Bring Your Fiction to Life: Crafting Three-Dimensional Stories with Depth and Complexity

by Karen S. Wiesner

Craft a Story That Towers Above the Rest

You know it when you read it: In page after page and scene after scene, a truly engrossing novel has qualities that set it apart. Authentic characters, a well-rounded plot, and immersive settings work in harmony to create a three-dimensional experience--one you can practically step inside and explore.

But while you can recognize this work when you read it, writing it can be much more challenging. Bring Your Fiction to Life teaches you how to build a solid narrative structure and layer in lush, textured scenes to create a story that rings true. You'll learn how to:

-Master the three-dimensional aspects of characters, plots, and settings using detailed sketches that define the past, present, and future aspects of each element.
-Develop complex opening, resolution, and bridge scenes that expertly lead readers through your fictional world.
-Construct and analyze an outline for your manuscript, using tools and techniques to analyze scenes that lack dimensionality.
-Brainstorm, research, and draft efficiently and effectively, and juggle multiple projects with ease.

Packed with story-development charts, worksheets, and checklists, Bring Your Fiction to Life shows you how to craft a vivid story world that readers will instantly recognize as remarkable.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction

264 pages, Paperback

Published June 23, 2017

Reviews

[Gala · Rating 5 out of 5]

Якби я раптом вирішила писати книги, то скористалася б саме цим посібником. Така творчість була б дуже в моєму стилі - з купою таблиць та чітким графіком роботи на рік наперед, щонайменше.

Сіла я її читати, тому що книг про те "як читати книги" зустрічаю менше, ніж таких, що розказують, як їх писати. Тож я вирішила, що аналізувати тест можна спробувати і з допомогою існтрукції, як його написати. І справді, перша половина книги стала мені в нагоді, щоб зрозуміти, чого не вистачає в тих текстах, що мені не сподобалися, або сподобалися, але не дуже. І що є в тих, які мені довподоби. Авторка робить акцент на тривимірності книги: персонажа, сюжету, антуражу та епізодів. Тривимірність тут - наявність минулого, теперішнього та майбутнього у всіх названих елементів. Але побіжно вона робить багато цікавих зауважень про кожну з цих складових хорошого тексту.
Ще з четверть книги - поради саме письменникам: як писати антоцаю, як вопрядкувати свій графік, навійщо потрібні перерви в роботі над текстом та коли їх робити, про цінність відпочинку, тощо. Ця частина - вже посібник як працювати письменником, а не лише як писати об'ємний тест.
Остання чверть, чи й трохи більше - графіки, таблиці та купа вправ, в тому числі з аналізу відомих текстів.

[Poetic Diva504 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has shown me the errors of my previous novels all in one book. This book is all the tons of other writing books I've read, stuffed into one summarized manual. Now, I can sit on my novel ideas and not feel so badly about how crappy my writing is. Lol. I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes to write.

[Catrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has been quite helpful in helping realize how much goes into writing and why I tend to not like mine. Her tips on creating characters, plot, and scenes will be ones I hopefully don't forget. I love to write but I usually find i can't stand what I write and so I tend to stop out of frustration. I think this has helped immensely.

[Devyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good reference for someone wanting to write their own book (which I would like to eventually).

[Deborah Makarios · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm sure there are writers who will find this book very helpful - I just don't seem to be one of them.
I was also irked by typos: illicit for elicit; innovate for innovative; you for your... This may not be unconnected to the author's statement that doing the edits for a book typically only takes her an hour.

[Natalia Lirnik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Книга в сжатой форме дает материал, который сейчас преподают на многочисленных творческих курсах. Для опытного автора ничего нового здесь нет, но можно использовать ее как чек-лист для проверки своих текстов. Очень разумно описана организация работы писателя, показано, как можно работать над несколькими книгами одновременно (что всегда сложно, но иногда необходимо).

[Tim Beck · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve pretty much leafed through and read this boom twice over the past few months. So many helpful details and tips to help me in my new hobby. No doubt I’ll be reading this again as I put the finishing touches on my novel.

[Sonia Bellhouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Helpful and informative with a wealth of advice from a hugely prolific author.

I think all writers would find something of interest in this book.

Useful appendices too

[Anton Shanaurin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Практикую, посмотрим, что получится.

[Riversue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the advise seemed a bit pat but the worksheets look useful.

[Marcy Weydemuller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bring Your Fiction To Life by Karen S. Wiesner

Go deeper. Bring a multi-layered perspective to your writing from the initial spark through to the published launch. At whatever stage you are in your writing career this craft book delivers a solid foundation, clear instruction, several practical suggestions, and expert advice.

One of the qualities I most appreciate in Karen S. Wiesner’s books on writing is her intense commitment to share and develop her personal experience. She undergirds each concept with well-founded definitions, gives concrete published examples to amplify them, and then offers high quality understandable applications to follow.

Her ongoing feature of her books to include accessible worksheets goes the extra mile here by giving authors readymade templates from which to personalize. And she does not generalize them but gives specific details for each skill set she develops.

Personally I found two particular areas I’d like to explore more in my own work immediately. Wiesner points out that our blueprints are “just one of many layers of your story.” Her ideas regarding examining them for cohesiveness helps reduce uncertainty and laborious revision by catching the holes early on. For career writers she has insightful suggestions for applying the multilayered approach to all our stages and projects to produce quality consistently.

Taking the time to recognize the potential benefit of three-dimensional characters, plots, settings, scenes, marketing, goals, and personal process, is valuable time spent to truly develop stories that readers can’t resist. Enjoy.

Read deep, marcy
http://mythicimpact.blogspot.com