THE PHILOSOPHY OF COMPOSITION.EDGAR ALLAN POE

“The Philosophy of Composition” presents Poe’s views on how to compose a poem, a

short story, or another literary work.

He advises writers to do the following:

Plan a project to its conclusion before beginning to write. The writer must know how a literary work is

to end before its tone and presenting its details.

Decide the effect you wish your work to have on the reader.

Begin writing the work. As you progress, keep in mind the conclusion on which you

decided.

Keep the literary work short enough for the reader to complete in one sitting.

If the length of the work requires the reader to put it down and come back to it on another day, the affairs of everyday life will divert the reader’s attention and diminish the effect of

the literary work after he resumes reading it.

Work hard to perfect your writing. It is a fallacy that inspiration and intuition play a significant role in the

creative process. A great work requires toil and sweat.