"How to write fiction" in non-English speaking countries

[Novelist in Paradise]

"How to write fiction" is not only a big academic business but also a part of the popular culture (ie "I'll write a bestseller and strike it rich") in English speaking countries. At least it seems so to me.

Is this true in other countries with strong literary traditions, like Russia and Germany and Japan and various Latin American countries ? Do they have the equivalent of a million "how-to" books and literary journals and e-zines and conferences and MFA programs and on-line writing sites and all that jazz?

I started wondering about this tonight...it's certainly not true in Indonesia, at least not in the Western sense.

[sunandshadow]

That's a really neat question. I know that the English how-to-write tradition comes from ancient Greece - Aristotle's Poetics is the oldest known (western) example of a how-to-write-fiction book, and grew out of the general tradition of rhetoric. I would imagine modern Greek and Italian literary theory exists and has the same roots.

I've read literary theory translated into English from German, French, and Spanish, and it's a little different from modern English theory but not much - ideas pass a lot more easily between countries (at least the ones which speak Romance or Germanic languages) than they used to, so any idea that's popular in one of these countries will circulate to the others in a few years.

I don't know anything about classical Chinese or Japanese theories of writing fiction though, I'd love to hear about that if anyone knows about it.

[Fresie]

It's a very good question, thank you... In Russia, there are some good fiction-writing traditions and techniques but nothing like the "how-to" thing. It's bad in a way because most Russian writers learn the hard way and have no idea of what every English-language writer takes for granted, like POV writing (it's absolutely non-existent over there) or dialogue skills, etc etc. Russian writers are traditionally conditioned to rely on their intuition, taste and talent, not techniques. The only "how-to" book recently translated into Russian was King's On Writing (and you can't call it a proper how-to book, really) and it's so hugely popular it's obvious the demand for this sort of information is enormous. I only know of two Russian books on writing (there are plenty of articles and shorter works, though) and both are rather basic and superficial.

It's not that the writers over there don't want to learn - they have no idea there IS anything to learn, they're conditioned to think that if you're talented the rest should come naturally. There are some excellent online writing resources in Russian as well as forums comparable to this one, but basically, every writer there learns the hard way: by writing and submitting to editors. And editors know even less and have to rely on their taste even more than the writers do... it's a vicious circle of sorts.

It's especially sad because the Russian literature has hit all-time low as far as quality is concerned... It's a bit of a Wild West situation there at the moment really as publishing houses are all busy making easy money fast, producing pulp "novels" written by teams of ghostwriters (or "literary niggers" as they are called in Russian), often at a rate of a novel a week, and signed by an often barely literate "author" who serves as a "face" and gets all the fame and most money. :rant:

I try to do my bit as I run a small writing resource in Russian trying to tell people about the English-language writing techniques and industry standards to educate and hopefully challenge them a little...
My article on POV on my site had lots of unhappy responses as people couldn't even understand why they would ever need to use such a limiting and awkward notion as 3rd limited.:cry:

Oh and hi everyone, I'm sorry I've been away for so long, had lots of problems... great to see you all here!:flag:

[Zisel]

I live in a small country* with a language not many foreigners care to learn.

I’ve seen very few books here on how to write novels and I haven’t seen any open-to the-public creative writing classes advertised, though universities offer some. There are writers’ groups, but they seem to focus more on analyzing literature and pondering the art fiction writing (“What is the purpose of a novel?”), rather than things like plotting or designing characters. I get the feeling a lot of people would find such a dissection of the novel writing process rather crass, in fact. It seems to fit the market, though. A fair amount of people are willing to read novels that meander, that focus more on character development than on some thriller-type plot, or that “stop the action” for a page or two to contemplate the social ramifications of a historical event or psychological impact of a certain action. Deep-thinking books are still being published and read (trash is, too, but a lot of it’s imported. Honest!). I think it’s simply that the way people think about fiction varies from culture to culture.

Translation’s a big thing here, so books and classes on the art of translation are easy to find. Some local writers are as famous for their translations as for works they thought up themselves.

In any case, there’s a lot of respect for literature and authors and, judging from the number of thriving book stores in the capital, every citizen must be buying about three books a week. There are a couple of literary magazines that show no sign of stopping and a lot of “literary evenings” with readings and discussions with authors.


I try to do my bit as I run a small writing resource in Russian

Fresie, is this online? If so, could you post the link? I’d appreciate it and I’ve got a friend who probably would also.

*Sorry to be awkward, but I’d rather not say due to an unpleasant incident elsewhere online.

[expatbrat]

I live in a country with a language every sexpat in the world is keen to learn.

But I haven't bothered because everywhere I go they speak English, I don't want a Thai-girlfriend (being a married pregnant female and all) and after spending hours a week studying Chinese when I lived in Beijing I have not had a chance to use it since - hence I am forgetting most of it.

There are thousands of Thai books in the bookstores and many of them seem to be how-to's, but I have no idea if they are writen for the Thai market or if they are rip-offs (legal or fakes) of popular books in the west as I haven't bothered to learn Thai.

