The book read with the flow of a college lecture, but there are several places where Gardner stopped to elaborate and share personal insights. Its 150 pages are organized into four sections: The Writer’s Nature, The Writer’s Training and Education, Publication and Survival and Faith.

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I found the first section the most interesting, I think because I can relate to the situation and the feelings of a new author. In the first paragraph, he wrote about the beginning writer’s concern, namely “. . . whether or not he has what it takes to be a writer.” He named four indicators a beginner might be successful.

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Verbal sensitivity refers to the beginning writer’s familiarity with words and language, his ability to write good sentences and pay attention to the flow and rhythm of words.

Originality of his eye explains good writers often see things, people, events differently. He/she notices details, gestures, tics and the small things which are always part of a developing event.

Intelligence emphasizes the importance of at least some formal education, but he’s also noting good writers have a wide intelligence about how things are, why people behave as they do.

‍Compulsiveness means good writers are often a little odd, obsessed with things others are not, and care about things others may think weird. They’re often quirky.

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The professor in him gives us these thoughts about the component parts of a story:

“character it the very life of fiction. Setting exists so that the character has someplace to stand, something that can help define him, something he can pick up and throw . . . Plot exists so the character can discover for himself . . . what he, the character, is really like; plot forces the character to choice and action, transforms him from a static construct to a lifelike human making choices and paying for them or reaping the rewards. And theme exists only to make the character stand up and be somebody . . .”

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I selected these three quotes to sum up much of the book’s content.

“Nothing is harder than being a true novelist, unless that is all one wants to be, in which case, though becoming a true novelist is hard, everything else is harder.” In the quote’s context, he wrote about a sense of calling an author may have. But, he cautioned, even if an author has that sense, he isn’t guaranteed it will be easy.

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“Good fiction . . . is intellectually and emotionally significant.” In other words, writing as a novelist has a purpose and it’s a meaningful one.

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But, my favorite Gardner quote was this one. “Keep writing when you’re not sure you’re any good at it.” He strips away all the emotional excuses and pushes writers into their stories.