Okay, so this is also my favourite one in the series as it’s about settings, only focusing on urban settings. There’s so much here to make your settinOkay, so this is also my favourite one in the series as it’s about settings, only focusing on urban settings. There’s so much here to make your setting a character, essential in your story, instead of just a place where things happen....more
A great primer on what has to go into a paranormal novel, no matter the other genres involved (e.g. romance) and how to write it. Though mostly focusiA great primer on what has to go into a paranormal novel, no matter the other genres involved (e.g. romance) and how to write it. Though mostly focusing on certain supernatural creatures, it is something that can be applied as easily to a werehyena as to a werewolf.
A must-have in the library of anyone writing in the paranormal spectrum. ...more
A workshop in a book! I would have liked to see more how different tropes work well together with examples (I liked that she used examples of movies IA workshop in a book! I would have liked to see more how different tropes work well together with examples (I liked that she used examples of movies I’ve seen)....more
A great introduction on how and why rapid release can work. The case studies were interesting. And her suggestion to reward yourself at benchmarks is A great introduction on how and why rapid release can work. The case studies were interesting. And her suggestion to reward yourself at benchmarks is something I can totally relate to....more
Not keen on the title, but the book was recommended. Too bad most felt like regurgitated knowledge about fear, plot, character and being original. AftNot keen on the title, but the book was recommended. Too bad most felt like regurgitated knowledge about fear, plot, character and being original. After skimming page-after-page, I decided it wasn’t a match. (Would probably help newbie writers, though.) DNF...more
An excellent book about writing a specific journey that celebrates relationships, community and love – no matter the genre you write.
If Wonder Woman iAn excellent book about writing a specific journey that celebrates relationships, community and love – no matter the genre you write.
If Wonder Woman is an excellent example of a woman cast in the Hero’s Journey, then Harry Potter is a great example of a boy/man cast in the Heroine’s Journey. Which just goes to show how different these journeys are and that they aren’t bound to physical gender.
I like how the author explained the journey, used examples from myth and pop culture, looked at different aspects, and compared the two journeys.
One of the best books on craft I’ve read in a while.
A good guide to what reverse harem is, what readers expect, and how to write it. There’s also a section on how to promote it. The selected reading at A good guide to what reverse harem is, what readers expect, and how to write it. There’s also a section on how to promote it. The selected reading at the back is a good place to find various books mentioned throughout and I’ll try a few I haven’t encountered before.
Felt a bit thin on the writing advice part, relying on the reader to read the example books. ...more
“If the main character can achieve the same outcome in any place, the setting is not important.”
The character sketch sheet provided for settings is mu“If the main character can achieve the same outcome in any place, the setting is not important.”
The character sketch sheet provided for settings is much the same as what one would fill out for any traditional character – and it opened my eyes to some things one glosses over as unimportant to the story, but extremely important to the “character”.
The author expounds on each point, showing the reader how they can easily make their setting vital to the story and the main character.
Concise and to the point. A must-have for any author’s library.
*This was the IWSG book club selection for February 2021....more
I’ve read a lot of fiction with unbelievable fight scenes that when I heard about this book on a podcast I just knew I had to read it.
I likeBrilliant!
I’ve read a lot of fiction with unbelievable fight scenes that when I heard about this book on a podcast I just knew I had to read it.
I like how the author describes everything a woman would go through during different types of fights, what different types of women would do, how trained vs non-trained would react, professional vs “normal”, etc. would go. There’s so much to think about that, if you’ve never been in a real-life fight, wold escape you when you write it.
Reading the fight scenes and then how she fixed them was so much fun. I could see where what she had taught earlier in the book came into practice.
My only issue is a formatting one: the Epub didn’t have a proper table of contents and sections to easily navigate to sections from anywhere in the book. also, not all text shows up in nightmode (especially headings).
A must-have for any author who wants to have any type of fight-scene in their books. ...more
A great primer for anyone who hasn’t worked with editors before. And a great introduction to the different types of editing a manuscript needs – and dA great primer for anyone who hasn’t worked with editors before. And a great introduction to the different types of editing a manuscript needs – and deserves....more
I liked their funnel strategies and their no-nonsense approach to writing and publishing. Their humour got me through the book.
They mention “The War oI liked their funnel strategies and their no-nonsense approach to writing and publishing. Their humour got me through the book.
They mention “The War of Art” quite a lot: I’m not a fan of said book as it has harmful, offensive views about mental health (stating it’s not real). I get why they feel it’s the authority on Resistance, but I’m sure they could have written a chapter about it themselves.
A lot of tactics, as they had predicted, are of no use in 2022, but the strategies remain solid.
I learned a lot more from Joanna Penn’s non-fiction books, though (they mention her throughout the book with good reason).
There are good, empowering moments for indies in this book and has some relevance as a self-publishing guide almost a decade after publication. ...more
*This is the book club book of the month for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group Book Club.
If you’re not as woke as many of those in my writing circle*This is the book club book of the month for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group Book Club.
If you’re not as woke as many of those in my writing circles are, this is a must-read for you. But otherwise it is a basic, very condescending (considering it’s 2020) little book about do’s and don’ts when writing about people who aren’t like you.
