A Long Game: How to Write Fiction

A writing life, I’ve come to believe, is a years-long process of casting away everything you once believed for sure.

Elizabeth McCracken has been writing for most of her life: bestselling novels, critically acclaimed short story collections, and unstinting memoirs. For over three decades, she has also taught creative writing to generations of students. In A Long Game, she shares all she has learned along the way, deconstructing received wisdom about fiction whilst playfully tackling the mysteries that are inherent to writing and creativity.

Writing, she suggests, is about being in it for the long haul: not just about polishing prose, but how paying attention to language, character, and plot widens one’s understanding of the world. Both an insight into the life of a working artist and an indispensable resource for writers, A Long Game is a future classic: a delightful, intelligent account of what it means to write and live a creative life.

''How reassuring it is to have writers like Elizabeth McCracken among us'' Yiyun Li

''Elizabeth McCracken is one of America''s finest writers'' Garth Greenwell

Warm, wise and full of practical tips, this book is the ideal guide to every writing life'Wonderful tough love, direct, and very funny advice on how to be the writer you want to be' Ann Patchett'For anyone who wants to write a novel, or for anyone who loves reading novels… A Long Game is a joy’ Sunday TimesWrite every dayShow, don’t tellWrite what you knowKill Your DarlingsThese are some of the most popular nuggets of advice given to writers, universally agreed to be true. They are all pieces of writing advice that Elizabeth McCracken expertly and persuasively shoots down in A Long Game. McCracken has been writing for most of her life. Here, she shares insights gleaned along the way, deconstructing received wisdom whilst playfully tackling the mysteries that are inherent to writing and creativity. A book about the life of an artist and a guide to fiction, A Long Game is a revelatory and indispensable resource and will lead all writers, at any stage of their career, back to the page. ‘A cheering companion that makes writing a less lonely business’ Yiyun Li'Elizabeth McCracken is one of America's finest writers' Garth Greenwell'An irreverent, thought-provoking and ultimately inspiring book about making art' Rumaan Alam'I would encourage every writer to read it' Rebecca Ivory

• | Author: Elizabeth McCracken
• | Publisher: Vintage Publishing
• | Publication Date: Jan 01, 2026
• | Number of Pages:
• | Language:
• | Binding: Hardback
• | ISBN-13: 9781787336025
• | ISBN-10: 1787336026