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Monkeys with Typewriters: How to Write Fiction and Unlock the Secret Power of Stories
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
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About this ebook
Exploring great plots from Plato to The Matrix, from Tolstoy to Toy Story, Scarlett Thomas’s new book is for writers and readers who want to unlock any narrative and create their own. Filled with creative exercises, structures, and charts, Thomas’ manual breaks down the fiction writing process and demonstrates that everyone has material to write about, whether they believe it or not. Have you ever had your heart broken, or broken someone else’s heart? Have you ever won an argument but later realized you were wrong? Have you ever tripped in public or spilled wine on someone else’s carpet? Monkeys with Typewriters is an ode to the secret power of stories, and a guide to cracking those powers open.
As a bestselling author, Thomas may appear as a naturally gifted writer. However, for Thomas, fiction unlocked itself only once she recognized the importance of an author’s individual experience and one’s willingness to ask questions, not simply provide solutions. She deems the communication of one’s humanity as the key to making a piece relatable, and Thomas does nothing less in her own work. With startling and original insights into how we construct stories, Monkeys with Typewriters is a creative writing book like no other. It will show you how to not only write, but also to a finer degree, how to read.
As a bestselling author, Thomas may appear as a naturally gifted writer. However, for Thomas, fiction unlocked itself only once she recognized the importance of an author’s individual experience and one’s willingness to ask questions, not simply provide solutions. She deems the communication of one’s humanity as the key to making a piece relatable, and Thomas does nothing less in her own work. With startling and original insights into how we construct stories, Monkeys with Typewriters is a creative writing book like no other. It will show you how to not only write, but also to a finer degree, how to read.
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Author
Scarlett Thomas
Scarlett Thomas was born in London. She is the author of the Worldquake series. She is also the author of nine books for adults, including PopCo, The End of Mr. Y, which was longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction in 2007 (formerly known as Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction), and Our Tragic Universe. She teaches creative writing at the University of Kent. Find out more at Worldquake.co.uk.
Read more from Scarlett Thomas
PopCo Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The End of Mr. Y: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Our Tragic Universe Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
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Reviews for Monkeys with Typewriters
Rating: 3.772727272727273 out of 5 stars
4/5
11 ratings1 review
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Writing is something I do and have done daily for as long as I can remember. It is something I can't imagine not doing. Writing fiction is another animal entirely and, despite having tried and failed in repeated attempts at sustained fiction writing, I continue returning to it like a lamb leading itself to slaughter.
It's because I enjoy reading fiction so much that I believe that I should be able to write it, but whether that's the case or not, I repeatedly come back to hurling myself at the task, usually after reading something by some author purporting to show me the way in. I've read a few of these books, but this one by Scarlett Thomas is undoubtedly the most straightforward nuts-and-bolts guide that I've come across, arising as it does largely from her lectures as a creative writing professor at the University of Kent. I'm not saying that this book will get your novel (or mine) off the ground, but it's a good place to start. More here.