Becoming a Writer

"Foreword by John Gardner In Introduction 1. The Four Difficulties The Difficulty of Writing at All; The ""One-Book Author""; The Occasional Writer; The Uneven Writer; The Difficulties Not in Technical Equipment. 2. What Writers are Like Cultivating a Writer's Temperament; False and Real Artists; The Two Sides of a Writer; ""Dissociation"" Not Always Psychopathic; Everyday Examples of Dual Personality; The Slough of Despond 3. The Advantages of Duplicity The Process of Story Formation; The ""Born Writer""; Unconscious and Conscious; The Two Persons of the Writer; The Transparent Barrier; Keep Your Own Counsel; Your ""Best Friend and Severest Critic""; The Right Recreation; Friends and Books; The Arrogant Intellect; The Two Selves Not at War; The First Exercise 4. Interlude: On Taking Advice Save Your Energy; Imagination Versus Will in Changing Habits; Displacing Old Habits; A Demonstration; The Right Frame of Mind 5. Harnessing the Unconscious Wordless Daydreams; Toward Effortless Writing; Double Your ""Output"" 6. Writing on Schedule Engaging to Write; A Debt of Honor; Extending the Exercise; Succeed, or Stop Writing 7. The First Survey Reading Your Work Critically; The Pitfalls of Imitation; Discovering Your Strength; A Footnote for Teachers 8. The Critic at Work on Himself A Critical Dialogue Be Specific in Suggestions Correction After Criticism The Conditions of Excellence Dictating a Daily Regime 9. Readings as a Writer Read Twice Summary Judgment and Detailed Analysis The Second Reading Points of Importance 10. On Imitation Imitating Technical Excellence How to Spend Words Counteracting Monotony Pick Up Fresh Words 11. Learning to See Again The Blinders of Habit Causes of Repetitiousness Recapturing Innocence of Eye A Stranger in the Streets The Rewards of Virtue 12. The Source of Originality The Elusive Quality Originality Not Imitation The ""Surprise Ending"" Honesty, the Source of Originality Trust Yourself ""Your Anger and My Anger"" One Story, Many Versions Your Inalienable Uniqueness A Questionnaire 13. The Writer's Recreation Busmen's Holidays Wordless Recreation Find Your Own Stimulus A Variety of Time-Fillers 14. The Practice Story A Recapitulation The Contagiousness of Style Find Your Own Style The Story in Embryo The Preparatory Period Writing Confidently A Finished Experiment Time for Detachment The Critical Reading 15. The Great Discovery The Five-Finger Exercises of Writing The Root of Genius Unconscious, Not Subconscious The Higher Imagination Come to Terms with the Unconscious The Artistic Coma and the Writer's Magic 16. The Third Person, Genius The Writer Not Dual But Triple The Mysterious Faculty Releasing Genius Rhythm, Monotony, Silence A Floor to Scrub 17. The Writer's Magic X Is to Mind as Mind to Body Hold Your Mind Still Practice in Control The Story Idea as the Object The Magic in Operation Inducing the ""Artistic Coma"" Valedictory In Conclusion: Some Prosaic Pointers Typewriting Have Two Typewriters Stationery At the Typerwriter: WRITE! For Coffee Addicts Coffee Versus Maté Reading Book and Magazine Buying Bibliography Index"