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“The examples from the author’s own and students’ writings are great fun, sometimes dramatic—wonderfully apt; in sum here is a useful how-to which will also remain a stimulating source for self-renewal.”

Tom Lewis, The Westchester Writer

"Emily Hanlon’s book, The Art of Fiction Writing, plus two tapes for the reader/writer to play is a fascinating work, deeply honed, applicable to all writers engaged in the creative act, chiefly because her point of view is as close to ours as any teacher’s could possibly be. She identifies with us at every step of the way, ensuring her complete authenticity as a talented fellow-writer as well as a gifted teacher, and points out guideposts that have served her own experience, thus demonstrating their validity. She emphasizes the importance of developing the self-confidence sometimes so difficult to achieve, yet so essential to the writer’s success.

Having read and studied many books on the difficult art of writing, and having worked with Emily on a novel of my own, I recommend her approach, so beautifully outlined in her current works, as the most creative, interesting, and encouraging I have found.”

Nancy Wallace Henderson

Artistic Director, Playrights/Actors Contemporary Pact Theater,
New York City

"I love to do research. I love to make elaborate outlines. The hardest thing for me to do is sit down at my computer and wait for my characters to tell their stories. Stubbornly and despite Emily's advice to do just that, for years I insisted on doing it my way, only to become hopelessly bogged down. Finall, I decided to try Emily's way. I read The Art of Fiction Writing, listened to the tapes, did the exercises. Amazinly, Emily's way works! I fell down the Rabbit Hole and writing has become a pleasure. To be perfectly hones, it's still not easy, but not it's fun."

Billie Lauricella

"For the past 17 years I've been struggling to write fiction, to write vivid, passionate fiction that engages both the mind and the heart. Working with Emily's process in The Art of Fiction Writing has freed me to be able to do that and I am eternally grateful to her for it."

Susan Elizabeth Davis

"Emily's workbook and tapes are helping me get past the part of my mind that writes rational, predictable, orderly and boring work. The more I use The Art of Fiction Writing, the more I'm discovering scary, exciting, surprising and unpredictable sources of creativity. I feel as if I'm getting a lot of guidance in recognizing and getting past the monsters that guide the gate to truly creative writing."

Amy Meltzer