Natalie's review
Write Great Fiction: Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell
Parts of this book cover subjects covered better by Nancy Kress's Beginnings, Middles, and Ends. Also, this book gets somewhat repetitive around the middle.
However, the rest of it is great, and always inspiring. He never presents anything as a rule, and is always open to the possibility of ignoring his advice; he says even if you think purposeful plotting is stupid, it's good to at least know about it so you know why you're ignoring something. I like that attitude in people in general, and I agree.
Most of the passages quoted as examples were, in my opinion, good writing. It's silly to have to point this out, but I've read a handful of writing books where the passages they quote are awful. :-/
Especially helpful was the chapter that detailed different outlining methods.
I recommend it overall, since it's sound advice and everyone is bound to learn something they didn't know before.
However, the rest of it is great, and always inspiring. He never presents anything as a rule, and is always open to the possibility of ignoring his advice; he says even if you think purposeful plotting is stupid, it's good to at least know about it so you know why you're ignoring something. I like that attitude in people in general, and I agree.
Most of the passages quoted as examples were, in my opinion, good writing. It's silly to have to point this out, but I've read a handful of writing books where the passages they quote are awful. :-/
Especially helpful was the chapter that detailed different outlining methods.
I recommend it overall, since it's sound advice and everyone is bound to learn something they didn't know before.
