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How to Write a Damn Good Novel #1
How to Write a Damn Good Novel: A Step-by-Step No Nonsense Guide to Dramatic Storytelling
Written in a clear, crisp, accessible style, this book is perfect for beginners as well as professional writers who need a crash course in the down-to-earth basics of storytelling. Talent and inspiration can't be taught, but Frey does provide scores of helpful suggestions and sensible rules and principles.
An international bestseller, How to Write a Damn Good Novel will enable all writers to face that intimidating first page, keep them on track when they falter, and help them recognize, analyze, and correct the problems in their own work.
An international bestseller, How to Write a Damn Good Novel will enable all writers to face that intimidating first page, keep them on track when they falter, and help them recognize, analyze, and correct the problems in their own work.
192 pages, Hardcover
First published December 15, 1987
170 people are currently reading
2,620 people want to read
About the author
James N. Frey
24听books42听followersJames N. Frey (born March 15, 1943 in Syracuse, New York) is an American writer and creative writing teacher.
Frey has written both fiction and non-fiction and is known for his book called How to Write a Damn Good Novel. He has written novels, plays, and several guides on writing.
In addition to being an author, he is a lecturer at schools and conferences. Frey was selected Honored Teacher of the Year in 1994 for his novel writing classes at the University of California, Berkeley. Currently, Frey lives in Berkeley, California.
Frey has written both fiction and non-fiction and is known for his book called How to Write a Damn Good Novel. He has written novels, plays, and several guides on writing.
In addition to being an author, he is a lecturer at schools and conferences. Frey was selected Honored Teacher of the Year in 1994 for his novel writing classes at the University of California, Berkeley. Currently, Frey lives in Berkeley, California.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 227 reviews
October 30, 2012
With National Novel Writing Month fast approaching, I look upon my shelves and see I own six books on writing. The ones by Lawrence Block and Stephen King are by far the ones I've gotten the most use out of. The others are by authors I've never heard of and are like asking a psychic for winning lottery numbers. If they already know the winning numbers, why are they giving them to you instead of using them themselves? Surely being a millionaire pays better than psychicing over the phone.
I'll be honest, I don't remember much about this book other than Frey's methods sucking all the spontaneity out of writing. If I need 50-75 pages of documentation about characters and setting before I ever type a word, I'm probably going to run out of steam during the preparation.
As for my analogy about phone psychics and the lottery, Frey has 12 books to his credit. 5 are about writing. How about holding on to those lottery numbers for yourself?
I'll be honest, I don't remember much about this book other than Frey's methods sucking all the spontaneity out of writing. If I need 50-75 pages of documentation about characters and setting before I ever type a word, I'm probably going to run out of steam during the preparation.
As for my analogy about phone psychics and the lottery, Frey has 12 books to his credit. 5 are about writing. How about holding on to those lottery numbers for yourself?
Want to read
February 3, 2012Can someone tell me, please, why I feel compelled to read so many books like this one when I have no intention of ever writing a novel?
September 19, 2008
Meh--
Having read a few books on writing (Stephen King's On Writing, Jerry Cleaver's Immediate Fiction, Renni Browne and Dave King's Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, and John Gardner's On Becoming a Novelist), I found James Frey's How to Write a Damn Good Novel rather narrow-minded, lacking in detail, and even trite.
Every time Frey gives advice, he comes across as dogmatic; it's as though he thinks his method is THE right method and other methods are inferior in themselves. But that's just plain wrong. While he does give good advice, the reader should be aware that there are many more methods out there (see Cleaver's book on this) that may or may not work for a particular writer. Frey's method may very well work for himself, and maybe for many others, but just as there is no one way of telling a story, there simply is no one way of writing a novel. As long as Frey's method works for you and gets you to write better prose and dialogue and story, then fine, stick to it and keep writing. But if it doesn't work for you, then you might want to pick another book on writing and try another method out. The point is to find a method that suits you.
So insofar as he doesn't really allow for other potential methods, he is pontificating, and I didn't like it. He has a workable method, sure. You do XYZ in order and voila, you got your novel.
But it doesn't work like that for everyone.
Not everyone can come up with 50 pages of a character's biography without getting into the story. Not everyone can come up with the whole plot without actually writing and letting the characters play it out. Stephen King doesn't even know what'll happen next; he's a big believer in intuition and letting things happen and fall in place. Frey's method has no room for such a method. He has to know the characters and know exactly what will happen in the story before even writing a word of the story.
Not everyone works like that.
So that's why the book gets the rating it gets. It was OK because though it was being narrow-minded in my opinion, it did have some good nuggets of advice.
I did learn a few things, but mostly Jerry Cleaver's Immediate Fiction covers all the crucial information Frey provides, and does it better and a lot more comprehensively. So I recommend reading Jerry Cleaver's book first.
Things I learned:
1) Character biographies can be useful, although not necessary;
2) How to use flashbacks and foreshadowing effectively;
3) How to make dialogue gripping; and
4) How to write description with a flair.
That's about it. Other major things are described in more depth and range in Cleaver's book and King's book (both of which are excellent, btw).
So overall, meh, it was OK.
Having read a few books on writing (Stephen King's On Writing, Jerry Cleaver's Immediate Fiction, Renni Browne and Dave King's Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, and John Gardner's On Becoming a Novelist), I found James Frey's How to Write a Damn Good Novel rather narrow-minded, lacking in detail, and even trite.
Every time Frey gives advice, he comes across as dogmatic; it's as though he thinks his method is THE right method and other methods are inferior in themselves. But that's just plain wrong. While he does give good advice, the reader should be aware that there are many more methods out there (see Cleaver's book on this) that may or may not work for a particular writer. Frey's method may very well work for himself, and maybe for many others, but just as there is no one way of telling a story, there simply is no one way of writing a novel. As long as Frey's method works for you and gets you to write better prose and dialogue and story, then fine, stick to it and keep writing. But if it doesn't work for you, then you might want to pick another book on writing and try another method out. The point is to find a method that suits you.
So insofar as he doesn't really allow for other potential methods, he is pontificating, and I didn't like it. He has a workable method, sure. You do XYZ in order and voila, you got your novel.
But it doesn't work like that for everyone.
Not everyone can come up with 50 pages of a character's biography without getting into the story. Not everyone can come up with the whole plot without actually writing and letting the characters play it out. Stephen King doesn't even know what'll happen next; he's a big believer in intuition and letting things happen and fall in place. Frey's method has no room for such a method. He has to know the characters and know exactly what will happen in the story before even writing a word of the story.
Not everyone works like that.
So that's why the book gets the rating it gets. It was OK because though it was being narrow-minded in my opinion, it did have some good nuggets of advice.
I did learn a few things, but mostly Jerry Cleaver's Immediate Fiction covers all the crucial information Frey provides, and does it better and a lot more comprehensively. So I recommend reading Jerry Cleaver's book first.
Things I learned:
1) Character biographies can be useful, although not necessary;
2) How to use flashbacks and foreshadowing effectively;
3) How to make dialogue gripping; and
4) How to write description with a flair.
That's about it. Other major things are described in more depth and range in Cleaver's book and King's book (both of which are excellent, btw).
So overall, meh, it was OK.
October 19, 2022
I loved this book and bring it out every so often as a refresher. Really enjoy his style of writing.
February 16, 2023
It's the best book you'll ever read on REVISION.
I love this book, but a lot of people miss what it's about, because the author himself seems to think it's about first drafting. But very few people ever draft with the massive amount of preparation Frey suggests: a beat sheet, character interviews, a character's ruling passion, a premise, a defined crucible, a defined denouement and setup...
Most people start writing with only a few of these elements in mind, and discover along the way. Stephen King doesn't know how his books will end, which is probably why he's so effective at scaring us, because he can really empathize with the clueless characters. Most people discover character traits as they go, writing their character through some pre-created situations, watching their character take a different turn, etc. Few people can start from a pre-created premise, because the things you care about change as you put them on the page.
All Frey's tips--premise, ruling passion, beat sheets, defined crucible, falling conflict, creating indirect dialogue--happen in revision, when you look as a first draft and start pulling some order out of what your brain dumped on the page. Make a list of all Frey's elements and see if your book really can meet those requirements. Use his tips on indirect dialogue to improve what you've got.
It's no surprise that one gushing review on the back says "I wish I had found this book during my fourth rewrite of my novel."
It's about REVISION!
I love this book, but a lot of people miss what it's about, because the author himself seems to think it's about first drafting. But very few people ever draft with the massive amount of preparation Frey suggests: a beat sheet, character interviews, a character's ruling passion, a premise, a defined crucible, a defined denouement and setup...
Most people start writing with only a few of these elements in mind, and discover along the way. Stephen King doesn't know how his books will end, which is probably why he's so effective at scaring us, because he can really empathize with the clueless characters. Most people discover character traits as they go, writing their character through some pre-created situations, watching their character take a different turn, etc. Few people can start from a pre-created premise, because the things you care about change as you put them on the page.
All Frey's tips--premise, ruling passion, beat sheets, defined crucible, falling conflict, creating indirect dialogue--happen in revision, when you look as a first draft and start pulling some order out of what your brain dumped on the page. Make a list of all Frey's elements and see if your book really can meet those requirements. Use his tips on indirect dialogue to improve what you've got.
It's no surprise that one gushing review on the back says "I wish I had found this book during my fourth rewrite of my novel."
It's about REVISION!
October 5, 2013
There seem to be about two broad categories of writing book. Some are inspirational/visionary/literary. Others focus on reader interest and organising your writing so that it might sell commercially. I like both kinds and expected this one to fall into the second category, which it did.
When I pick up a book about writing, I don't necessarily expect anything earth-shattering because I've read a fair number of them. What I expect is an opportunity to reencounter ideas in a fresh way that for some reason makes them resonate anew. Intellectual understanding is not enough to further my writing, so I hope a writing book will give me further insight, even if the change is not exactly measurable. I'm not even begging for insights necessarily. A few glimpses over the horizon is often enough.
