How to become a novelist

JOHN Gardner was a novelist and professor of creative writing at many universities, including Chico State, Bennington College, and SUNY-Binghamton. He is the bestselling author of more than 25 books. His novels "Grendel," "The Sunlight Dialogues" and "October Light" are regarded as modern classics. He was killed in a motorcycle accident in 1982 at the age of 49.

He also wrote "The Art of Fiction," which has become a bible of sorts for young people who want to write fiction. It serves as a companion piece to "On Becoming a Novelist." The book is divided into four parts: "The Writer's Nature," "The Writer's Training and Education," "Publication and Survival," and fittingly ends with "Faith." In his preface, Gardner simply writes: "This is not essentially a book on craft, though here and there I give what some may find valuable pointers... The object of the present book is more grand and more humble: I try to deal with, and if possible get rid of, the beginning novelist's worries."