In The Art of Fiction, Ayn Rand discusses how a writer combines abstract ideas with concrete action and description to achieve a unity of theme, plot, characterization, and style--the four essential elements of fiction. She explains how the seemingly causeless phenomenon of literary "inspiration" is a function of a writer's conscious thinking; how to develop a voice of one's own ("You cannot borrow another man's soul, and you cannot borrow his style"); and why all works of fiction--from great literature to detective stories--express a specific code of values ("Every writer is a moral philosopher"). Here, too, are Ayn Rand's illuminating sentence-by-sentence analyses of passages from writers like Victor Hugo and Thomas Wolfe, illustrative rewrites of scenes from her own works, and fascinating rules for building dramatic plots and characters with depth.
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