Revisionaries

What We Can Learn from the Lost, Unfinished, and Just Plain Bad Work of Great Writers

by Kristopher Jansma

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Pub Date 15 Oct 2024 | Archive Date 16 Dec 2024

Quirk Books

Nonfiction (Adult) | Self-Help

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Description

“A pocket-size book of wonders. . . . Both astute and empathetic.”—Wall Street Journal

Find creative inspiration in this fascinating rummage through the wastebaskets, secret diaries, and abandoned files of 20 literary superstars.

In Revisionaries, a writing expert takes you on an engrossing tour through the discarded drafts, false starts, and abandoned projects of influential writers. In the process, he dismantles some of our most deeply held—and most suffocating—ideas about what it takes to produce great creative work. You’ll learn that:

Franz Kafka lacked confidence
Octavia Butler had writer's block
F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote bad drafts
Ralph Ellison got overwhelmed
Louisa May Alcott got off to a bad start
And more deep, dark secrets about the authors you most admire

Written by an award-winning novelist and creative-writing professor, Revisionaries is a compelling peek behind the scenes of genius for writers and readers alike.

“Aspiring novelists will be heartened.”—Publishers Weekly