Guide to Fiction Writing by Phyllis A. Whitney

Today I finished reading Guide to Fiction Writing by Phyllis A. Whitney.  It was recommended by

The book was originally published in 1982.  It was criticized by a few Goodreads reviewers as "dated".  I found it contained a lot of really good advice that was as currently relevant as books published this year.

Thirty-one years before Ms. Whitney wrote, "As a reviewer of children's books, I'd read the best of what was being published, and now I set out to discover what constituted a 'better book.'  I found out: It was nearly always a book that said something worth saying.  Said something.  That was what made certain books stand out over so many others!  Significance, meaning a message, not the obvious, not just the same cliches. . . 

If you don't have this emotional involvement, throw the subject away.  You can't fake conviction.  Whatever you want to say in your fiction must come out of what you believe and feel."

I give the book 4 stars.

Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell

Today I finished reading Plot & Structure: Techniques and exercises for crafting a plot that grips readers from start to finish by James Scott Bell.

I've resisted reading this how-to book for a long time.  That was a mistake.  I thought that I really understood 3 Act Structure so there was nothing I could gain from this book.

While I probably didn't learn anything new about 3 Act Structure, I didn't waste my time.  I learned many new things.

Back in February I sent my outline for my WIP to two editors for their review of my story.  I was after a development edit.  What I got back from both editors was that my story wasn't ready for prime time.  Editor number one was positive and encouraging while pointing out my weaknesses.  Editor number two was brutally frank.  She commented on only the first act. She said, after you've changed the outline to introduce the protagonist in scene 1 and changed this, and this, and this. (You get the idea.) Then send me your revised outline before we go any further.

I got hung up on her point that my protagonist must appear in the first scene.  I frankly didn't get it.  My big opening scene had my antagonist up to his dirty work.  I had only already revised the opening scene a bajillion times and I liked what I had.   I didn't revise the opening scene or make the other changes.  I was stuck.  I couldn't imagine how to do what she wanted.  The story just had to begin with the antagonist's dirty work.

Then I discovered Bridging Conflict in Plot & Structure.  The answer to my problem.

This book is so much more than just another book on structure.  It has some of the best how-to advice I've read.  Don't miss it.

I give the book 4 stars.

Make a Scene by Jordan Rosenfeld

4/1 Today I finished reading Make a Scene by Jordan Rosenfeld.

Writing the Killer Thriller by Jodi Renner

Today I read Writing the Killer Thriller: An Editor's Guide to Writing Compelling Fiction by Jodi Renner.

When I started learning about how to write a novel, I began a notebook.  As I learned something new about writing a novel I would add it to the notebook and reference the note back to the source.  By the fifth book on how to write I gave up on my notebook.  I didn't like ditching the notebook idea but I found that process became confusing especially when the authors began disagreeing among themselves.

This book will be a good substitute for my notebook as I attempt to write my thriller.

Ms. Renner's book is a collection of quotes from the authors of how-to-write books paired with her own experience reading and editing best selling thrillers. Authors quoted include James N. Frey, James Scott Bell, Jessica Page Morrell, Hallie Ephron, and Jack M. Bickham.

It was helpful to see these ideas accumulated and referenced particularly toward writing a thriller.  I rate the book 4 stars.

Story Physics by Larry Brooks

Today I read Story Physics by Larry Brooks.

Inside "Story Physics," you'll learn how to: Understand and harness the six storytelling forces that are constantly at work in your fiction.Transform your story idea into a dramatically compelling concept.Optimize the choices you make in terms of character, conflict, subplot, subtext, and more to render the best possible outcome. These literary forces will elevate your story above the competition and help you avoid the rejection pile. With "Story Physics," you won't just give your story wings--you'll teach it how to fly. ~Goodreads

I've been a fan of Larry Brooks for a long time.  I've read all of his books.  I read his blog Storyfix.  I've paid him to review my work in progress.  But, I confess. I'm not sure I really understand what he's talking about throughout this book.  He's calling us to write the best we can.  Perhaps to not waste our time writing something that is doomed in the beginning at its very core.  I'd like to write the next To Kill a Mockingbird or The DaVinci Code.  Sure.  Who wouldn't.  But the chance of doing that is very unlikely.  My goals are much lower.