This book covered a lot of the familiar bases: character, conflict, viewpoint, flashback, etc., but I've just seen it done better or more in depth. He used a few familiar books for his examples, like Hemingway's Old Man and the Sea, but the execution was perfunctory. His simplistic presentation of premise or theme and its controlling influence struck me as possibly incorrect. I prefer Stephen King's advise in On Writing, which was to revise for theme after the first draft.
One line on p. 162 almost made the whole book worth it: "Being an unpublished novelist has about as much social acceptability as being a shopping bag lady."
When I pick up a book about writing, I don't necessarily expect anything earth-shattering because I've read a fair number of them. What I expect is an opportunity to reencounter ideas in a fresh way that for some reason makes them resonate anew. Intellectual understanding is not enough to further my writing, so I hope a writing book will give me further insight, even if the change is not exactly measurable. I'm not even begging for insights necessarily. A few glimpses over the horizon is often enough.
This book covered a lot of the familiar bases: character, conflict, viewpoint, flashback, etc., but I've just seen it done better or more in depth. He used a few familiar books for his examples, like Hemingway's Old Man and the Sea, but the execution was perfunctory. His simplistic presentation of premise or theme and its controlling influence struck me as possibly incorrect. I prefer Stephen King's advise in On Writing, which was to revise for theme after the first draft.
One line on p. 162 almost made the whole book worth it: "Being an unpublished novelist has about as much social acceptability as being a shopping bag lady."
May 5, 2021
Senaryo, oyun, roman, 枚yk眉 yazmak, yazarl谋k, yarat谋c谋 ki艧ilerin 眉retme rit眉eller 眉zerine kuramsal kitaplar谋 olabildi臒ince topluyor, okuyorum. Bu vesileyle az say谋da iyi kitapa denk geldi臒im gibi 莽ok say谋da k枚t眉lerine denk geldim. Ne yaz谋k ki ki艧isel geli艧im 莽谋lg谋nl谋臒谋 gibi her kitaba yakla艧mamak, almamak laz谋m. Bu endi艧elerle ba艧lad谋臒谋m kitap olduk莽a iyi sonland谋. Hen眉z hi莽 yazmam谋艧, 眉retimi yay谋nlanmam谋艧lara 枚neriyorum. Hali haz谋rda yaz谋yorsan谋z, dirsek 莽眉r眉tm眉艧l眉臒眉n眉z varsa yakla艧may谋n. Arada ama ak谋c谋 diliyle iyi bir kitap. Bu arada 枚zel not; yazmak istiyorsan谋z sadece eser vermek istedi臒iniz t眉r眉 okumay谋n, genelde de iyi bir okuyucu olmal谋s谋n谋z ve muhakkak (muhakkak!) kuramsal okumalara da yer a莽mal谋s谋n谋z.
April 26, 2020
Gr膩mata pilna noder墨gu padomu un iedvesmas, las墨ju ilgi, bet c墨t墨gi. Par膩d膩s ar墨 p膩ris pretrunas un apgalvojumi, kuri nesakr墨t ar manu uztveri - k膩 jau katr膩 darb膩. Kopum膩 - lieliska, aspr膩t墨ga, prec墨za, aizraujo拧a gr膩mata.
March 7, 2008
One of the best books on writing I've ever read. The author has established himself both with his own fiction and as a writing instructor, and this is full of clear and practical guidance. I strongly recommend this to any aspiring novelist.
December 14, 2016
Everything about this book is on point! It gives the essentials on how to write your first book and warns you about the mistakes you might make along the way. I especially liked the author's sarcasm and couldn't help but LOL here and there!
March 23, 2018
Premises and much more than the humorous and somewhat dusty presented.
Please note that I put the original German text at the end of this review. Just if you might be interested.
Most likely one could speak of a structure-finding primer along with a motivational explanation of a writer. This is peppered with passages from works of classical literature such as "The Godfather, Lolita, A Christmas song in prose, Madame Bovary, The old man and the sea" as vivid examples of techniques explained in the book.
Alone this integration of significant works to illustrate particular fields of application of individual techniques in their highest perfection could be found even more frequently in the guidebook literature. It allows good visual possibilities. Given the relative brevity of the book, sheer numbers of subject blocks are worked through to ensure a good overview. However, a more in-depth study of individual areas requires a grasp of further and more specific literature.
It is realistic and praiseworthy for the work that one can imagine, only with the same equipped, to deliver a reasonably acceptable first novel. Everything about armor is available. Although it is sometimes criticized that it lacks in a claim, but the conclusion of a narrative is merely a milestone for a budding author. Regardless of how it is achieved.
Moreover, this should be easier and more achievable with simple, predictable stories about stereotypical characters in clich茅-dripping environments than complex and sophisticated themes and narrative structures.
After all, stylistic improvements and more complex background stories usually come about with practice. Opponents accuse the work of precisely this simplification as a primary point of criticism, with the needs of aspiring authors being wholly ignored. These just need simple instructions in order not to be overwhelmed at the beginning with the writing and no brimming with technical terms and high standards works.
Other, well-founded criticisms are also found. Thus, the explanations about perspective do not sound well-founded and may be partly wrong. If the instructions are followed precisely, the results may be quite similar. This entails the danger of only working according to a defined pattern without a healthy balance concerning creativity. Even why the premise is so over-emphasized about other, essential components, does not open up entirely and real stylistic tips and assistance are in short supply.
The author knows how to polarize and divide the readers into two extreme camps who either praise him or portrays him as an arrogant steam talker. Whether the writing style says something about the personality, is deliberately chosen for promoting the sales provocatively or all passages are seriously meant that way, is an open question. It is clear that Frey has written not only a guide to a novel but also a cranky and entertaining book and never claims to create profound literature.
On the contrary, he repeatedly points to the meaning and purpose of his work for creating average novels. In this respect, he is both in the choice of his teaching methods as well as stylistically consistent and faithful to himself and deserves purely subjective somewhat respect than scolding. For example, for the intolerances that he takes out and uses as a deliberate provocation. However, what benefit draws a reader from a politically correct but bone-dry guidebook?
Ultimately, judging a book can not only bring subjective impressions into the foreground. Instead, the usefulness of the respective group of readers should be elevated to primacy rather than one's preferences to be able to make objective and otherwise useful judgments.
In the end, the result and benefits count, and Frey believes that this promise is for entrants and writers in particular, with no more than the demand to entertain.
Pr盲missen und noch viel mehr als das launig und etwas angestaubt pr盲sentiert.
Am ehesten k枚nnte man von einer Strukturfindungsfibel samt Motivationserkl盲rung eines Schriftstellers sprechen. Diese liefert mit Passagen aus Werken der klassischen Literatur wie 鈥濪er Pate, Lolita, Ein Weihnachtslied in Prosa, Madame Bovary, Der alte Mann und das Meer鈥� gespickt anschauliche Beispiele f眉r im Buch erkl盲rte Techniken.
Alleine diese Einbindung gro脽er Werke zur Veranschaulichung konkreter Anwendungsgebiete einzelner Techniken in ihrer h枚chsten Perfektion k枚nnte noch wesentlich h盲ufiger Eingang in die Ratgeberliteratur finden. Erm枚glicht es doch gute Anschauungsm枚glichkeiten. Es werden angesichts der relativen K眉rze des Buches schiere Mengen an Themenbl枚cken durchexerziert, so dass ein guter 脺berblick gew盲hrleistet, ist. Jedoch wird f眉r eine vertiefende Besch盲ftigung mit einzelnen Bereichen ein Griff zu weiterf眉hrender und spezifischerer Literatur notwendig.
Realistisch und f眉r das Werk l枚blich ist es, dass man sich durchaus vorstellen kann, nur mit selbigem ger眉stet einen halbwegs akzeptablen Erstlingsroman abzuliefern. Alles an R眉stzeug ist vorhanden. Auch wenn mitunter von Kritikern moniert wird, dass es an Anspruch fehle, ist schlicht der Abschluss einer Erz盲hlung f眉r einen angehenden Autor ein Meilenstein. Ganz unabh盲ngig davon, wie er erreicht wird.
Und dieser d眉rfte mit schlichten, vorhersehbaren Geschichten 眉ber stereotype Charaktere in vor Klischees triefenden Umgebungen leichter und eher zu erreichen sein als mit komplexen und anspruchsvollen Thematiken und Erz盲hlstrukturen
Denn mit 脺bung stellen sich in der Regel auch stilistische Verbesserungen und komplexere Hintergrundgeschichten ganz von selbst ein. Gegner werfen dem Werk genau diese Simplifizierung als Hauptkritikpunkt entgegen, wobei die Bed眉rfnisse angehender Autoren g盲nzlich ausgeklammert werden. Diese brauchen eben einfache Anleitungen um am Anfang mit dem Schreiben nicht 眉berfordert zu sein und keine vor Fachausdr眉cken und hohen Anspr眉chen strotzenden Werke.
Andere, durchaus begr眉ndete Kritikpunkte finden sich hingegen auch. So erscheinen die Erl盲uterungen 眉ber Perspektive nicht ganz fundiert und d眉rften teilweise falsch sein. Bei genauer Befolgung der Anweisungen d眉rften sich mitunter recht 盲hnliche Ergebnisse einstellen. Das birgt die Gefahr in sich, nur mehr nach festgelegten Schema ohne gesunde Ausgewogenheit hinsichtlich Kreativit盲t zu arbeiten. Auch warum die Pr盲misse im Verh盲ltnis zu anderen, wichtigen Komponenten derart 眉berbetont wird, erschlie脽t sich nicht ganz und konkrete stilistische Tipps und Hilfestellungen sind Mangelware.
Der Autor versteht es zu polarisieren und die Leser in zwei extreme Lager zu spalten, die ihn entweder hochpreisen oder als arroganten Dampfplauderer darstellen. Ob der Schreibstil wirklich etwas 眉ber die Pers枚nlichkeit aussagt, bewusst den Verkauf f枚rdernd provokant gew盲hlt ist oder alle Passagen ernsthaft so gemeint sind, sei dahingestellt. Fest steht, dass Frey nicht nur eine Anleitung f眉r einen Roman, sondern auch ein kauziges und unterhaltsames Buch geschrieben hat und niemals f眉r sich in Anspruch nimmt, tiefsinnige Literatur zu schaffen.
