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Title: Fiction Writer's Brainstormer by James V., Jr. Smith ISBN: 0-89879-943-0 Publisher: Writers Digest Books Pub. Date: October, 2000 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $18.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.83 (12 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Fun and Stimulating
Comment: I am a published novelist and writing teacher. Thus, I read all the writing books I can lay my mitts on. Smith's book is easily the most fun and full of great ideas. Some, like the 1100 title exercise, may seem a little excessive, but that's part of the fun. You can use the ideas and forms here and give them a little tweak. The book stimulated me to ratchet up my own creativity, and has energized me. Terrific job!
Rating: 5
Summary: It's the formula that makes the book worthwhile!
Comment: Say what you will about The Fiction Writer's Brainstormer. But no one can deny that Mr. Smith accurately describes the formula for a big book or big film in today's market. From "the opening" to the "point-of-no-return complication" to the final "Oh, wow," he is dead on. As a published writer with two novels to my credit and several more in the works, I might not have read a writing "brainstormer," except that my wife happened to see it at the library and brought it home just in case I might have been interested. Well, let me tell you I have rewritten my last novel and plan to rewrite everything that I have in progress according to The Fiction Writer's Brainstormer big book/big film formula. I assume that everyone reading this review is either a writer or connected to writing in some capacity. If you are struggling and can't afford to buy this book, check it out at the library and outline it. I have done both, and already I see a night and day difference in my books. I have been writing fiction for ten years and I believe this is my biggest step forward.
Roy King
Rating: 4
Summary: Creating Fiction that Will Sell
Comment: The author of this book seems to think that the way to awaken your creativity is to throw lots of little word puzzles at you. Oh well--what works for one person doesn't work for another. I found some of the exercises similarly annoying, but again, everyone is different.
At first the author of this book came across as exactly the sort of writing author I dislike--early in the book he seems to be saying, "My way of writing is right for everyone." Given the wide variety of types of writing and writing styles out there, this is never a good claim to make. Luckily he turns out to be much more reasonable later in the book.
Many of the author's hints are directed specifically at novel authors (in particularly, "category" or "commercial" novels). On the other hand, there's quite a bit of material in this book of use to any sort of fiction writer, so this isn't a big problem. Part 1 of the book is something of a general primer on creative thinking. Part 2 contains exercises for coming up with ideas related to specific projects. And part 3 addresses "The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective Writers." I prefer other books when it comes to general creativity, but there are some great exercises in here to help you specifically address the needs of your particular projects.
This book is probably most useful for people who want to make the transition from writer to published writer. There's information on what publishers are looking for, how publishers think, and how you can catch their eye, and the focus is on creating fiction that will sell. I suggest, however, that you not accept everything in this book blindly. Read other books on writing as well. Use your own common sense. Experiment, play around, and see what works best for you.
As a book to help writers of commercial fiction, Alice Orr's "No More Rejections" might make a better choice. For a general-purpose creative thinking book, I recommend Mari Messer's "Pencil Dancing," Monica Woods' "The Pocket Muse," or Eric Maisel's "The Creativity Book."
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Title: You Can Write a Novel (You Can Write) by James V., Jr. Smith ISBN: 089879868X Publisher: Writers Digest Books Pub. Date: September, 1998 List Price(USD): $12.99 |
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Title: The First Five Pages: A Writer's Guide to Staying Out of the Rejection Pile by Noah Lukeman ISBN: 068485743X Publisher: Fireside Pub. Date: 20 January, 2000 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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Title: The Writer's Idea Workshop: How to Make Your Good Ideas Great by Jack Heffron ISBN: 1582972796 Publisher: Writers Digest Books Pub. Date: September, 2003 List Price(USD): $15.99 |
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Title: The Writer's Idea Book by Jack Heffron ISBN: 158297179X Publisher: Writers Digest Books Pub. Date: November, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.99 |
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Title: What If? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers by Anne Bernays, Pamela Painter ISBN: 0062720066 Publisher: HarperResource Pub. Date: 04 December, 1991 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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