I'll keep re-reading the book.  I know the truth is there as Larry understands it.  It's just difficult for me to get my head around.

If I understood everything, I'd give the book 5 stars.  But I don't.  I'll give it 4 stars for what I do understand.

Art and Craft of Story by Victoria Mixon

Today I finished reading Art and Craft of Story by Victoria Mixon.

This is a great book with a lot of good stuff I wish I knew by heart.

I rate the book 4 stars.  Its really, really good.

She lays out the three act structure as:

Act I: Hook containing HOOK and CONFLICT #1
Act II: Development containing  CONFLICT #2 and CONFLICT #3
Act III: Climax containing  FAUX RESOLUTION and CLIMAX

The new thing she brought to the table for me was breaking down each of these six PARTS so that each part has its own Hook, Conflict (1-3), Faux Resolution and Climax.  This is an over simplification of what she's teaching.  I see it as a very useful and powerful tool in developing structure.

Telling Grammar by Kat Duncan

Today I read Telling Grammar by Kat Duncan.

After I finished writing my short story, They Went to Biloxi, I began to think about whether to engage the services of an editor to look over my story.  My daughter writes romance fiction and she has used Kat Duncan for editing.  She sings high praises for Kat's editing skills.

I searched the internet for Kat Duncan and found her website.  I noticed that she had written Telling Grammar and that it was available as a Kindle book.

I bought the book to read thinking it would be a good way to learn more about Ms. Duncan's writing skills.  I found them to be first rate.  I've been exposed to everything grammar-wise that she covers.  But, like some of my other life lessons this exposure didn't stick very well.  I'm guilty of many grammatical errors.

One of my problems is that I don't think it's that important for me to use a Past Present Participle properly.  I think it's more important to tell a good story.  I think if I do most readers will forgive me.  Mainly because they don't know the rules either.  But I have doubts.  So, I'm thinking about using an editor.

The book covers the rules of grammar from a storyteller's view which is unique.  It tells you when something is incorrect but acceptable in a novel.  I like that sort of not so up-tight thinking.

The magic in the book for me was when it began to cover what I'll describe as the ART of wording.

When I learned to fly, the rhapsodic, emotional feeling of soaring with the birds that many pilots rave on about totally escaped me.  To me, flying was a mechanical skill to be learned and practiced.  I never felt like a bird.  I never wanted to be a bird.

I've read a quotation by Truman Capote to the effect that he wrote for the pleasure of hearing the words as he wrote.  That emotional connection with words escapes me.

Kat Duncan's Telling Grammar has a wonderful section on sentence structure with tremendous practical examples of sentence wording to achieve emotional results.  For the first time, I think I'm beginning to understand why you might spend effort on perfectly saying something.  As opposed to simply letting it flow from your unconscious onto the paper.  For example, is it better to say "on saying something perfectly"?  :)

Powerful stuff to consider.

I recommend the book.  It's a great source for grammar rules, but it is much more.

Story by Robert McKee

Today I finished reading Story: Substance Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting by Robert McKee.

I have seen advertisements for Robert McKee's seminars on screenwriting in several writing magazines.  The seminars are usually held in locations which would involve considerable expense in time and money to attend.

When I realized he had written Story, I purchased a copy and then looked at it sitting on my bookshelf for a year or so.  I started reading Story about six months ago.  I started, stopped and started again many times.  It's not that it's a hard book to read.  It is just so full of stuff I think I need to know.  It's deep.  At times, too deep for me.  I think it's the type of book that becomes a reference used many times.

I love being organized.  I'd rather organize what I'm going to do than to do it.  I've studied structure as taught by several authors.  I thought this was going to be a book about screenwriting structure.  And, while the subject is covered, that's not what the book is about.