Er weist im Gegenteil mehrfach auf Sinn und Zweck seines Werks hin. Insofern ist er sowohl bei der Wahl seiner Lehrmethoden als auch stilistisch konsequent und sich selbst treu und verdient rein subjektiv eher Achtung als Schelte. Etwa f眉r die Intoleranzen, die er sich herausnimmt und als bewusste Provokation einsetzt. Denn welchen Nutzen zieht ein Leser aus einem politisch absolut korrekten, aber knochentrockenen Ratgeberbuch?
Letztendlich kann man zur Beurteilung eines Buches nicht nur subjektive Eindr眉cke in den Vordergrund r眉cken. Sondern sollte die N眉tzlichkeit f眉r die jeweils angesprochene Lesergruppe anstelle der eigenen Pr盲ferenzen zum Primat erheben, um objektive und f眉r andere nutzbringende Beurteilungen t盲tigen zu k枚nnen.
Im Endeffekt z盲hlen Resultat und Nutzen und dieses Versprechen h盲lt Frey vor allem f眉r Einsteiger und Schreiber mit nicht mehr als dem Anspruch zu unterhalten.
Please note that I put the original German text at the end of this review. Just if you might be interested.
Most likely one could speak of a structure-finding primer along with a motivational explanation of a writer. This is peppered with passages from works of classical literature such as "The Godfather, Lolita, A Christmas song in prose, Madame Bovary, The old man and the sea" as vivid examples of techniques explained in the book.
Alone this integration of significant works to illustrate particular fields of application of individual techniques in their highest perfection could be found even more frequently in the guidebook literature. It allows good visual possibilities. Given the relative brevity of the book, sheer numbers of subject blocks are worked through to ensure a good overview. However, a more in-depth study of individual areas requires a grasp of further and more specific literature.
It is realistic and praiseworthy for the work that one can imagine, only with the same equipped, to deliver a reasonably acceptable first novel. Everything about armor is available. Although it is sometimes criticized that it lacks in a claim, but the conclusion of a narrative is merely a milestone for a budding author. Regardless of how it is achieved.
Moreover, this should be easier and more achievable with simple, predictable stories about stereotypical characters in clich茅-dripping environments than complex and sophisticated themes and narrative structures.
After all, stylistic improvements and more complex background stories usually come about with practice. Opponents accuse the work of precisely this simplification as a primary point of criticism, with the needs of aspiring authors being wholly ignored. These just need simple instructions in order not to be overwhelmed at the beginning with the writing and no brimming with technical terms and high standards works.
Other, well-founded criticisms are also found. Thus, the explanations about perspective do not sound well-founded and may be partly wrong. If the instructions are followed precisely, the results may be quite similar. This entails the danger of only working according to a defined pattern without a healthy balance concerning creativity. Even why the premise is so over-emphasized about other, essential components, does not open up entirely and real stylistic tips and assistance are in short supply.
The author knows how to polarize and divide the readers into two extreme camps who either praise him or portrays him as an arrogant steam talker. Whether the writing style says something about the personality, is deliberately chosen for promoting the sales provocatively or all passages are seriously meant that way, is an open question. It is clear that Frey has written not only a guide to a novel but also a cranky and entertaining book and never claims to create profound literature.
On the contrary, he repeatedly points to the meaning and purpose of his work for creating average novels. In this respect, he is both in the choice of his teaching methods as well as stylistically consistent and faithful to himself and deserves purely subjective somewhat respect than scolding. For example, for the intolerances that he takes out and uses as a deliberate provocation. However, what benefit draws a reader from a politically correct but bone-dry guidebook?
Ultimately, judging a book can not only bring subjective impressions into the foreground. Instead, the usefulness of the respective group of readers should be elevated to primacy rather than one's preferences to be able to make objective and otherwise useful judgments.
In the end, the result and benefits count, and Frey believes that this promise is for entrants and writers in particular, with no more than the demand to entertain.
Pr盲missen und noch viel mehr als das launig und etwas angestaubt pr盲sentiert.
Am ehesten k枚nnte man von einer Strukturfindungsfibel samt Motivationserkl盲rung eines Schriftstellers sprechen. Diese liefert mit Passagen aus Werken der klassischen Literatur wie 鈥濪er Pate, Lolita, Ein Weihnachtslied in Prosa, Madame Bovary, Der alte Mann und das Meer鈥� gespickt anschauliche Beispiele f眉r im Buch erkl盲rte Techniken.
Alleine diese Einbindung gro脽er Werke zur Veranschaulichung konkreter Anwendungsgebiete einzelner Techniken in ihrer h枚chsten Perfektion k枚nnte noch wesentlich h盲ufiger Eingang in die Ratgeberliteratur finden. Erm枚glicht es doch gute Anschauungsm枚glichkeiten. Es werden angesichts der relativen K眉rze des Buches schiere Mengen an Themenbl枚cken durchexerziert, so dass ein guter 脺berblick gew盲hrleistet, ist. Jedoch wird f眉r eine vertiefende Besch盲ftigung mit einzelnen Bereichen ein Griff zu weiterf眉hrender und spezifischerer Literatur notwendig.
Realistisch und f眉r das Werk l枚blich ist es, dass man sich durchaus vorstellen kann, nur mit selbigem ger眉stet einen halbwegs akzeptablen Erstlingsroman abzuliefern. Alles an R眉stzeug ist vorhanden. Auch wenn mitunter von Kritikern moniert wird, dass es an Anspruch fehle, ist schlicht der Abschluss einer Erz盲hlung f眉r einen angehenden Autor ein Meilenstein. Ganz unabh盲ngig davon, wie er erreicht wird.
Und dieser d眉rfte mit schlichten, vorhersehbaren Geschichten 眉ber stereotype Charaktere in vor Klischees triefenden Umgebungen leichter und eher zu erreichen sein als mit komplexen und anspruchsvollen Thematiken und Erz盲hlstrukturen
Denn mit 脺bung stellen sich in der Regel auch stilistische Verbesserungen und komplexere Hintergrundgeschichten ganz von selbst ein. Gegner werfen dem Werk genau diese Simplifizierung als Hauptkritikpunkt entgegen, wobei die Bed眉rfnisse angehender Autoren g盲nzlich ausgeklammert werden. Diese brauchen eben einfache Anleitungen um am Anfang mit dem Schreiben nicht 眉berfordert zu sein und keine vor Fachausdr眉cken und hohen Anspr眉chen strotzenden Werke.
Andere, durchaus begr眉ndete Kritikpunkte finden sich hingegen auch. So erscheinen die Erl盲uterungen 眉ber Perspektive nicht ganz fundiert und d眉rften teilweise falsch sein. Bei genauer Befolgung der Anweisungen d眉rften sich mitunter recht 盲hnliche Ergebnisse einstellen. Das birgt die Gefahr in sich, nur mehr nach festgelegten Schema ohne gesunde Ausgewogenheit hinsichtlich Kreativit盲t zu arbeiten. Auch warum die Pr盲misse im Verh盲ltnis zu anderen, wichtigen Komponenten derart 眉berbetont wird, erschlie脽t sich nicht ganz und konkrete stilistische Tipps und Hilfestellungen sind Mangelware.
Der Autor versteht es zu polarisieren und die Leser in zwei extreme Lager zu spalten, die ihn entweder hochpreisen oder als arroganten Dampfplauderer darstellen. Ob der Schreibstil wirklich etwas 眉ber die Pers枚nlichkeit aussagt, bewusst den Verkauf f枚rdernd provokant gew盲hlt ist oder alle Passagen ernsthaft so gemeint sind, sei dahingestellt. Fest steht, dass Frey nicht nur eine Anleitung f眉r einen Roman, sondern auch ein kauziges und unterhaltsames Buch geschrieben hat und niemals f眉r sich in Anspruch nimmt, tiefsinnige Literatur zu schaffen.
Er weist im Gegenteil mehrfach auf Sinn und Zweck seines Werks hin. Insofern ist er sowohl bei der Wahl seiner Lehrmethoden als auch stilistisch konsequent und sich selbst treu und verdient rein subjektiv eher Achtung als Schelte. Etwa f眉r die Intoleranzen, die er sich herausnimmt und als bewusste Provokation einsetzt. Denn welchen Nutzen zieht ein Leser aus einem politisch absolut korrekten, aber knochentrockenen Ratgeberbuch?
Letztendlich kann man zur Beurteilung eines Buches nicht nur subjektive Eindr眉cke in den Vordergrund r眉cken. Sondern sollte die N眉tzlichkeit f眉r die jeweils angesprochene Lesergruppe anstelle der eigenen Pr盲ferenzen zum Primat erheben, um objektive und f眉r andere nutzbringende Beurteilungen t盲tigen zu k枚nnen.
Im Endeffekt z盲hlen Resultat und Nutzen und dieses Versprechen h盲lt Frey vor allem f眉r Einsteiger und Schreiber mit nicht mehr als dem Anspruch zu unterhalten.
December 29, 2012
How to Write a Damn Good Novel is an excellent read for novelists, especially beginners. Frey has packed this book with actionable information that will help writers craft, well,...a good novel.
The book addresses everything from character and conflict to storytelling and dialogue. If you鈥檝e never completed a novel or if you鈥檙e trying to polish or rework one, this book is a vital and indispensable tool.
Frey is good at instructing the writer, not only on what to do, but on how to do it. He discusses many techniques that are useful for writers, then gives examples showing how these techniques have been used in the published works of successful authors.
In How to Write a Damn Good Novel, you鈥檒l learn which device is the most misused and overworked device in fiction writing, the three commandments of dynamic prose, how to connect with your readers on an emotional level, how to draft a step sheet, how to determine the best viewpoint for your novel, and many more elements that are critical to writing a novel.
