Suggested Reading:
Truth Is the Arrow, Mercy Is the Bow: A DIY Manual for the Construction of Stories (Zando, April 2024) by Steve Almond
Three decades of writing and teaching culminate in this new craft book by Steve Almond, the author of a dozen books of fiction and nonfiction, including (Zando, 2022) and the best-seller (Melville House, 2014). With chapters dedicated to the basics—plot, character, chronology—thewell as the more personal, intangible aspects of writing. Which feeling is stronger: your urge to tell the truth or your fear of the consequences? How can you write “egoless prose”? To answer questions like these, Almond layers anecdotes from his childhood alongside his experiences with writer’s block and his observations of students. In his candid, nonmoralizing style, Almond examines writing from all angles, breathing new life into truisms about the writing process and the interior life of the storyteller.