I wouldn't be too suprised it they were translations the author doesn't know exists - we get movies on TV here that are obviously boot-leg filmed DVD's (where you see people stand up in the movie theatre and move in front of the screen).

[sunandshadow]

Are Russian writers in general familiar with Vladimir Propp's Morphology of the Folktale, and is there a school of literary theory based on or related to his work?

[Amadeus]

There isn't enough aspiring authors here in Sweden to create a big enough market for how-to write books. We're happy if the english books come here.

[gp101]

What a great thread. I'd be most interested in knowing one thing about best-seller lists in non-English speaking countries:

Of your native tongue titles (French novels in France, Arabic novels in Egypt, etc) in your respective countries, how many on best-seller lists are considered literary and how many genre?

I don't know why I've been led to believe this, but I'm convinced that most novel writers in non-English speaking countries lean towards the literary, or at least stories more centered around big life questions or character analysis over plot. I'd be excited to find that there are a lot of thriller or mystery or romance writers in other cultures. And if there aren't, I'd love to know why, if someone has an answer.

[Fresie]

Of your native tongue titles in your respective countries, how many on best-seller lists are considered literary and how many genre?

I'd be excited to find that there are a lot of thriller or mystery or romance writers in other cultures.

Then you must come to Russia!:) As of 2004, the first 7 books on the national bestseller list were crime thrillers (some of them quite humorous and tongue-in-cheek) written by women. Romances come a close second. That's what people want to read at the moment.

As some literary award official said, "We're the country of great writers and lousy readers." :cry:

Fresie, is this online? If so, could you post the link?

Oh sure, it's here: http://fresie.web-box.ru/home.html But it's such basic stuff, really...

Are Russian writers in general familiar with Vladimir Propp's Morphology of the Folktale, and is there a school of literary theory based on or related to his work?

Yes, they are, but mainly as part of scholarly literary studies if they get proper university education. There's a huge gap in Russia at the moment between literary theory and writing practice... while in the West, normally the "how-to" books serve to fill this gap. But Propp's book is being studied at the universities, theses are written, etc, etc. I personally don't know of any schools of thought based on it, though, but there have to be. :Lecture:

[Sesselja]

There isn't enough aspiring authors here in Sweden to create a big enough market for how-to write books. We're happy if the english books come here.

It's pretty much the same situation in Norway.

[Sesselja]

Of your native tongue titles (French novels in France, Arabic novels in Egypt, etc) in your respective countries, how many on best-seller lists are considered literary and how many genre?


Looking at the list for week 40, I spotted literary, crime, biography, comic book (!) and a few translated books. Quite a mix, really. (This is the list for Norway)

[Nickie]

We don't have the "How-to" books in Belgium either, although we do have a writing tradition.
But quite popular are stories of famous people (famous in Belgium, I mean). They sell like bread. For instance "My life" by Tom Boonen (a cyclist), "How I lost weight" by Koen Crucke (an overweight tenor). Get the drift? I hope I can find such a person who's willing to publish his story with us!!!!


Nickie

[pdr]

Now I cannot read any of the three written forms of Japanese. What I can talk about is what I have learned from reading and studying in translation, from being a member of an English speakers' assoc. for writers and translators, and from talking to my more advanced students who read classic and modern English novels.

There is a long tradition of writing in Japan. It is not based on any of Aristotle's concepts so it is difficult to read if you want beginnings, middles and ends, a plot, characters who grow and change etc.

Genre writing is new, but there are a very few Japanese writers now producing, for the American market, Japanese thrillers. They translate well into films. The Japanese do read some stuff in translation but they have so many of their own writers.

The 'Tale of the Genji' is one of the very first Japanese novels written by a woman, a kind of Shahrazad,(1001 Tales of the Arabian Nights). You can get it as a manga published in English and it's well worth reading if you want to get a taste of what Japanese writing is/was about.

For traditional styles of writing, the gov. supports these revered scholars and sponsors classes and readings. Many books are published in Japan, many more manga are published. It's rare to find a traveller on the bus or train who is not reading or listening to Japanese writing.

[Zisel]

Thank you Fresie for the link! That’s okay if it’s basic stuff (or are you just being modest :) ?).

I hadn’t even thought to look up the local bestseller list. Here (quite close to Russia, actually) in fiction, there are some novels based on local historical events, several mysteries and crime novels, but most seem to be contemplative-sounding books about experiences in other cultures. And if Corinne Hofmann’s The White Masai (originally The African Lover, I think) is chick-lit, then there’s one chick-lit novel that's popular, too.

Of your native tongue titles… [literary v. genre]
Here it seems to be a fairly even mix. There’s pop from abroad, literary work from local authors, and vice versa. For general fiction (mixed literary and pop), the number one and two spots for a few weeks ago (they haven’t posted more recent data) was a mystery by a local author and more literary work by another local author. Third place was Hofmann's book. I'll say, though, there's a tradition of novelists being active in politics and writing about serious socio-political problems, so I think that tends to add a more "literary" slant to the local products.

Z

[Fresie]

Erratum: they've just published Russian translations of Frey's How to Write a (Damn) Good Novel Part 1 and a (Damn) Good Mystery.