*An important note: This book primarily addresses the technical aspects of crafting a good novel (structure, dialogue, creating dynamic characters, etc). I mention this because it seems that How to Write a Damn Good Novel is repeatedly compared to other writing books, books that are more about the emotional and psychological obstacles of writing as opposed to a fundamental discussion on the how-to鈥檚 of crafting a good novel. As such, it seems that many reviewers are trying to draw an apples-to-apples comparison that is more akin to comparing apples to oranges. In its own right, How to Write a Damn Good Novel is a practical and useful tool to help writers with the technical and fundamental aspects of structuring and writing a good novel.
Highly recommended.
The book addresses everything from character and conflict to storytelling and dialogue. If you鈥檝e never completed a novel or if you鈥檙e trying to polish or rework one, this book is a vital and indispensable tool.
Frey is good at instructing the writer, not only on what to do, but on how to do it. He discusses many techniques that are useful for writers, then gives examples showing how these techniques have been used in the published works of successful authors.
In How to Write a Damn Good Novel, you鈥檒l learn which device is the most misused and overworked device in fiction writing, the three commandments of dynamic prose, how to connect with your readers on an emotional level, how to draft a step sheet, how to determine the best viewpoint for your novel, and many more elements that are critical to writing a novel.
*An important note: This book primarily addresses the technical aspects of crafting a good novel (structure, dialogue, creating dynamic characters, etc). I mention this because it seems that How to Write a Damn Good Novel is repeatedly compared to other writing books, books that are more about the emotional and psychological obstacles of writing as opposed to a fundamental discussion on the how-to鈥檚 of crafting a good novel. As such, it seems that many reviewers are trying to draw an apples-to-apples comparison that is more akin to comparing apples to oranges. In its own right, How to Write a Damn Good Novel is a practical and useful tool to help writers with the technical and fundamental aspects of structuring and writing a good novel.
Highly recommended.
May 13, 2013
How-to for Beginners
Frey, James N. (1987). How to Write a Damn Good Novel. New York: St. Martin鈥檚 Press.
I鈥檓 cautious about any how-to book that bills itself as 鈥渘o-nonsense,鈥� implying that comparable books are full of nonsense. In fact this book has quite a bit of nonsense, from the author鈥檚 strained sense of humor, to the fact that it was written in 1987 (鈥淜eep a thesaurus by your typewriter鈥�). Nevertheless, it covers the basics of storytelling and its breezy style makes it an easy read, appropriate for beginners.
Frey鈥檚 writing method is derived from Aristotle鈥檚 Poetics, probably the main source for most writing methods. Frey emphasizes building well-motivated characters, who encounter and deal with conflict, leading to a climax. If you didn鈥檛 know that鈥檚 how it鈥檚 done, then this is the book for you.
His discussion of a story鈥檚 premise (basically, the 鈥渕oral鈥� of the story) was helpful, but I often disagreed with his analysis of examples. 鈥溾€olita proves that 鈥榞reat love leads to death.鈥欌€� Really? That鈥檚 not how I read it. In fact, that seems way off base to me. Several comments like that made me question the veracity of the whole book.
There isn鈥檛 much discussion of the nuts and bolts of writing craft, such as choosing the point of view (which Frey annoyingly calls the 鈥渧iewpoint鈥�). The chapter on writing good dialog made a useful distinction between direct and indirect dialog, but the examples of indirect were nothing more than smart-alec tough-guy talk from a cheesy detective novel, not at all helpful. The section on rewriting and editing was weak.
Overall, if you are a raw beginner, this book will get you quickly pointed in the right direction. Otherwise, even though this is an international bestseller, I鈥檇 say look elsewhere.
Frey, James N. (1987). How to Write a Damn Good Novel. New York: St. Martin鈥檚 Press.
I鈥檓 cautious about any how-to book that bills itself as 鈥渘o-nonsense,鈥� implying that comparable books are full of nonsense. In fact this book has quite a bit of nonsense, from the author鈥檚 strained sense of humor, to the fact that it was written in 1987 (鈥淜eep a thesaurus by your typewriter鈥�). Nevertheless, it covers the basics of storytelling and its breezy style makes it an easy read, appropriate for beginners.
Frey鈥檚 writing method is derived from Aristotle鈥檚 Poetics, probably the main source for most writing methods. Frey emphasizes building well-motivated characters, who encounter and deal with conflict, leading to a climax. If you didn鈥檛 know that鈥檚 how it鈥檚 done, then this is the book for you.
His discussion of a story鈥檚 premise (basically, the 鈥渕oral鈥� of the story) was helpful, but I often disagreed with his analysis of examples. 鈥溾€olita proves that 鈥榞reat love leads to death.鈥欌€� Really? That鈥檚 not how I read it. In fact, that seems way off base to me. Several comments like that made me question the veracity of the whole book.
There isn鈥檛 much discussion of the nuts and bolts of writing craft, such as choosing the point of view (which Frey annoyingly calls the 鈥渧iewpoint鈥�). The chapter on writing good dialog made a useful distinction between direct and indirect dialog, but the examples of indirect were nothing more than smart-alec tough-guy talk from a cheesy detective novel, not at all helpful. The section on rewriting and editing was weak.
Overall, if you are a raw beginner, this book will get you quickly pointed in the right direction. Otherwise, even though this is an international bestseller, I鈥檇 say look elsewhere.
February 16, 2017
The absolute best - and in my opinion only worthwhile book on how to write. I have looked at several, including by well published authors.
Learning how to write is just like learning anything. It takes a lot of time, a lot of practice. And to learn how to do it well, you need to think about it. You need to learn how to do it. (According to research it takes 10,000 hours to become skilled in a task)
This book not only puts it all in easy to understand language, includes heaps of examples of both good and bad, but he does it so you laugh your way through it. I have reread this, and parts of this, many times over. What a treat it would be to attend Frey's classes, but reading this is a brilliant second best.
Learning how to write is just like learning anything. It takes a lot of time, a lot of practice. And to learn how to do it well, you need to think about it. You need to learn how to do it. (According to research it takes 10,000 hours to become skilled in a task)
This book not only puts it all in easy to understand language, includes heaps of examples of both good and bad, but he does it so you laugh your way through it. I have reread this, and parts of this, many times over. What a treat it would be to attend Frey's classes, but reading this is a brilliant second best.
July 5, 2018
袣芯褉懈褋薪邪 褨 薪邪锌芯胁薪械薪邪 蟹屑褨褋褌芯屑 泻薪懈谐邪. 袦褨薪褨屑褍屑 "胁芯写懈", 屑邪泻褋懈屑褍屑 泻芯褉懈褋薪芯谐芯 薪邪胁邪薪褌邪卸械薪薪褟. 袨褋芯斜谢懈胁芯 褋锌芯写芯斜邪谢芯褋褜, 褖芯 泻芯卸械薪 褉芯蟹写褨谢 褌械芯褉褨褩 锌褨写泻褉褨锌谢械薪懈泄 褉械邪谢褜薪懈屑懈 锌褉邪泻褌懈褔薪懈屑懈 褉芯蟹斜芯褉邪屑懈 褌械泻褋褌褨胁 ("小褌邪褉懈泄 褨 屑芯褉械", "袦邪写邪屑 袘芯胁邪褉褨", "袦芯斜褨 袛褨泻", "袥芯谢褨褌邪", "袪褨蟹写胁褟薪邪 锌褨褋薪褟 胁 锌褉芯蟹褨", "啸褉械褖械薪懈泄 斜邪褌褜泻芯 ", "袧邪写 蟹芯蟹褍谢懈薪懈屑 谐薪褨蟹写芯屑", "楔锌懈谐褍薪, 褖芯 锌褉懈泄褕芯胁 蟹 褏芯谢芯写褍"). 孝芯屑褍 胁 写胁芯褏 褋谢芯胁邪褏: 屑邪褋褌 褉褨写.
December 20, 2016
I read the second book about a decade ago when I was a brand new writer (the library didn't have the first book. Obviously one should only buy the last book in a series, as evidenced by all the unread finales of trilogies that littered their fantasy shelves). When my friend wanted to rehome the first and second books, I took them in and I'm giving them a reread with ten years of experience and nearly as many novels.
The best I can say about this book is that it's not wrong. Many of the principles that Frey talks about are valid and important. Pacing, characterisation, and plotting are all covered here. I don't think you'll walk away from this book having learnt a load of bad habits about writing that you'll need to unlearn, so there's that.
Why the two stars, then? Firstly, this was written in the 80s and it reads like it. All the examples of female characters are highly stereotyped. They're mothers, wives, sex objects and secretaries, while the men are detectives and criminals and doctors etc etc. That's not going to hurt your ability to learn writing from this book, but as there are thousands of writing manuals out there, this is probably a good reason to skip this one.
Second, Frey is really opinionated. If you don't want to write his way, you're not going to make it as a writer. Allegedly. I actually agree with a lot of what he says, but it's just so ... 80s power male in how he tells you and it really made me grit my teeth.
Third, in my opinion many of the examples that Frey writes as being "good" examples are pretty horribly written. I understand he's sold many novels, and I know there are plenty of people out there who just wanna tell a great spy story and don't care how attractive the words are, but still. Be aware.
All in all, if you want to learn how to write and this book falls in your lap for free, then sure, go ahead and read it. It's short and it contains useful examples from famous novels (A Christmas Carol and Madame Bovary are two of them). It did help me think about the "premise" of my current novel. I don't actually think most of my favourite novels can be boiled down to a single premise (maybe because they're all 1000 page multi-threaded tomes?) but it can be a useful exercise, especially when considering a cover letter or synopsis.
If you're seriously wanting to improve your writing and get a wider perspective and different methods, I recommend firstly checking out to see if your favourite authors have written blogs or have interviews on their site/Youtube, and secondly heading to and listening to the podcasts. They're awesome, only 15 minutes, and you can skip the ones that don't apply to you. :)
The best I can say about this book is that it's not wrong. Many of the principles that Frey talks about are valid and important. Pacing, characterisation, and plotting are all covered here. I don't think you'll walk away from this book having learnt a load of bad habits about writing that you'll need to unlearn, so there's that.
