Lessons on Prose Style, Literary Theory for Fiction and Non-Fiction, and Literary Analysis
A table of contents, plus posts from others around Substack.
Prose Style, Literary Theory, and Analysis
This is Substack’s home for prose theory on a line level, where writers go to improve their prose, whatever we write. In addition, we get into broader literary theory and hold shared readings where we explore the style on a line level. Some essays are free. Some are for paid subscribers.
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Contents:
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Proof of Concept
Such was the Epiphany of Theodore Beasley — FREE The techniques taught here and employed in this short story can be used in any type of fiction, but may be more generously applied in literary fiction, which this is.
Suggestions for Where to Start
3 Ways to Quickly Improve Your Fiction — FREE For writers who are overwhelmed with the work of improving their fiction and want to start with something that will provide a dramatic impact. (Literary Theory)
The Secret of Literary Style — FREE What makes a style literary or not and a suggested term for non-literary prose. (Prose Style and Prose Theory)
How to Lose a Reader in Ten Paragraphs — FREE On grounding a reader and sustaining interest. (Prose Theory)
The Third Pretty Horse Bolts in the Rain—FREE this completes part one of All the Pretty Horses and discusses key points of McCarthy’s signature style—and where and why he breaks from that style. (Prose Analysis)
The Shortcut to a Better Fiction Style — FREE a quick start with a summary of key topics and links to related essays. (Intro to Prose Style)
The Prose Style Series
Aping the Style of Classic Authors — FREE The style of Ernest Hemingway, including parataxis and cumulative sentences.
How Herman Melville Wrote Blood Meridian — FREE A look at the style of Cormac McCarthy through his literary influences; introduces polysyndeton.
To Hell with William Faulkner — FREE A general introduction to the study of prose style.
Learning from the Best of the Worst — FREE Countering bad writing and purple prose with examples from The Eye of Argon by Jim Theis.
A Philosophy of Style — FREE Exploring the reason for style through Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
A New Classic Resembles No Classic Which Came Before — PAID The history of twentieth century prose seen as a conflict between Twain / Hemingway and Melville / Faulkner, culminating in Cormac McCarthy.
Twilight by Famous Authors — PAID Exercises in rewriting a paragraph in the styles of classic writers.
Your Foundation for Style — FREE Introduces minimalism and maximalism.
The Devil Writes Fiction — FREE Modernism, postmodernism, and metamodernism.
A Word Like a Butterfly, Pinned — PAID Phonetics and asyndeton.
The Secret of Literary Style — FREE What makes a style literary or not and a suggested term for non-literary prose.
Prose Style: Specificity and Proto-Germanic Word Origins — PAID Self explanatory, this one.
Borrow, Steal, Invent: How a Personal Prose Style Can Become a Literary Movement — PAID Again, self explanatory, but in the footnotes I cover mutually exclusive rules
Word Order and Reclaiming Passive Voice -- FREE A return to the concept of flow.
Undressing Figures of Speech — PAID A introduction to creating a turn of phrase.
Defining Style — PAID Voice vs. style.
“Sentenced” to Life — FREE Cumulative and periodic sentences.
Simile and Cormac McCarthy Similes with You — FREE A rather different essay on similes and metaphors.
The Secret of Style: Part 2 — FREE Tying in with the Literary Analysis of All the Pretty Horses, I take a look at how Cormac McCarthy teaches us the secret to a successful prose style.
James Baldwin and the Long Sentence — FREE Can you write a long sentence clean as a bone?
Single-Word Metaphors — FREE Context-specific verbs can work like a simile, just ask Cormac McCarthy.
Make Your Least a Beast: No Bad Writing — FREE Our quality at base level is more important that our heightened flourishes.
Interactive Storytelling: Heavy Metalepsis — FREE Build layers of meaning in small spaces.
The Literary Theory Series
The Secret of Literary Style — FREE The same as number 11 above. It’s the foundation for the new series.
The Literary Theory Series: Prose Percussion, Winds, and Strings — PAID The segue between the original series and the new, using music theory as an inspiration for understanding prose.
Putting Zing into Your Long Action — FREE On the nature of beauty in prose and the role that dreaded -ing verbs can still play.
The Origin of Originality — PAID How to create something memorable when no one cares.
Show is Tell: Anais Nin describes Paris — FREE I share what others have to say about “show don’t tell” and then I give you my contrarian view, asserting we need to approach the terms differently.
