been taken to contact copyright holders of material used in this book. The publisher would be pleased to make suitable arrangements with any whom it has not been possible to reach. The University of Iowa Press is a member of Green Press Initiative and is committed to preserving natural resources. Printed on acid-free paper Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data McNally, John, 1965– Vivid and continuous: essays and exercises for writing fiction / John McNally. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 978-1-60938-156-1, 1-60938-156-4 (pbk) ISBN 978-1-60938-157-8, 1-60938-157-2 (e-book) 1. Fiction—Authorship. 2. Authorship—Handbooks, manuals, etc. 3. Creative writing—Handbooks, manuals, etc. I. Title. PN3355.M377 2013 808.3—dc23 2012028420 for Holly Carver We recreate, with minor and for the most part unimportant changes, the vivid and continuous dream the writer worked out in his mind (revising and revising until he got it right) and captured in language so that other human beings, whenever they feel like it, may open his book and dream that dream again. —John Gardner, On Becoming a Novelist ...