Why the two stars, then? Firstly, this was written in the 80s and it reads like it. All the examples of female characters are highly stereotyped. They're mothers, wives, sex objects and secretaries, while the men are detectives and criminals and doctors etc etc. That's not going to hurt your ability to learn writing from this book, but as there are thousands of writing manuals out there, this is probably a good reason to skip this one.
Second, Frey is really opinionated. If you don't want to write his way, you're not going to make it as a writer. Allegedly. I actually agree with a lot of what he says, but it's just so ... 80s power male in how he tells you and it really made me grit my teeth.
Third, in my opinion many of the examples that Frey writes as being "good" examples are pretty horribly written. I understand he's sold many novels, and I know there are plenty of people out there who just wanna tell a great spy story and don't care how attractive the words are, but still. Be aware.
All in all, if you want to learn how to write and this book falls in your lap for free, then sure, go ahead and read it. It's short and it contains useful examples from famous novels (A Christmas Carol and Madame Bovary are two of them). It did help me think about the "premise" of my current novel. I don't actually think most of my favourite novels can be boiled down to a single premise (maybe because they're all 1000 page multi-threaded tomes?) but it can be a useful exercise, especially when considering a cover letter or synopsis.
If you're seriously wanting to improve your writing and get a wider perspective and different methods, I recommend firstly checking out to see if your favourite authors have written blogs or have interviews on their site/Youtube, and secondly heading to and listening to the podcasts. They're awesome, only 15 minutes, and you can skip the ones that don't apply to you. :)
January 23, 2008
Now I think I've gotten a pretty well-rounded introduction to novel writing for the novice. As a novelist and editor at a publishing house, Stein offered very pragmatic advice that I found I could apply to my writing immediately. Maass, a novelist and literary agent at a major agency, understood and wrote about what makes a novel stand out for agents and readers so that it sells well. What was missing perhaps was the perspective of the novelist who also teaches and trains writers. Frey fills this gap pretty nicely. He isn't as low-level as Stein or as strategic as Maass.
Frey repeats some of the principles that Stein covers, such as interviewing your characters and keeping them in a crucible (Maass identifies conflict as the driving force of a breakout novel). What he adds is the careful planning that can save a novelist a few major rewrites, such as character biographies, premises, and step sheets (which I'd never heard of before and still don't have a good handle on).
I also appreciated his matter-of-fact dismissal of literary symbols. What he terms "life symbols" are encouraged; these are items that come to have meaning to the character through the course of the story, not something planted in the story for the reader to pick up on. Boy, am I glad to be let out of that one!
Finally, besides all the specific examples for handling dialogue, viewpoint, story arc, foreshadowing, and others, Frey advises the would-be-novelist on the necessity of rewriting. I especially liked his final chapter titled, "The Zen of Novel Writing." His pragmatic, straight-forward advice is refreshing. I almost wish that I could study with someone like Frey.
Frey repeats some of the principles that Stein covers, such as interviewing your characters and keeping them in a crucible (Maass identifies conflict as the driving force of a breakout novel). What he adds is the careful planning that can save a novelist a few major rewrites, such as character biographies, premises, and step sheets (which I'd never heard of before and still don't have a good handle on).
I also appreciated his matter-of-fact dismissal of literary symbols. What he terms "life symbols" are encouraged; these are items that come to have meaning to the character through the course of the story, not something planted in the story for the reader to pick up on. Boy, am I glad to be let out of that one!
Finally, besides all the specific examples for handling dialogue, viewpoint, story arc, foreshadowing, and others, Frey advises the would-be-novelist on the necessity of rewriting. I especially liked his final chapter titled, "The Zen of Novel Writing." His pragmatic, straight-forward advice is refreshing. I almost wish that I could study with someone like Frey.
July 11, 2019
I hadn't even thought of some of this stuff until now. Rather embarrassing at this point.
It's pretty rigid and set in its ways, though.
It's pretty rigid and set in its ways, though.
August 28, 2024
Uzreiz teik拧u - 拧墨 nav gr膩mata par to, k膩 sarakst墨t labu rom膩nu; t膩 ir par to, k膩 sarakst墨t New York Times bestselleru, kas, manupr膩t, liel膩koties ir anton墨ms labai gr膩matai. Tie拧i t膩p膿c es sagaid墨ju daudz vair膩k to Freja izslav膿to triku, k膩 piesaist墨t un notur膿t las墨t膩ju. Toties 奴dens lie拧anas gan netr奴ka...
No pozit墨vaj膩m liet膩m - man patika vi艈a no bullshit approach un viegl膩 las膩m墨ba. Laba p募auka bija sada募a par 7 rakstnieku gr膿kiem un draudz墨gi brut膩lais atg膩din膩jums, ka viens talants bez smaga darba, kas var likt ziedot 募oti svar墨gas lietas, nav nekas. L膿nais un ap艈膿m墨gais bru艈urupucis vienm膿r uzvar膿s iedom墨go trusi, kuram visu laiku atrodas attaisnojums nerakst墨t (trauc膿 darbs? Pamet to! Trauc膿 partneris? Pamet to ar墨! Iest膩jies rakstnieka bloks, jo uzskati, ka nevari 拧obr墨d uzrakst墨t tekstu, kas atbilstu taviem augstajiem standartiem? Nu tad tu esi nej膿ga!)
3,5 zvaigznes, bet nenoapa募o拧u uz 4, jo esmu piekas墨ga un rieb墨ga :)
No pozit墨vaj膩m liet膩m - man patika vi艈a no bullshit approach un viegl膩 las膩m墨ba. Laba p募auka bija sada募a par 7 rakstnieku gr膿kiem un draudz墨gi brut膩lais atg膩din膩jums, ka viens talants bez smaga darba, kas var likt ziedot 募oti svar墨gas lietas, nav nekas. L膿nais un ap艈膿m墨gais bru艈urupucis vienm膿r uzvar膿s iedom墨go trusi, kuram visu laiku atrodas attaisnojums nerakst墨t (trauc膿 darbs? Pamet to! Trauc膿 partneris? Pamet to ar墨! Iest膩jies rakstnieka bloks, jo uzskati, ka nevari 拧obr墨d uzrakst墨t tekstu, kas atbilstu taviem augstajiem standartiem? Nu tad tu esi nej膿ga!)
3,5 zvaigznes, bet nenoapa募o拧u uz 4, jo esmu piekas墨ga un rieb墨ga :)
January 13, 2025
Ik pa laikam ir der墨gi palas墨t autoru gr膩matas, kas st膩sta par rakst墨拧anas principiem, pa拧laik, str膩d膩jot pie pirmajiem st膩stiem, tas man ir svar墨gi, bet visu t膩pat nosaka sp膿ja universi膩lo formulu viet膩, atrast uz atra拧anas mirkli, premisu, kas ir piln墨gi bezj膿dz墨ga, vai it k膩 piln墨gi nepier膩d膩ma. Bet gr膩mata uzrakst墨ta saisto拧i, tiem, kas pirmo reiz mekl膿 info, k膩 s膩kt rakst墨t, par 募aunu nen膩ks, ja palas墨siet ar墨 Bere募a ''Rakst墨t''.
December 28, 2020
This was really good and informative, although intimidating. The only reason why I didn鈥檛 give 5 stars is because Frey writes as if his opinion is the right one, and all other opinions are simply wrong. But I thoroughly enjoyed reading this鈥攚ith the theory, Frey gives examples of both good and bad writing, which really helps get the point across.
Read
June 3, 2009Off to a good start: "Homo fictus has hotter passions and colder anger; he travels more, fights more, loves more, changes more, has more sex. Lots more sex."
Unfortunately, the book was disappointing. There were a few words of wisdom, but a lot of the advice felt rather dated. Of course, the book was published in 1987, which could explain a lot of it -- the "keep x by your typewriter" references, and the instructions to have the final manuscript professionally typed, for example. All of which can probably be forgiven, since I doubt Mr. Frey was thinking personal computers and word processors and e-mail would become so widely available in such a short time.
But much of his other advice -- on writing, how to write, writing style -- also felt dated. If anyone out there thinks the kinds of books being published today are exactly the same as they were in 1987, they'd be wrong. Books now (at least in my opinion) are a little edgier, a little sharper. It's less common now to spend a chapter or two introducing the characters and their world. Instead, we're more likely to be plunged into the middle of the action, or at least less time is spent on establishing the backstory up front. Also, the section on editing and revising assumed typewritten or handwritten text, which often isn't the case. Writing on a computer screen is a whole different animal than writing on paper.
In addition, a lot of his examples were from A Christmas Carol and Madam Bovary. These are both classics, I'm sure, but let's be perfectly honest here -- if they came across an editor's desk today, they'd never get published. The style in which they are written is just too flowery and Victorian for today's market. They'd more likely go straight from the slush pile to the circular file. I felt that many of the style points he was trying to make were invalidated because of this.
I was also a bit annoyed by the author's tone -- the attitude of "there is one right way to do this, and that's my way." It got old fast. ("You must give up all of your friends and outside activities. You must write each and every day or else.") Since I know for a fact that the mere act of writing varies from person to person, every time I read something like that, I just wanted to throw the book against the nearest wall.
This might be a better reference for a brand-new author, one who needs someone to take them by the hand and give them some structure. However, I think I gleaned more useful information from .
Unfortunately, the book was disappointing. There were a few words of wisdom, but a lot of the advice felt rather dated. Of course, the book was published in 1987, which could explain a lot of it -- the "keep x by your typewriter" references, and the instructions to have the final manuscript professionally typed, for example. All of which can probably be forgiven, since I doubt Mr. Frey was thinking personal computers and word processors and e-mail would become so widely available in such a short time.
But much of his other advice -- on writing, how to write, writing style -- also felt dated. If anyone out there thinks the kinds of books being published today are exactly the same as they were in 1987, they'd be wrong. Books now (at least in my opinion) are a little edgier, a little sharper. It's less common now to spend a chapter or two introducing the characters and their world. Instead, we're more likely to be plunged into the middle of the action, or at least less time is spent on establishing the backstory up front. Also, the section on editing and revising assumed typewritten or handwritten text, which often isn't the case. Writing on a computer screen is a whole different animal than writing on paper.