Writing Truth Through the Lies of Fiction — FREE A much maligned and misunderstood piece of advice is one of the secrets to writing truly powerful fiction.
The Platypus Ain’t Got no Genre — FREE A guest article by Ren Powell on style and genre.
How to Lose a Reader in Ten Paragraphs — FREE On grounding a reader and sustaining interest.
Never Always Trust a Reader — PAID Trusting your reader, ambiguous endings, and giving readers the information they need.
Magical Realism and Fabulism — FREE What distinguishes these two genres from each other and from Urban Fantasy, and how to determine which you’re writing.
Themes Gonna Change Your Life, Dear Writer, Themes Gonna Change Your Life — FREE Blade Runner and the role of themes in our fiction (and in discussing our fiction)
Overcoming Good Taste — FREE What is more important, the inspiration or the result?
The Myth of Easy Success — FREE Is effort cringe?
Deeper Stories — FREE We return to theme as a vehicle for meaning.
How to Write Flash Fiction — FREE Thoughts from reading shared-world entries.
The Only Good Reason for In Medias Res — FREE What is In Media Res and how does it impact structure?
3 Ways to Quickly Improve Your Fiction — FREE Self explanatory.
The Literary Analysis Series
A shared reading of All the Pretty Horses that focuses on McCarthy’s style.
Philip Meyer and Cormac McCarthy: The Son and All the Pretty Horses—FREE The first literary analysis essay compares the work of Philipp Meyer and Cormac McCarthy and chooses one for the first read along.
The Secret of Style: Part 2 — FREE From the prose style series, I take a look at how Cormac McCarthy teaches us the secret to a successful prose style.
The First Pretty Horse Ain’t So Pretty — FREE A critical examination of the book’s first sentence.
The 2nd Pretty Horse Rides an Alien Shore — FREE Dig into the paragraph that imagines the Comanche and sets the motivation for John Grady’s trip.
The Third Pretty Horse Bolts in the Rain — FREE This completes part one of All the Pretty Horses and discusses key points of McCarthy’s signature style—and where and why he breaks from that style.
The Failure of Cormac McCarthy — FREE Examining McCarthy’s inability to write a woman.
The Failure of Anazlyzing Cormac McCarthy — FREE As a whole, we need to strive to do better in so many areas, but it’s okay if a particular novel fails in some.
Joy and Resentment in the Public Library — FREE Final thoughts on All the Pretty Horses.
“The Sisters” by James Joyce — FREE A short story analysis.
Frida Kahlo in Wonderland — FREE From the diary of Frida Kahlo.
Writing Better Essays
An Improvement in Quality is the Most Honest Path to Growth — FREE What you learned in school is not what you need to be writing now. Learn how your essays can demonstrate the value of your writing.
Art Cuts Those Who Wield It — FREE Larry McEnerney on sentence construction: he scoffs at our rules for active and passive voice and says, instead, that the sentence’s focus should be on the cares of the reader.
A Selection of My Other Fiction-Related Posts
The Mystery of Readers on Substack — FREE Not about writing but rather the mysteries that surround writing on Substack.
Beauty, the Beast, and the Shining: a Study in Structure —FREE Beauty and the Beast is the platonic ideal of the 3-Act Structure.
The 3-Map World-Building System — PAID A structure for designer more realistic fantasy world maps.
Writer’s Mission: Awesomeness — PAID Visualizing the contract you have with your reader to assure the quality your readers expect.
The Maverick: Music as Metaphor — FREE I share some viral music from over the years.
Posts From Others Around Substack
From
, this pose encourages a return to forgotten punctuation, and I love the idea. I’ll be studying this post so I can apply its lessons to my current short story.
From
, this digs into what I refer to as minmalism and maximalism.Novelist and awesome person
wrote a response to my essay, “To Hell with William Faulkner.”
Author
, with her first book coming out with Simon & Schuster, has begun a series on the writer’s craft. I'm a paid subscriber. offers models to follow based on Salman Rushdie. writes CP Edits, and collects his articles much as I have done is an author of children’s books (and also a high school teacher) who writes about creativity and innovation in teaching and learning. is an editor who shares his insights on the art of fiction, like this experimental essay with The Wind in the Willows as its foundation.
Thanks for including me in your roundup!
Thank you 🙏