I have been following Ingermanson's blog, AdvancedFictionWriting.com , for months. An offer came from his publisher to receive a Kindle version of Writing Fiction for Dummies for free while I was in the middle of writng for NaNoWriMo. I was having some questions about scene structure. So, I signed up, downloaded the book and read about scene structure. I learned a three things. 1. I'm not crazy about using Kindle for a reference book because it's more difficult than simply turning pages to find something you want to look at again. 2. His book is as good as his blog, which I heartily recommend, and I needed this book for future reference on paper. 3. Don't turn your nose up just because the book is for Dummies.
Now I admit there is some snob in me. And, I would be a little bit embarassed if someone looking at my reference bookshelf commented on my for Dummies book. What with me being a serious author and all. The book deserves to be on my bookself. In fact, it deserves to be open at my side as I write. It has a lot of stuff that I need to know.
One of the first things that attracted me to Ingermanson was the concept of MRUs, motivation - reaction units. He describes MRUs in depth in both his blog and in this book. It's a concept he gives Dwight Swain credit for. In Writing Fiction for Dummies he names MRUs - Private clips and Public clips. It is a facinating way of describing the way things occur and a powerful writing tool.
I really liked this book. I give it three stars. Check his blog out. It's great too.
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