Elements of Fiction

Best-selling author Walter Mosley takes the neophyte novelist on a short journey examining several of the elements essential to a good novel. This little gem isn’t a workbook; rather, Mosley reflects on each element almost as if he is thinking aloud, allowing you a peek into his personal writer’s process. For example, as Mosley discusses beginning a novel, he picks a random event — a woman’s husband returns to her after WWI – and using this as a starting point, analyses what information the novelist might have to consider about this story – the other characters, their motivations, their interactions, and even their places in the grander context of their world. And is there some greater meaning to this novel? Another element might be discussed using a jumping-off point of a patient in a hospital gown, or father on a road trip to save a wayward daughter. Mosley gives these examples to show you how to use different elements to craft your novel in various ways, and to demonstrate the rich variety of techniques at your disposal; by explaining through example, Mosley demystifies these techniques and encourages you to embrace the possibilities of the blank page.