Simply put, the book is about telling a story.  What works and why.  What doesn't work and why.  While his perspective is from the movies point of view, isn't this what all novelists, playwrights, and screenwriters want to do, to tell a good story.

p237 "To tell a story is to make a promise:  If you give me your concentration, I'll give you surprise followed by the pleasure of discovering life, its pains and joys, at levels and in directions you have never imagined."

Yeah, that's what I want to do.  I think this book has taught me many things that will help me accomplish this goal.

I rate this book as five stars.

Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Success by K. M. Weiland

Today I finished reading Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Success by K. M. Weiland.

I follow Ms. Weiland's blog Wordplay: Helping Writers Become Authors.  And I have found her writing advice to be very sound.  So when she published Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Success, I bought and read a copy.

I'm a planner so the idea of planning a novel via an outline is my natural course.  I'm a big fan of Larry Brooks' how-to-write books and his Story Fix blog.  I found Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Success gave me many practical ideas on how to implement an outline.  And while she may have plowed the ground before in her blog, this presentation is fresh.

Becoming an Authorpreneur : Navigating a 21st-Century Career in Publishing by Kris Tualla

Today I finished reading Becoming an Authorpreneur : Navigating a 21st-Century Career in Publishing by Kris Tualla.

It is a short how-to book on building your brand and self-publishing your e-book.  A very interesting read with tons of good advice.  One I plan to re-read.

The Glamour of Grammar by Roy P. Clark

Today I finished reading The Glamour of Grammar by Roy P. Clark.

Nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions, prepositions, and interjections.  Period, comma, semi-colon, colon, dash, ellipse, parentheses, apostrophe, quotation mark, exclamation point, and question mark.  Dangling participle, and split infinitive.  Restrictive clause, non-restrictive clause.  Indicative mood, subjunctive mood, and interrogative mood.  Active and passive verbs.  Present, past and future tenses.  Sentence fragments, and simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences.  Run-on sentences and comma splices.  So many rules.  So little memory.

I was never good at grammar.  My teachers recognized it.  When I was a freshman at Baylor, I tested into a Honors English program.  It was mostly luck.  The placement exam include an essay.  One of the topics we could write on was "Americans abroad ugly or beautiful?"  This was about the time that the novel The Ugly American was a best seller.  I had read the novel, and  I had lived in Japan the previous year.  I wrote an inspired essay drawing upon my personal knowledge.  They let me skip the basic, freshman English 101 and enroll in the Honors English 102 class.  Their mistake.  My professor, Mrs. Caskey, was a tough task master.  She demanded excellence.  One day in frustration she called me to her office and gave me her personal copy of a grammar book.  I don't remember its name but there was a drawing of Shakespeare on the front cover.  I used that book and made it through the course.  But the rules didn't stick.

The book is more than just rules.  It also speaks to what makes good writing and reading.

One of my favorite passages: "Writers must always remember that the sounds of language precede the symbols we use to represent those sounds on the page."

Clark's message to me is loud and clear.  Learning to write means more than premise, structure, characters and settings.  It's also means learning about the art of composing words, sentences and paragraphs.  Using language to make spoken music on paper.  I've got a very long way to go on this journey.

This is a good book.  I needed it.  I give the book three stars.

The Art & Craft of Fiction, A Practitioner's Manual

Today I read The Art  & Craft of Fiction, A Practitioner's Manual by Victoria Mixon.

Recently I've been working on incorporating a known theme into Bon Secour and developing my "B" and "C" stories to also incorporate the theme.  Doing this work pointed out that my plot planning was not as complete as I thought it was.  A recent post in Victoria Mixon's blog, A. Victoria Mixon, Editor, introduced me to the idea of developmental editing.  And since I am as insecure as they come, I started thinking, "Do I need an developmental edit?"  And, if I do, is she the editor for me? 

I don't know how much a development edit costs.  But, the book is probably cheaper than the edit.  And if you don't like what she has to say about writing, you can cross her off the list of possible editors.  So, I bought the book to find out if I wanted her as an editor.

