An amusing but educational book on including dialogue in fictional writing. Giving us the setting of a Socratic dialogue, Lewis Turco and his foil, "Fred Foyle" give us examples of various modes, styles, genres and more. The examples are clear and the stories included as examples are interesting.

This book is great for the writer starting to delve into fictional writing. Many errors made by beginners are brought to light through the dialog, followed up with discussions on alternative methods. Whether a student or a writer wishing to improve his craft, this book is an enjoyable tool.

I particularly liked how the conversations of Lewis and Fred introduced various methods with humor, then following further example in classic writings, discussed their findings and conclusions.

After reading this book, I felt more confident in my attempts at fictional dialogue. I also was confident that I can use the book as referenceknow when I need to write a particular type of story.

Lewis Turco is a well respected writer, poet and professor. He was also the recipient in 1999 of the John Ciardi Award for life time achievement in poetry.

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Created Jun 26, 2006 at 10:29pm • Submit your own review...