Review: Mittelmark & Newman, How NOT to Write a Novel (2008)

How Not to Write a Novel: 200 Classic Mistakes and How to Avoid Them—A Misstep-by-Misstep Guide by Howard Mittelmark

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I found this mildly amusing, occasionally helpfully pithy ("When there is a plan, things cannot go according to it."), and a quick read. They don't stick consistently to their conceit that they are trying to teach readers how not to write a novel, which is mildly irritating. (Rather, the conceit is mildly irritating; I much prefer the parts of the book where they forget to cleave to it.)

They do explain very clearly why their 200 mistakes are mistakes (they do a great job with all the ways you can misuse a speech tag) and provide good advice about avoiding them.

Three and a half stars, round up to four.



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