In addition, a lot of his examples were from A Christmas Carol and Madam Bovary. These are both classics, I'm sure, but let's be perfectly honest here -- if they came across an editor's desk today, they'd never get published. The style in which they are written is just too flowery and Victorian for today's market. They'd more likely go straight from the slush pile to the circular file. I felt that many of the style points he was trying to make were invalidated because of this.
I was also a bit annoyed by the author's tone -- the attitude of "there is one right way to do this, and that's my way." It got old fast. ("You must give up all of your friends and outside activities. You must write each and every day or else.") Since I know for a fact that the mere act of writing varies from person to person, every time I read something like that, I just wanted to throw the book against the nearest wall.
This might be a better reference for a brand-new author, one who needs someone to take them by the hand and give them some structure. However, I think I gleaned more useful information from .
July 20, 2020
Instagram Review:
I鈥檓 of the opinion that fiction instruction texts all seem to be about the same, and if they鈥檙e good they offer an aspect or element that鈥檚 memorable enough to stand out in the memory and elevate them above the others. That happens to be the case with Frey鈥檚 Damn Good Novel, which introduced me to the notion of 鈥減remise.鈥�
In the book, Frey suggests that the concepts of 鈥減remise鈥� and 鈥渢heme鈥� are interchangeable, but I disagree. On page 54, Frey defines the premise of a story as 鈥�a statement of what happens to the characters as a result of the core conflict in the story.鈥� By way of example, he offers Dickens, who shows us in 鈥�A Christmas Carol,鈥 miserly old man who is confronted鈥y the spirits of Christmas, and who is transformed into a kind of Santa Claus. The premise: 鈥榝orced self-examination leads to generosity.鈥欌€� Each narrative arc (or plot) can have only one premise; think of it as only being able to prove one thing at a time. Your story can absolutely contain more than one narrative arc or plot; they can be called parallel arcs or plots or sub arcs or plots; in this way, a story might contain more than one premise, but only if the individuals plot conflicts resolve individually.
Themes work different than all this; they are much simpler in concept and application. Generally speaking, theme is just a topic or subject; not that you can鈥檛 use it to excellent effect.
Premise is a fascinating subject that Frey discusses throughout the entire text in How to Write a Damn Good Novel. I can see how understanding it will greatly strengthen both the organization and the internal logic of all my fiction going forward. Knowing about premise is also going to save me time because that basic organizational soundness will exist in the story from the first draft; that means fewer rewrites. I think this book has real value and I recommend my fellow fiction writers to grab a copy.
In fact, I鈥檒l admit it. I went ahead and got How to Write a Damn Good Novel, II: Advanced Techniques for Dramatic Storytelling. I'll let you know if it's useful.
I鈥檓 of the opinion that fiction instruction texts all seem to be about the same, and if they鈥檙e good they offer an aspect or element that鈥檚 memorable enough to stand out in the memory and elevate them above the others. That happens to be the case with Frey鈥檚 Damn Good Novel, which introduced me to the notion of 鈥減remise.鈥�
In the book, Frey suggests that the concepts of 鈥減remise鈥� and 鈥渢heme鈥� are interchangeable, but I disagree. On page 54, Frey defines the premise of a story as 鈥�a statement of what happens to the characters as a result of the core conflict in the story.鈥� By way of example, he offers Dickens, who shows us in 鈥�A Christmas Carol,鈥 miserly old man who is confronted鈥y the spirits of Christmas, and who is transformed into a kind of Santa Claus. The premise: 鈥榝orced self-examination leads to generosity.鈥欌€� Each narrative arc (or plot) can have only one premise; think of it as only being able to prove one thing at a time. Your story can absolutely contain more than one narrative arc or plot; they can be called parallel arcs or plots or sub arcs or plots; in this way, a story might contain more than one premise, but only if the individuals plot conflicts resolve individually.
Themes work different than all this; they are much simpler in concept and application. Generally speaking, theme is just a topic or subject; not that you can鈥檛 use it to excellent effect.
Premise is a fascinating subject that Frey discusses throughout the entire text in How to Write a Damn Good Novel. I can see how understanding it will greatly strengthen both the organization and the internal logic of all my fiction going forward. Knowing about premise is also going to save me time because that basic organizational soundness will exist in the story from the first draft; that means fewer rewrites. I think this book has real value and I recommend my fellow fiction writers to grab a copy.
In fact, I鈥檒l admit it. I went ahead and got How to Write a Damn Good Novel, II: Advanced Techniques for Dramatic Storytelling. I'll let you know if it's useful.
August 9, 2011
I can't think how many years I have had this book and only read up to the first chapter. I have several writerly books that tell you how to do it. This is just one, and the credentials of the author are not as great as some others on the craft.
That being said (written) does this book add to my path in becoming a better writer and working on my craft? Frey does give some solid guidelines that should not be ignored but he as so many want to do is tell a writer the formula that has been working for them and that their path is the way.
Read three books on the craft by three authors and you will find three paths. And should you meticulously follow the path of the best selling amongst them, you will not find your way to emulating that success necessarily.
So take in context that Frey can add to the journey. Work on character, work on premise. Work on what else Frey has provided. He fails in that he describes some useful tools, such as his stepsheet, but does not give a visual representation of one, where he easily could. Or when working on characters, a list of examples to get one started when you wish to 'interview' your character would have added to the work.
It is a slim piece, at 170 pages and then he followed this up with a second book, and then some genre specific work as well. It leads me to believe that he knew he had more to write, but cut it. A couple evenings reading and what he shares is added to the melting pot.
For those who are honing their craft it is a good addition. Not the be all and end all of what you need. You do need more than Frey has, but it would be a good first book, or third, or tenth book to add to your own lesson plan on becoming a better writer.
That being said (written) does this book add to my path in becoming a better writer and working on my craft? Frey does give some solid guidelines that should not be ignored but he as so many want to do is tell a writer the formula that has been working for them and that their path is the way.
Read three books on the craft by three authors and you will find three paths. And should you meticulously follow the path of the best selling amongst them, you will not find your way to emulating that success necessarily.
So take in context that Frey can add to the journey. Work on character, work on premise. Work on what else Frey has provided. He fails in that he describes some useful tools, such as his stepsheet, but does not give a visual representation of one, where he easily could. Or when working on characters, a list of examples to get one started when you wish to 'interview' your character would have added to the work.
It is a slim piece, at 170 pages and then he followed this up with a second book, and then some genre specific work as well. It leads me to believe that he knew he had more to write, but cut it. A couple evenings reading and what he shares is added to the melting pot.
For those who are honing their craft it is a good addition. Not the be all and end all of what you need. You do need more than Frey has, but it would be a good first book, or third, or tenth book to add to your own lesson plan on becoming a better writer.
March 26, 2014
meh.
it's not useless, mind, but... i've read a fair number of these books over the years, and this one struck me as particularly dull. first off, it's mistitled. it does not teach you HOW to write a damn good novel, it conveys pointers as to what types of things go into writing a novel. there is a difference, but i am not sure mr frey would appreciate the nuance.
which brings me to why only 2 stars when it's "not bad". i docked the book for several shortcomings. for one, it's a repackaging of -- he quotes from it frequently. maybe a modernized version was needed, but why then use as examples writers most of us read in school, but not for pleasure? yes, yes, they were masters, but nobody who buys this book will ever write like dickens or even want to. could you even get published today if you did? ;) that's what makes the book dated, not that it was written in the 1980s (i think we can all extrapolate from references to typewriters and whiteout).
lastly, the dogmatic tone turned me off. he has his way, and that's apparently the one true way. no, thanks. especially not since IMO he is just plain wrong when it comes to premise, and he's much too limiting in how to start a novel. and he's sadly judgmental and narrow-minded about imagists, but that's more a matter of taste.
in short, this is alas not a damn good book about novel writing.
it's not useless, mind, but... i've read a fair number of these books over the years, and this one struck me as particularly dull. first off, it's mistitled. it does not teach you HOW to write a damn good novel, it conveys pointers as to what types of things go into writing a novel. there is a difference, but i am not sure mr frey would appreciate the nuance.
which brings me to why only 2 stars when it's "not bad". i docked the book for several shortcomings. for one, it's a repackaging of -- he quotes from it frequently. maybe a modernized version was needed, but why then use as examples writers most of us read in school, but not for pleasure? yes, yes, they were masters, but nobody who buys this book will ever write like dickens or even want to. could you even get published today if you did? ;) that's what makes the book dated, not that it was written in the 1980s (i think we can all extrapolate from references to typewriters and whiteout).
lastly, the dogmatic tone turned me off. he has his way, and that's apparently the one true way. no, thanks. especially not since IMO he is just plain wrong when it comes to premise, and he's much too limiting in how to start a novel. and he's sadly judgmental and narrow-minded about imagists, but that's more a matter of taste.
in short, this is alas not a damn good book about novel writing.
October 4, 2018
How to Write a Damn Good Novel: A Step-by-Step No Nonsense Guide to Dramatic Storytelling, How to Write a Damn Good Novel, II: Advanced Techniques for Dramatic Storytelling, How to Write a Damn Good Mystery: A Practical Step-by-Step Guide from Inspiration to Finished Manuscript.
袛卸械泄屑褋 袧. 肖褉褝泄, 锌懈褋邪褌械谢褜 懈 锌械写邪谐芯谐 懈蟹胁械褋褌械薪 褋胁芯械泄 芯斜褍褔邪褞褖械泄 薪械褏褍写芯卸械褋褌胁械薪薪芯泄 谢懈褌械褉邪褌褍褉芯泄, 胁 泻芯褌芯褉芯泄 褉邪褋褋泻邪蟹褘胁邪械褌 胁褋械 褌芯薪泻芯褋褌懈 锌懈褋邪褌械谢褜褋泻芯谐芯 懈褋泻褍褋褋褌胁邪. 携 褉械褕懈谢 薪邪锌懈褋邪褌褜 褋褉邪蟹褍 锌褉芯 褌褉懈 械谐芯 泻薪懈谐懈, 胁械写褜 芯薪懈 芯褔械薪褜 锌芯褏芯卸懈, 写邪 懈 褉邪褋褋泻邪蟹褘胁邪褌褜 褌褍褌 芯褋芯斜芯 薪械褔械谐芯.