Well, I do like what she had to say.  I also like her sense of humor which might help when the deserved criticism comes rolling in. 

I have so much work to do before I would submit to a development audit.  If, in fact, I ever do.  After all it's like cleaning your house before the cleaning service comes to do the job.  You don't want them to see how messy you really are.  I've got to get my story in the best possible shape I can before I would let anyone see it.  Especially someone who is going to look in every corner and closet and find out how messy my house really is.

     "Writers who regularly attempt to plot and write at the same time are the ones who wind up drunks.
     So you mull it over for a long time, you think it all out, you make sure every plot point is necessary.  Every scene has a hook, development, and climax, every incident caused the next effect, every single twist teaches the reader something they didn't already know about life.
     Then you sit down and write your scenes, (or re-write, if you've done your planning in 72,000 words of prose), entertaining yourself mightily as you go."

This is a really good book.  Part I: Developmental Issues is excellent.  It contained both new to me information and a better explanation of topics I've read before.  I give it three stars.

Selling Your Story in 60 Seconds by Michael Hauge

Today I read Selling Your Story in 60 Seconds by Michael Hauge.

I bought and read this book because I'm still under the delusion that I will actually sit my but down in the chair and write Bon Secour.  And when I do, I'll need to know how to sell it to an agent.  This book was written primarily for screenwriters but it is equally applicable to writers of novels.

"The secret of a successful 60-second pitch is to convey the most powerful elements of your story clearly, succinctly and passionately -- to get the buyer emotionally involved enough that he demands to read the script [novel]. . .   Don't try to tell your story!"  p.1

He shows you how to analyse your story and identify its most powerful elements to build your sales pitch on.  

And, if you don't have at least four of the ten elements he write about, you probably don't have a saleable story.

I give this book three stars.

101 Slightly Unpredictible Tips by Larry Brooks

Today I finished reading 101 Slightly Unpredictable Tips For Novelists and Screenwriters, Innovative Ways To Jack Your Creative Productivity and Help You With What You Write by Larry Brooks.

I love Larry Brooks.  If he wrote the instructions for an android phone, I would read him.  And, I don't even have an android phone.  But, that title.  Something shorter next time, please.

This book is a compilation of posts from his blog, StoryFix.com.  Some have been incorporated into his other eBooks or his new book, Story Engineering.  But, where duplicated they evidence information that needs to be read more than once.

I recommend Larry Brooks and StoryFix.com to you.  I aquired this book when Larry had a promotion giving this eBook away free to people who bought Story Engineering.  This is a good book.  It's worth its full price.  I give it three stars.

Inside Story by Dara Marks

Today I finished reading Inside Story, The Power of the Transformational Arc by Dara Marks.

I am stunned, inspired and afraid.

It is an awesome book outlining the path to incorporating theme into my story in such a way as to make it both enjoyable and meaningful.

It's the meaningful that is scary.  What do I have to offer that is meaningful?

The prospect that I could follow a specific methodology to develop a theme and incorporate it into Bon Secour is inspiring.

I was stunned that there was in fact a way to logically approach and develop theme.  Every how-to write book says you need theme.  No one tells you how to do it.  Most say, you will discover your theme as you write if you do everything else right.  And, what are the chances of a first time writer doing everything right?

This is way to develop theme is doable but it looks hard.  This is definitely a book I'll have to read more than once.

I give this amazing book FIVE stars.

Story Engineering by Larry Brooks

Today, I finished reading Story Engineering, Mastering the 6 Core Competencies of Successful Writing by Larry Brooks.

Okay, I admit it.  I am a HUGE FAN of Larry Brooks.  I've read his books, eBooks and blog, StoryFix.com. 

My copy of Story Engineering is heavily highlighted and underlined.  There is at least a mark on each page.  Most pages are covered.  Only one page has no marks and that's because it is a checklist that I typed out in Word to use for Bon Secour's scenes.

