Method and Madness: The Making of a Story: A Guide to Writing Fiction - Softcover

Method and Madness takes its title from Hamlet: “Though this be madness, yet there is method in’t.” Comprehensive and accessible, it provides guidelines to all aspects of fiction writing, from generating ideas to getting published. With a wealth of imaginative yet practical exercises and 39 stories—the most in any guide to fiction writing—Method and Madness offers friendly, down-to-earth instruction in the art and craft of fiction.

Alice LaPlante teaches creative writing at San Francisco State University and Stanford University, where she is a former Wallace Stegner Fellow. Her fiction has been published in the Southwest Review, Epoch, and Stanford Magazine, and her nonfiction has been published in Discover, BusinessWeek, and the San Jose Mercury News, among other publications. She lives in Palo Alto, California.