The Art of Fiction A Guide for Writers and Readers By Ayn Rand A Plume Book, 2000, 180 pages ISBN 978-0-452-28154-7

Reviewed by Israel Drazin - February 15, 2010

This book is based on a recording of Ayn Rand lectures delivered in 1958 in which she discussed how to write fiction: what are theme, plot, characterization and style, and how to improve and enliven them. Her basic teaching is that people need to observe what they see very carefully, think about it, and let the impressions be stored in their in their subconscious. When they write, they should allow their thought to flow freely from their subconscious.

What are the steps? First, pick a theme, what you want to write about. State it clearly, in no more than two sentences. The plot, which comes next, dramatizes the theme, preferably with actions and conflicts.

All of Rand’s writings reflect her philosophy that people need to have a purpose and move step by step toward that purpose. Thus, a fiction writer needs to know the end of the novel before she starts. Then the writing must move forward toward that purpose/end, with clear concrete statements rather than abstractions.

Rand offers examples on virtually every page, sometimes several pages long. She offers her views on about a dozen writers.

Some readers may be bothered by two things. First, she seems to overuse her own books as examples, as if she was quoting from the Bible. Second, she insists that fiction must convey the kind of life that a reasonable person would like to live. Thus, when Dostoevsky portrays a life of pain and suffering, but does not project "what he (Dostoevsky) considered good," he was "didactic" (only a teacher), but a flawed novelist. What he wrote was good, but it was not fiction.

Dr. Israel Drazin is the author of fifteen books, including a series of five volumes on the Aramaic translation of the Hebrew Bible, which he co-authors with Rabbi Dr. Stanley M. Wagner, and a series of four books on the twelfth century philosopher Moses Maimonides, the latest being Maimonides: Reason Above All, published by Gefen Publishing House, www.gefenpublishing.com. The Orthodox Union (OU) publishes daily samples of the Targum books on www.ouradio.org