Yes, Story Engineering contains a lot of material that he has previously published in eBooks or in his blog.  Story Engineering links them all together, and he adds enough new material that this book is well worth its price.  Larry Brooks does the best job of anyone I've read explaining what to do and how to do it.

BUY this book.  READ this book.  RE-READ this book.

I've only got five stars in my rankings.  This book deserves six.

Writing Tools by Peter Clark

Today I finished reading Writing Tools by Peter Clark

I bought this book because some How-To book author recommended it.  I'm glad they did.  It is unique on my reference shelf.  Instead of talking about structure, characters, theme, etc., this book is about how to write.  I imagine it is what a line editor would tell you about your sentence.  Most of it went over my head rapidly.  But that doesn't mean I won't be back to it for a little more after I absorb what I learned during my first pass.  There's enough meat here to keep you re-reading for years.

The book jacket describes Peter Clark as a writer who teaches and a teacher who writes.  Every one of the 50 Tools is followed by a workshop (you know - homework).  I imagine if you successfully completed all of the workshops you'd be one heck of a writer.  Not that I'm likely to complete any of the workshops any time soon.  But I'll think about it.

This is a really good How-To book.  I give it four stars.

Creating Characters by Dwight Swain

Today I finished reading Creating Characters, How to Build Story People (1990) by Dwight Swain.

This is a solid addition to my reference bookshelf.  I did not find a lot of earth shaking new information on character development.  But, the book is well written and comprehensive.

I give it three stars.

Night of Thunder by Stephen Hunter

Today I read Night of Thunder by Stephen Hunter. 

Learn to Write by Reading Project.

Stephen Hunter is one of my favorite authors I have enjoyed reading all of his novels.  This one is set in Bristol, TN at the time of a NASCAR event.

I love his protagonist, Bob Lee Swagger.  In fact, I've felt a little guilty using Bob Lee as the name of my antagonist in Bon Secour.  Hate to besmirch both the name of his protagonist and Gen. Robert E. Lee.  But, there you go.  The point of my antagonist is that he is a likable soul gone wrong.

Anyway, after studying how to write this year and reading novels analyzing why they work and why they sometimes don't, I found that I didn't like this story as much as I had enjoyed his previous stories.

Hunter's gimmick is that Bob Lee Swagger was a USMC sniper.  He knows everything about guns, ammunition, and shooting.  These topics are heavily embedded in every Bob Lee Swagger story.  I don't know that much about these topics.  And I don't care to know that much about these topics.  I'm not a hunter and I haven't fired a rifle since I wore Uncle Sam's green fatigues.  My readers may feel the same way about some of my protagonist's knowledge.  When I tell my story, Bon Secour, I need to keep my knowledge gimmick at a safe level.  My reader probably doesn't want to know the details of how to adjust a carburetor, just because my protagonist does.  It may add authenticity to the story but it isn't the story.

Night of Thunder ends with a surprise on the last two pages.  Sounds good.  But, my mind rebelled.  My story needs to have an ending that has been sufficiently set up.  One that seems right.  Not pulled out of a hat.  Tell me a character would finger his brother as the villain.  OK, I can believe that.  Tell me the character will say he thinks the villain might be his brother and then two pages later kills him.  I don't believe that would happen.  This means that my story must show a logical link from a character's knowledge to his emotions to his actions.  I can't leave any of it out.

Bob Lee Swagger is a cool dude.  He is a weapons superstar.  I get it.  Near the end of this novel, he stands over the body of the bad guy's boss whom he just beaten in a fast draw showdown.  He brags about being a fast draw champ, "Nobody ever called me slow."  Come on.  That is just tacky.  Bob Lee never bragged like that in a dozen previous novels.  Why make him a narcissist now?   I must make my protagonist likeable if I want my reader to identify with him, to take a fictive journey as my protagonist.  I must do this all the way to the end of the story.

Writing Fiction for Dummies by Randy Ingermanson

Today I finished reading Writing Fiction for Dummies by Randy Ingermanson and Peter Economy.

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.