A review by thebeardedpoet
From Where You Dream: The Process of Writing Fiction by Robert Olen Butler

4.0

Robert Olen Butler sets out in these transcribed lectures to explain his process of writing literary fiction, which he calls making "art." The main ingredients: a trance state for the author, yearning for the narrator (character), and sensual details. He says "ideas" must be avoided, so no preplanning, no intellectualizing of the theme, no predetermined plot. Everything that is narrated must be derived from a sort of "method acting" whereby the character's yearning determines the language used and the events. Clearly these methods work for Butler who has won the Pulitzer Prize, but I my hackles go up when he says this is the ONLY way to write fiction that is "art." He also claims that he can tell in any student's writing whether the art is coming from their "white hot center" or not. I know what he means, but it still seems like a subjective judgement and that other opinions may vary. I plan to go back to this book later to decide how well his pronouncements and claims stand up. As of now, I reserve my own judgement.