Abstract
This article conducts a comparative analysis of books published by women and men on how to write fiction from 1900-1940. The analysis reveals three unique distinctions between men and women writers. First, when women talk about the effect of writers’ minds on the work they produce, they do so in internal and self-reflexive ways, while men tend to encourage writers to reflect on how exterior factors affect authors’ minds and writing processes. Second, in order to become better writers, women encourage writers to focus on themselves as the primary source of their writing, while male writers envision the exterior world as the source of writing. Finally, male writers were the only ones to assert that some or all of creative writing could not be taught.
Recommended Citation
James, Mitchell R.
(2021)
"The Mind and the Self: A Preliminary Analysis of Handbooks Written by Women and Men on How to Write Fiction from 1900-1940,"
Journal of Creative Writing Studies: Vol. 6:
Iss.
1, Article 13.
Available at:
https://repository.rit.edu/jcws/vol6/iss1/13