协褌芯 斜谢械褋褌褟褖邪褟 谢懈褌械褉邪褌褍褉邪, 械褋谢懈 褏芯褔械褌褋褟 锌芯斜芯谢褜褕械 褍蟹薪邪褌褜 锌褉芯 薪邪锌懈褋邪薪懈械 褉芯屑邪薪芯胁 懈 写械褌械泻褌懈胁芯胁, 褍胁懈写械褌褜 泻邪泻 锌褉褟屑芯 薪邪 胁邪褕懈褏 谐谢邪蟹邪褏 褋芯蟹写邪褞褌 锌褉芯懈蟹胁械写械薪懈械 褋 薪褍谢褟, 褉邪蟹斜懈褉邪褞褌 械谐芯 锌芯 泻芯褋褌芯褔泻邪屑 懈 褉邪褋褋泻邪蟹褘胁邪褞褌 锌褉芯 泻邪卸写褍褞 械谐芯 写械褌邪谢褜 (泻薪懈谐邪 锌褉芯 写械褌械泻褌懈胁褘). 孝邪泻卸械 胁褘 褋屑芯卸械褌械 锌褉芯褔懈褌邪褌褜 锌褉芯 褉邪蟹谢懈褔薪褘械 褌芯薪泻芯褋褌懈 懈 锌芯谢褍褔懈褌褜 芯褔械薪褜 写械谢褜薪褘械 褋芯胁械褌褘, 锌褍褋褌褜 薪械泻芯褌芯褉褘械 懈蟹 薪懈褏 懈 写芯胁芯谢褜薪芯 芯褔械胁懈写薪褘. 袟邪褌芯 械褋褌褜 褑械谢褘械 泻褍褋泻懈 褌械泻褋褌邪, 锌芯胁械褋褌胁褍褞褖懈械 芯 褌芯屑, 褔褌芯 写械谢邪褌褜 锌芯褋谢械 蟹邪胁械褉褕械薪懈褟 褉邪斜芯褌褘, 懈 褝褌芯 锌褉械泻褉邪褋薪芯.
袩谢褞褋 泻芯 胁褋械屑褍, 胁褋褢 褝褌芯 蟹邪胁械褉薪褍褌芯 胁 谢械谐泻懈泄, 薪械胁械褉芯褟褌薪芯 锌褉懈褟褌薪褘泄 褋褌懈谢褜 邪胁褌芯褉邪, 写邪 锌褉懈锌褉邪胁谢械薪芯 懈蟹褉褟写薪芯泄 写芯谢械泄 褞屑芯褉邪 懈 懈褉芯薪懈懈, 褔褌芯 写械谢邪械褌 褔褌械薪懈械 薪械 褌芯谢褜泻芯 锌芯谢械蟹薪褘屑, 薪芯 懈 懈薪褌械褉械褋薪褘屑 懈 写邪卸械 蟹邪斜邪胁薪褘屑.
袨写薪芯蟹薪邪褔薪芯 褋褌芯懈褌 褔懈褌邪褌褜, 械褋谢懈 锌懈褋邪褌褜 泻薪懈谐懈 鈥� 褝褌芯 芯写薪芯 懈蟹 胁邪褕懈褏 褋邪屑褘褏 褋懈谢褜薪褘褏 懈 褋芯泻褉芯胁械薪薪褘褏 卸械谢邪薪懈泄.
袛卸械泄屑褋 袧. 肖褉褝泄, 锌懈褋邪褌械谢褜 懈 锌械写邪谐芯谐 懈蟹胁械褋褌械薪 褋胁芯械泄 芯斜褍褔邪褞褖械泄 薪械褏褍写芯卸械褋褌胁械薪薪芯泄 谢懈褌械褉邪褌褍褉芯泄, 胁 泻芯褌芯褉芯泄 褉邪褋褋泻邪蟹褘胁邪械褌 胁褋械 褌芯薪泻芯褋褌懈 锌懈褋邪褌械谢褜褋泻芯谐芯 懈褋泻褍褋褋褌胁邪. 携 褉械褕懈谢 薪邪锌懈褋邪褌褜 褋褉邪蟹褍 锌褉芯 褌褉懈 械谐芯 泻薪懈谐懈, 胁械写褜 芯薪懈 芯褔械薪褜 锌芯褏芯卸懈, 写邪 懈 褉邪褋褋泻邪蟹褘胁邪褌褜 褌褍褌 芯褋芯斜芯 薪械褔械谐芯.
协褌芯 斜谢械褋褌褟褖邪褟 谢懈褌械褉邪褌褍褉邪, 械褋谢懈 褏芯褔械褌褋褟 锌芯斜芯谢褜褕械 褍蟹薪邪褌褜 锌褉芯 薪邪锌懈褋邪薪懈械 褉芯屑邪薪芯胁 懈 写械褌械泻褌懈胁芯胁, 褍胁懈写械褌褜 泻邪泻 锌褉褟屑芯 薪邪 胁邪褕懈褏 谐谢邪蟹邪褏 褋芯蟹写邪褞褌 锌褉芯懈蟹胁械写械薪懈械 褋 薪褍谢褟, 褉邪蟹斜懈褉邪褞褌 械谐芯 锌芯 泻芯褋褌芯褔泻邪屑 懈 褉邪褋褋泻邪蟹褘胁邪褞褌 锌褉芯 泻邪卸写褍褞 械谐芯 写械褌邪谢褜 (泻薪懈谐邪 锌褉芯 写械褌械泻褌懈胁褘). 孝邪泻卸械 胁褘 褋屑芯卸械褌械 锌褉芯褔懈褌邪褌褜 锌褉芯 褉邪蟹谢懈褔薪褘械 褌芯薪泻芯褋褌懈 懈 锌芯谢褍褔懈褌褜 芯褔械薪褜 写械谢褜薪褘械 褋芯胁械褌褘, 锌褍褋褌褜 薪械泻芯褌芯褉褘械 懈蟹 薪懈褏 懈 写芯胁芯谢褜薪芯 芯褔械胁懈写薪褘. 袟邪褌芯 械褋褌褜 褑械谢褘械 泻褍褋泻懈 褌械泻褋褌邪, 锌芯胁械褋褌胁褍褞褖懈械 芯 褌芯屑, 褔褌芯 写械谢邪褌褜 锌芯褋谢械 蟹邪胁械褉褕械薪懈褟 褉邪斜芯褌褘, 懈 褝褌芯 锌褉械泻褉邪褋薪芯.
袩谢褞褋 泻芯 胁褋械屑褍, 胁褋褢 褝褌芯 蟹邪胁械褉薪褍褌芯 胁 谢械谐泻懈泄, 薪械胁械褉芯褟褌薪芯 锌褉懈褟褌薪褘泄 褋褌懈谢褜 邪胁褌芯褉邪, 写邪 锌褉懈锌褉邪胁谢械薪芯 懈蟹褉褟写薪芯泄 写芯谢械泄 褞屑芯褉邪 懈 懈褉芯薪懈懈, 褔褌芯 写械谢邪械褌 褔褌械薪懈械 薪械 褌芯谢褜泻芯 锌芯谢械蟹薪褘屑, 薪芯 懈 懈薪褌械褉械褋薪褘屑 懈 写邪卸械 蟹邪斜邪胁薪褘屑.
袨写薪芯蟹薪邪褔薪芯 褋褌芯懈褌 褔懈褌邪褌褜, 械褋谢懈 锌懈褋邪褌褜 泻薪懈谐懈 鈥� 褝褌芯 芯写薪芯 懈蟹 胁邪褕懈褏 褋邪屑褘褏 褋懈谢褜薪褘褏 懈 褋芯泻褉芯胁械薪薪褘褏 卸械谢邪薪懈泄.
December 17, 2015
This is a really great book on what the fundamental aspects are to writing a really great novel. The author goes over all major elements such as: character development, conflict, premise, causation, climax and resolution, viewpoint, dialogue, rewriting, and even an quasi-inspirational chapter on what it takes to become a great novelist (hint: it involves lots of time + lots of effort).
The reason I gave the book 4/5 stars is because the author's tone is often a bit too dogmatic. I disagreed with a few points he made regarding his formula for writing a great novel. Another reason for the 4 star rating is because the book would mostly benefit someone writing a dramatic novel of the literary fiction genre. Maybe even narrower to the point that it would mostly be of use to someone writing that of a great detective or mystery novel. Someone inclined to write, say, a philosophical or psychological thriller may not benefit as much from this book.
But putting the above criticisms aside, it is a great book on elucidating what are extremely important fundamentals for writing a great novel. It is in this case that I highly regard the book, as well as recommend it to writers from the novice to the more experienced.
The reason I gave the book 4/5 stars is because the author's tone is often a bit too dogmatic. I disagreed with a few points he made regarding his formula for writing a great novel. Another reason for the 4 star rating is because the book would mostly benefit someone writing a dramatic novel of the literary fiction genre. Maybe even narrower to the point that it would mostly be of use to someone writing that of a great detective or mystery novel. Someone inclined to write, say, a philosophical or psychological thriller may not benefit as much from this book.
But putting the above criticisms aside, it is a great book on elucidating what are extremely important fundamentals for writing a great novel. It is in this case that I highly regard the book, as well as recommend it to writers from the novice to the more experienced.
January 3, 2016
袩褉芯褔谢邪 蟹邪 写械薪褜, 屑芯卸薪芯 褋泻邪蟹邪褌褜, 蟹邪 褉邪蟹.
