James V. Smith (1)Besprekingen

On GoodReads two stars means "OK" and that's what my rating means: this is OK. OK as in "meh." There's nothing here you can't find in a gazillion books on writing craft. James Smith does have a few novels published--or so the book informs us, but none I had read or even heard of. That should have warned me. An editor who wrote a blog for newbie writers once offered this rule of thumb: Pay attention to who is offering advice on writing. They should either be an author you admire or someone who has gained best-selling status or someone who is or has been a gatekeeper--an acquiring editor or agent. Word.

*Takes off bookshelf as it hasn't earned the space*½

Most impressed with The Writer’s Little Helper. It’s easy reading and constructive with lots of useful techniques, but more than that it practices what it preaches. And it is anything but preachy.

Best of the writing craft books I've read recently. Highly recommended.

One of my many 'i'm going to write a novel' phases. I'm still going to.

The author of this book seems to think that the way to awaken your creativity is to throw lots of little word puzzles at you. Oh well--what works for one person doesn't work for another. I found some of the exercises similarly annoying, but again, everyone is different.

At first the author of this book came across as exactly the sort of writing author I dislike--early in the book he seems to be saying, "My way of writing is right for everyone." Given the wide variety of types of writing and writing styles out there, this is never a good claim to make. Luckily he turns out to be much more reasonable later in the book.

Many of the author's hints are directed specifically at novel authors (in particularly, "category" or "commercial" novels). On the other hand, there's quite a bit of material in this book of use to any sort of fiction writer, so this isn't a big problem. Part 1 of the book is something of a general primer on creative thinking. Part 2 contains exercises for coming up with ideas related to specific projects. And part 3 addresses "The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective Writers." I prefer other books when it comes to general creativity, but there are some great exercises in here to help you specifically address the needs of your particular projects.

This book is probably most useful for people who want to make the transition from writer to published writer. There's information on what publishers are looking for, how publishers think, and how you can catch their eye, and the focus is on creating fiction that will sell. I suggest, however, that you not accept everything in this book blindly. Read other books on writing as well. Use your own common sense. Experiment, play around, and see what works best for you. Most of all, if you're thinking of buying this book, read some reviews carefully---it's a good book, but only for a very narrow audience.

As a book to help writers of commercial fiction, Alice Orr's "No More Rejections" might make a better choice. For a general-purpose creative thinking book, I recommend Mari Messer's "Pencil Dancing," Monica Woods' "The Pocket Muse," or Eric Maisel's "The Creativity Book."

Full review at ErrantDreams

This is just the most amazingly helpful book. Whenever I get stuck I pull it out and open a random page and start reading, and it always sparks some idea. Next thing I know I'm off and writing again. It's wonderful. If you don't have it, you must go out and get yourself a copy. This is one of my all time fave books for writers.

Good basic process for new writers.

Great starting manual for writers.