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Title: How to Write a Damn Good Novel : A Step-by-Step No Nonsense Guide to Dramatic Storytelling (How to Write a Damn Good Novel) by James N. Frey ISBN: 0-312-01044-3 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 15 December, 1987 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.47 (51 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: If you're a writer, don't ask, just buy this.
Comment: I had this idea that I'd write for a long, long time. I would jot down this or that, and then forget about my idea. I'd attempt to keep at it, but without any real plan. Well, this book changed my life.
In the two months since I've read this book, I've written over 50,000 words. Granted, much of that is background material and draft, but frankly, this book moved me. It gave me direction, inspiration, and a healthy dose of reality.
Now, don't be mistaken, Frey is not going to teach you all the grammatical rules you're going to need to know. He's not going to go into great detail about characteriztion, voice, plot etc. However, he will cover all of these, and organize them to a conceivable whole. He offers realism in what to expect out of writing.
His tone is light, engaging, and very easy to read. I've already read the book twice, and referred to it, when reading other people's writing.
Simply put, if you ever plan on writing a novel, READ THIS BOOK.
Rating: 5
Summary: Great steps for getting from A to Z
Comment: How to Write a Damn Good Novel is a fairly quick read and although studious, it doesn't read too much like a text book. I've noticed that some writing books tend to be very dry and sound like they were written by a teacher, like Bickham's writing books. This work is a considerably better than that. Some tend to be more friendly and fun to read like King's "On Writing" and to a lesser extent "The First Five Pages".
One thing I've noticed is that advice can be at polar ends and yet still sound like it is good genuine advice.
Frey recommends using a very structured route to completing a novel. You must have a premise. Write character bios. Complete a step sheet. Know where you are going. The key to writing a salable novel is too write a certain amount every day following the guide lines and rules. Follow them and you will succeed. For a writer that is going to follow this route I'd also recommend the book "Writing the Blockbuster Novel" as it gives some great examples of structuring a big novel. It also gives examples of an actual outline used in a Follet novel, which I thought was very informative. I recommend both of these books.
Stephen King's "On Writing" tells some of his life story and also tells how he writes his books. He describes writing a fictional novel as being like a palentologist digging up bones; the story is already there, it exists in total and the writers job is to dig it up without destroying all the fragile and delicate pieces. King doesn't mention in his book on writing anything about a premise, a step sheet, writing character bios or even knowing the outcome of the story. He mentions that in the writing of "The Green Mile" he didn't even know if the central character John Coffey was going to live or die. One might just say that he is a genius so the rules don't apply. Perhaps.
Another good book that seems to be in conflict to Frey's work is "Immediate Fiction". In this book we are told to start writing. Write. Write. Write. Ok, I get it. Write something.
I think that a melding of the two approaches could probably work very well. Write as much as you can with the basic idea that you have. Write a lot. Then look at the work as if you were following one of the more structured techniques. Does it work? Did you break the rules or seem to follow them instinctively?
I am going to strongly suggest that the beginning writer like myself read a few different types of writing books. I read various reviews and ordered a bunch of books based on what books received some decent reviews. Some of those are listed here. I would also recommend staying away from the more dry, teacher sounding type books, at least at first. There are harder to read, not as fun and don't really say anything different from the others.
How to Write a Damn Good Novel has received lots of good comments, and I concur, it is a very good book and highly recommend.
Rating: 5
Summary: Instructional, Informative, Entertaining
Comment: This book was like a writing course. It is a well-written book describing, chapter by chapter, the necessary elements for novel writing. Topics include: Character, conflict, climax; the importance of premise, writing effective dialog, constructing a stepsheet, growing characters, effective prose, and much more.
I liked how Mr. Frey used extensive examples, and cited well-known novels for inspiration. For anyone even thinking of writing a novel of any genre, this is a must read!
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Title: Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne, Dave King ISBN: 0062720465 Publisher: HarperResource Pub. Date: 01 March, 1994 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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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: Beginnings, Middles & Ends (Elements of Fiction Writing) by Nancy Kress ISBN: 0898799058 Publisher: Writer's Digest Books Pub. Date: 01 May, 1999 List Price(USD): $12.99 |
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Title: Immediate Fiction: A Complete Writing Course by Jerry Cleaver ISBN: 031228716X Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 01 February, 2002 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Characters and Viewpoint (Elements of Fiction Writing) by Orson Scott Card ISBN: 0898799279 Publisher: Writer's Digest Books Pub. Date: 01 April, 1999 List Price(USD): $12.99 |
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