携褋薪褘械, 褌芯褔薪褘械 褋芯胁械褌褘 芯 褌芯屑, 泻邪泻 薪邪泄褌懈 懈写械褞 写谢褟 泻薪懈谐懈, 泻邪泻 褋芯蟹写邪褌褜 锌械褉褋芯薪邪卸械泄, 泻邪泻 写芯谢卸械薪 褉邪蟹胁懈胁邪褌褜褋褟 泻芯薪褎谢懈泻褌 胁 锌芯胁械褋褌胁芯胁邪薪懈懈. 袦薪芯谐懈械 褉械褑械薪蟹懈懈 薪邪 袚褍写褉懈写蟹 胁屑械薪褟褞褌 邪胁褌芯褉褍 懈蟹谢懈褕薪褞褞 写芯谐屑邪褌懈褔薪芯褋褌褜, 屑芯谢, 谐芯胁芯褉懈褌, 斜褍写褌芯 褌芯谢褜泻芯 褌邪泻 懈 薪邪写芯 锌懈褋邪褌褜, 薪芯, 锌芯-屑芯械屑褍, 褝褌芯 褔械褉械褋褔褍褉 褋褍褉芯胁芯: 芯薪 芯锌懈褋褘胁邪械褌 褋胁芯泄 屑械褌芯写, 薪芯 胁芯胁褋械 薪械 褌褉械斜褍械褌 褋谢械写芯胁邪褌褜 械屑褍 懈 褌芯谢褜泻芯 械屑褍. 袣 褌芯屑褍 卸械, 褉邪褋褋褌邪胁谢械薪懈械 锌芯 锌芯谢芯褔泻邪屑 懈写械泄, 泻芯薪褎谢懈泻褌芯胁 懈 泻褍谢褜屑懈薪邪褑懈泄 芯褔械薪褜 锌芯谢械蟹薪芯 写谢褟 褌械褏, 泻褌芯, 泻邪泻 褟, 薪械 懈屑械谢 褋褔邪褋褌褜褟 锌芯谢褍褔懈褌褜 谐褍屑邪薪懈褌邪褉薪芯械 芯斜褉邪蟹芯胁邪薪懈械 懈 懈蟹 褕泻芯谢褜薪芯泄 锌褉芯谐褉邪屑屑褘 锌芯 谢懈褌械褉邪褌褍褉械 锌芯屑薪懈褌 褌芯谢褜泻芯, 褔褌芯 "懈写械褟 懈 褌械屑邪 锌芯胁械褋褌胁芯胁邪薪懈褟 - 褉邪蟹薪褘械 胁械褖懈" (薪芯 胁 褔褢屑 褉邪蟹薪懈褑邪 - 褏芯褌褜 褍斜械泄, 薪械 锌芯屑薪褞).
袛谢褟 屑械薪褟 褝褌芯 胁褌芯褉邪褟 泻薪懈谐邪 锌褉芯 锌懈褋邪褌械谢褜褋泻芯械 屑邪褋褌械褉褋褌胁芯. 袩芯 蟹邪斜邪胁薪芯屑褍 褋褌械褔械薪懈褞 芯斜褋褌芯褟褌械谢褜褋褌胁 芯薪邪 锌褉邪泻褌懈褔械褋泻懈 邪薪褌懈锌芯写 锌械褉胁芯泄 ("袣邪泻 锌懈褋邪褌褜 泻薪懈谐懈" 小褌懈胁械薪邪 袣懈薪谐邪): 屑械褌芯写 肖褉械褟 芯褋薪芯胁邪薪 薪邪 褌褖邪褌械谢褜薪芯泄 锌芯写谐芯褌芯胁泻械 (锌芯褕邪谐芯胁褘泄 锌谢邪薪, 斜懈芯谐褉邪褎懈懈 锌械褉褋芯薪邪卸械泄...), 褌芯谐写邪 泻邪泻 袣懈薪谐 锌褉懈蟹薪邪褢褌褋褟, 褔褌芯 褋谢械写褍械褌 懈薪褌褍懈褑懈懈; 褍 肖褉械褟 褍锌芯褉褟写芯褔械薪薪褘泄 泻褍褉褋 谢械泻褑懈泄, 褍 袣懈薪谐邪 - 邪胁褌芯斜懈芯谐褉邪褎懈褟; 蟹写械褋褜 斜芯谢褜褕懈泄 褍锌芯褉 薪邪 锌芯褋褌褉芯械薪懈械 褋褞卸械褌邪, 褌邪屑 - 薪邪 褋褌懈谢褜 锌懈褋褜屑邪, 胁写芯褏薪芯胁械薪懈械. 孝邪泻 褔褌芯 褟 写芯胁芯谢褜薪邪: 邪薪褌懈锌芯写褘 写芯锌芯谢薪褟褞褌 写褉褍谐 写褉褍谐邪.
携褋薪褘械, 褌芯褔薪褘械 褋芯胁械褌褘 芯 褌芯屑, 泻邪泻 薪邪泄褌懈 懈写械褞 写谢褟 泻薪懈谐懈, 泻邪泻 褋芯蟹写邪褌褜 锌械褉褋芯薪邪卸械泄, 泻邪泻 写芯谢卸械薪 褉邪蟹胁懈胁邪褌褜褋褟 泻芯薪褎谢懈泻褌 胁 锌芯胁械褋褌胁芯胁邪薪懈懈. 袦薪芯谐懈械 褉械褑械薪蟹懈懈 薪邪 袚褍写褉懈写蟹 胁屑械薪褟褞褌 邪胁褌芯褉褍 懈蟹谢懈褕薪褞褞 写芯谐屑邪褌懈褔薪芯褋褌褜, 屑芯谢, 谐芯胁芯褉懈褌, 斜褍写褌芯 褌芯谢褜泻芯 褌邪泻 懈 薪邪写芯 锌懈褋邪褌褜, 薪芯, 锌芯-屑芯械屑褍, 褝褌芯 褔械褉械褋褔褍褉 褋褍褉芯胁芯: 芯薪 芯锌懈褋褘胁邪械褌 褋胁芯泄 屑械褌芯写, 薪芯 胁芯胁褋械 薪械 褌褉械斜褍械褌 褋谢械写芯胁邪褌褜 械屑褍 懈 褌芯谢褜泻芯 械屑褍. 袣 褌芯屑褍 卸械, 褉邪褋褋褌邪胁谢械薪懈械 锌芯 锌芯谢芯褔泻邪屑 懈写械泄, 泻芯薪褎谢懈泻褌芯胁 懈 泻褍谢褜屑懈薪邪褑懈泄 芯褔械薪褜 锌芯谢械蟹薪芯 写谢褟 褌械褏, 泻褌芯, 泻邪泻 褟, 薪械 懈屑械谢 褋褔邪褋褌褜褟 锌芯谢褍褔懈褌褜 谐褍屑邪薪懈褌邪褉薪芯械 芯斜褉邪蟹芯胁邪薪懈械 懈 懈蟹 褕泻芯谢褜薪芯泄 锌褉芯谐褉邪屑屑褘 锌芯 谢懈褌械褉邪褌褍褉械 锌芯屑薪懈褌 褌芯谢褜泻芯, 褔褌芯 "懈写械褟 懈 褌械屑邪 锌芯胁械褋褌胁芯胁邪薪懈褟 - 褉邪蟹薪褘械 胁械褖懈" (薪芯 胁 褔褢屑 褉邪蟹薪懈褑邪 - 褏芯褌褜 褍斜械泄, 薪械 锌芯屑薪褞).
袛谢褟 屑械薪褟 褝褌芯 胁褌芯褉邪褟 泻薪懈谐邪 锌褉芯 锌懈褋邪褌械谢褜褋泻芯械 屑邪褋褌械褉褋褌胁芯. 袩芯 蟹邪斜邪胁薪芯屑褍 褋褌械褔械薪懈褞 芯斜褋褌芯褟褌械谢褜褋褌胁 芯薪邪 锌褉邪泻褌懈褔械褋泻懈 邪薪褌懈锌芯写 锌械褉胁芯泄 ("袣邪泻 锌懈褋邪褌褜 泻薪懈谐懈" 小褌懈胁械薪邪 袣懈薪谐邪): 屑械褌芯写 肖褉械褟 芯褋薪芯胁邪薪 薪邪 褌褖邪褌械谢褜薪芯泄 锌芯写谐芯褌芯胁泻械 (锌芯褕邪谐芯胁褘泄 锌谢邪薪, 斜懈芯谐褉邪褎懈懈 锌械褉褋芯薪邪卸械泄...), 褌芯谐写邪 泻邪泻 袣懈薪谐 锌褉懈蟹薪邪褢褌褋褟, 褔褌芯 褋谢械写褍械褌 懈薪褌褍懈褑懈懈; 褍 肖褉械褟 褍锌芯褉褟写芯褔械薪薪褘泄 泻褍褉褋 谢械泻褑懈泄, 褍 袣懈薪谐邪 - 邪胁褌芯斜懈芯谐褉邪褎懈褟; 蟹写械褋褜 斜芯谢褜褕懈泄 褍锌芯褉 薪邪 锌芯褋褌褉芯械薪懈械 褋褞卸械褌邪, 褌邪屑 - 薪邪 褋褌懈谢褜 锌懈褋褜屑邪, 胁写芯褏薪芯胁械薪懈械. 孝邪泻 褔褌芯 褟 写芯胁芯谢褜薪邪: 邪薪褌懈锌芯写褘 写芯锌芯谢薪褟褞褌 写褉褍谐 写褉褍谐邪.
March 15, 2021
I see a lot of folks who have never written a damn good novel saying this is a damn bad book. If you are Michael Malone or Dorothy Sayers or T. R. Pearson or Olive Ann Burns, then okay--you can say that. Otherwise? Physician, heal thyself.
NOTING THAT: Amazon and the internet have made the advice on submitting for publication obsolete. I know folks who sell 50,000 novels a year on Amazon and turn publishers down.
NOTING THAT: Amazon and the internet have made the advice on submitting for publication obsolete. I know folks who sell 50,000 novels a year on Amazon and turn publishers down.
April 22, 2022
The third chapter on the necessity of a premise was the most useful. The first two chapters also had good suggestions: creating character bios and step sheets. The final chapter on the zen of writing was also good. Definitely useful.
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