I LOVE BOOKS ON WRITING I don’t know how many “how to write fiction” books I’ve read. Lots. I’ve read the good, the bad, and the ugly. I picked up Steven James’ book Story Trumps Structure: How to write unforgettable fiction by breaking the rules because Donald Maass wrote the Foreword. I’ve read all of […]
Book Review “Write Your Novel from The Middle”
Sometimes I Need a Nudge: Yesterday I received an email from Amazon asking me how many stars I’d give James Scott Bell’s book Write Your Novel from the Middle. That’s when I realized I had read his book several months ago, and although I’d planned to review it, I hadn’t. I have a few books […]
A Must Have Writing Book: “Writing 21st Century Fiction”
I Love This Book In my post The Best How-To Book for Fiction Writers, I said I loved Techniques of a Selling Writer by Dwight V. Swain. I’d like to revise the title of that post to “One of the Two Best How-to Books for Fiction Writers.” Donald Maass’ book Writing 21st Century Fiction: High […]
The Best How-To Book for Fiction Writers
I Love This Book Techniques of a Selling Writer is now my favorite how-to writing book. Here’s how I found this old gem (published in 1965): About a year ago, I got into the habit of watching writing instruction videos. Not unpublished writers telling other unpublished writers how to write, but videos by established, selling […]
Looking for a Good Book on Plot & Structure?
Look No Further Plot & Structure: Techniques and Exercises for Crafting a Plot That Grips Readers from Start to Finish by James Scott Bell may be the best book for plotting and creating structure in fiction stories that I’ve read. I have a few instructional writing books I reread; this is one of them. Plot […]
7 Ways Elizabeth George Can Help Your Writing
If you are a writer, especially if you write fiction in a genre that relies on complex plots or world building, you probably appreciate all the help you can get. I once had a student who came to my office completely frustrated and nearly in tears because she was barely getting by. She’d gotten good […]