Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #118690 in Books
• Published on: 2001-09
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 160 pages

Customer Reviews

A Fascinating Insight
This book is interesting and useful not only to give an insight into how Patricia Highsmith wrote her books (of which I have read them all), but also as an aid to writing fiction of your own, whatever your level of experience. She doesn't preach or say how to do it; she is quite modest, saying simply this is what I did, or this is what worked for me.

That the book is slighted dated now talking of typewriters and carbons doesn't really matter in the slightest, as a large part of the book is about what happens before you commit a word to paper, and the various drafts and problems that can be encountered after you have started that process - whatever the medium used.

A fascinating insight into one of the most successful suspense authors of recent years, whose works I have enjoyed since I was 15.

Interesting ideas on how to write suspense fiction
I came to this book after reading most of Patricia Highsmith's works of fiction, with a view to understanding her method of working, being a very modest writer myself. This book is concise, informative and a good lesson in how to instil in oneself the discipline and persistence needed to finish a work of fiction, be it a short story or a novel.Ms Highsmith reveals her working methods and sources of inspiration in the clear, concise fashion that makes her fiction so gripping. All in all, a unique viewpoint from one of the world's greatest writers.