“We will show you what works (and what doesn’t) when writing about characters of races, genders, sexual orientations, abilities, religions, nationalities, and other traits and features different from your own.”
Awesome. Only, it doesn’t really happen. They skim over topics, give generalised advice (you should have beta readers and sensitivity readers – though they use other terms – which is good advice, but doesn’t teach you a thing about writing about “the other”), and basically preach about stuff someone with a bit of common sense and the ability to observe other people should already be doing (like not comparing people’s skin colour with food).
“They discover they’re gay or lesbian.”
As someone who has done a lot of research (and writing) about LGBTQ+ people, this was a jarring, insensitive sentence. Use your brain…
Two essays by Nisi Shawl included in this book was rather good: “Beautiful Strangers: Transracial Writing for the Sincere” and “Appropriate Cultural Appropriation”.
The only “practical approach” I found in this book was the use of exercises in each section (though even those felt forced and a bit bigoted as the expectation was for the person doing the exercise to be racist/sexist/whatever while using their reptile brain when writing and then fix it when editing. Which assumes that all people are at their core racist/sexist/etc.).
Also, if you’re going to write a book about various races, cultures, sexual orientations, gender identities, nationalities, abilities, religions, etc. you should probably have people contributing to the book that are from the various “other” you want to cover. As one Filipino reviewer remarked: in the Philippines, he is from the majority and not the minority (the other). Which brings us back to the primary assumption in this book that everyone reading it is from the US… and male, heterosexual and white – “the unmarked”.
Not recommended for anyone – unless you really don’t get what “white privilege”, “straight privilege” and “monochromatic” means (in life and in fiction). ...more
Wow! This is the book I would recommend to anyone wishing to be a good writer.
As the author explained things – things I already did without knowing thWow! This is the book I would recommend to anyone wishing to be a good writer.
As the author explained things – things I already did without knowing the how’s, why’s and names of it – I just started to feel overwhelmingly awesome and blessed. “So that’s why this book I wrote was so much better than that one!” was my “aha!” moment. Though she gave examples throughout, I measured all her advice against my own work and walked away with a new understanding – and appreciation – of my own writing process.
My favourite advice from this book: “Because, just like life, story is emotion based.” “We don’t turn to story to escape reality. We turn to story to navigate reality.”
For those who need a blueprint to create their story blueprint, the author provides that (with examples!) too.
An excellent resource that should be on every author’s shelf. ...more
“In reality there is one reason, and one reason only, that readers get excited about a novel: great storytelling.” And that is what this book teaches.“In reality there is one reason, and one reason only, that readers get excited about a novel: great storytelling.” And that is what this book teaches.
I snickered about “the e-revolution may or may not save us; indeed, it may not happen”. Twenty-two years after this book was published, the e-revolution has changed publishing forever.
I like the idea of “gut emotional appeal” for a premise.
A really good book that every author should read – it may get their books off DNF lists!
Though some of the information is outdated (publishing stuff, mostly), the writing advice is solid. ...more
As I love writing setting, this is my favourite one in the series. This one focuses on rural settings. There’s so much here to make your setting a chaAs I love writing setting, this is my favourite one in the series. This one focuses on rural settings. There’s so much here to make your setting a character, essential in your story, instead of just a place where things happen....more
Part one is basically a recap of “Writing the Breakout Novel”.
Part two is more thoroughly covered in the Revise Your Novel series by Janice Hardy.
It’sPart one is basically a recap of “Writing the Breakout Novel”.
Part two is more thoroughly covered in the Revise Your Novel series by Janice Hardy.
It’s good, but if you’ve read these other books (like I have), it’s not imparting new advice.
And part three is supposed to be about having an author career, but it’s all about how traditional publishing works and that self-publishing isn’t a viable career choice. Say that to the many six and seven figure indie authors out there…
This book suffers from being written in 2010 as it doesn’t look at the broader publishing world and still talks about the Big Six publishers (they are down to four) and that self-publishing isn’t feasible (paranormal romance is almost exclusively the domain of indie authors).
The book also suffers from being a rehash of “Writing the Breakout Novel” and “The Emotional Craft of Fiction” by the same author.
Read only if you haven’t read the other books mentioned in this review and you are okay writing and publishing like it’s 2010. ...more
Personally, I prefer my own notebook of peculiar spellings in my writing and my thesaurus, three dictionaries and common sense (and ProWritingAid) whePersonally, I prefer my own notebook of peculiar spellings in my writing and my thesaurus, three dictionaries and common sense (and ProWritingAid) when editing and proofing my work, but each their own.
This book is basically the author’s notebook of things he has to look up regularly and now shared with others. Not for me, but others might find it useful. ...more
I've always enjoyed K.M. Weiland's blog and this book is no different.
The way she looks at structure, character growth, and the Lie, the Wound and theI've always enjoyed K.M. Weiland's blog and this book is no different.
The way she looks at structure, character growth, and the Lie, the Wound and the Truth was insightful.
Positive arc, flat arc and negative arc were new concepts, yet I've encountered them in books and even wrote them without knowing these terms. The examples she used were illuminating (especially Thor and Scrooge as these are characters and stories I know well).
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