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Because friendship is all about sharing, here's the first of two book reviews:
You Can Write A Novel by James V. Smith Jr.
Cincinatti 1998 - 138 pages - US $12.99
ISBN 0-89879-868-X
I bought this because it was thin, looked decently structured and because it was relatively cheap. I read it in one go and found it quite helpful.
It's not highbrow. More like a cookbook (but one without the measurements). At the beginning there's a questionaire or checklist where you can test the saleability of your novel. Smith offers a formula that's really just a rule of the thumb, nothing I'd take seriously, but it points out in a very un-lecturer-like manner things that should be obious but aren't necessarily. Like that heros are supposed to be heroic and that villians need to be powerful. Banal? Yes, but still true if you want to break into mass market writing. We can't all be James Joyce. I for one wouldn't want to be.
Anyway, throughout his little course, Smith lists 40 cardinal rules, some of which may sound trivial, but bear repeating: Like Rule #1: Never be boring, not for one scene, paragraph, sentence or word.
Most of Smith's tips revolve around motivation strategies. Visualize the book you want to publish, find a good title, create a good work atmosphere, organize your character info, collect images from magazines so you have faces ready to use.... There are many tips like that in this book.
Smith also advises the would-be writer to never start writing unless she has a specific ending in mind (oh, that's so my weakness). In fact, he suggests that you write the climactic showdown first (of course it will be re-written eventually, but still, one should know where the story is heading towards). This suggestion is, of course, quite blasphemous, because other books on creative writing usually suggest that you start with section one and work sequentially.
Smith offers useful ideas on how to organize preliminary work, but he stresses that writers should work on the novel itself and not long, drawn-out treatises or character profiles. Never stifle your spontaneity, the author tells us.
All in all I found the book useful and an easy read, especially in lieu of its affordability. If you want to write your first novel, you might consider giving Smith's technique/strategy a shot. It's not quite Writing by Numbers (that's the other book I bought, which I will be reviewing tomorrow), but one way of tackling the long and complicated process of novel writing. I won't use his approach, but I still got a lot out of the book (especially since I am inclined to follow a certain rule, if it is listed in both my novel writing books).
And since I don't regret buying or reading it, I feel I can recommend it, even though it teaches you nothing about metaphors and ME-style storytelling. In that respect following the BtVS storylines is unsurpassed.
You Can Write A Novel by James V. Smith Jr.
Cincinatti 1998 - 138 pages - US $12.99
ISBN 0-89879-868-X
I bought this because it was thin, looked decently structured and because it was relatively cheap. I read it in one go and found it quite helpful.
It's not highbrow. More like a cookbook (but one without the measurements). At the beginning there's a questionaire or checklist where you can test the saleability of your novel. Smith offers a formula that's really just a rule of the thumb, nothing I'd take seriously, but it points out in a very un-lecturer-like manner things that should be obious but aren't necessarily. Like that heros are supposed to be heroic and that villians need to be powerful. Banal? Yes, but still true if you want to break into mass market writing. We can't all be James Joyce. I for one wouldn't want to be.
Anyway, throughout his little course, Smith lists 40 cardinal rules, some of which may sound trivial, but bear repeating: Like Rule #1: Never be boring, not for one scene, paragraph, sentence or word.
Most of Smith's tips revolve around motivation strategies. Visualize the book you want to publish, find a good title, create a good work atmosphere, organize your character info, collect images from magazines so you have faces ready to use.... There are many tips like that in this book.
Smith also advises the would-be writer to never start writing unless she has a specific ending in mind (oh, that's so my weakness). In fact, he suggests that you write the climactic showdown first (of course it will be re-written eventually, but still, one should know where the story is heading towards). This suggestion is, of course, quite blasphemous, because other books on creative writing usually suggest that you start with section one and work sequentially.
Smith offers useful ideas on how to organize preliminary work, but he stresses that writers should work on the novel itself and not long, drawn-out treatises or character profiles. Never stifle your spontaneity, the author tells us.
All in all I found the book useful and an easy read, especially in lieu of its affordability. If you want to write your first novel, you might consider giving Smith's technique/strategy a shot. It's not quite Writing by Numbers (that's the other book I bought, which I will be reviewing tomorrow), but one way of tackling the long and complicated process of novel writing. I won't use his approach, but I still got a lot out of the book (especially since I am inclined to follow a certain rule, if it is listed in both my novel writing books).
And since I don't regret buying or reading it, I feel I can recommend it, even though it teaches you nothing about metaphors and ME-style storytelling. In that respect following the BtVS storylines is unsurpassed.
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