Train Tales?each train car represents a different part of the story
Customer Reviews:
OK.......2007-04-05
How to Write a Story isn't quite what I expected. I thought it would be more like How to Write a Super Sentence. The book isn't bad. There are only four stories and then they have some resources in the back for making a writing center.
Book Description
Writing the story of one’s life sounds like a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be. This warmhearted, encouraging guide helps readers record the events of their lives for family and friends. Excerpts from other writers’ work are included to exemplify and inspire. Provided are tips on intriguing topics to write about, foolproof tricks to jog your memory, ways to capture stories on paper without getting bogged down, ways to gather the facts at a local library or historical society, inspired excerpts from other writers, and published biographies that will delight and motivate.
Customer Reviews:
Great gift.......2007-05-07
Great gift for that person in your life who loves to read but hasn't taken that leap to write yet.
Very helpful for all ages........2006-11-30
Lois Daniel taught classes specifically dealing with writing memoirs, and life stories, not only to older generations, but to younger ones as well. As a young adult, I found this book to be helpful with gathering thoughts/memories and piecing them together. This is a great book to start anyone off with, if they want to write an autobiography or memoir. Hopefully within the next few years, I'll be publishing my :crosses fingers: BEST SELLING autobiography. We'll see though!
-Jerri L. Butler
Makes the task of writing about your life not so overwhelming.......2005-09-05
I am teaching a life history class for the first time and am using Lois Daniel's book as part of my curriculum. I like the fact that she breaks down the book into categories and reminds you that you do not have to write in chronological order or even whole categories at once. She is informal and supportive, gives many writing examples and even has a section about do's and don'ts. She also does not restrict her teachings to only older individuals, but encourages younger people to begin their stories as well. Her categories are rather broad and so I am using this book in conjunction with "Legacy" by Linda Spence, which has individuals put down their story in the form of answers to questions. Between both books I feel I now have a good handle on not only teaching my class, but also starting my own life story for my child.
A New Way to Tell your Story.......2000-07-05
Using the method of writing bits and pieces as you remember them rather than chronologically, the author gently encourages you to write your story whether you believe you are a writer or not.
Best book I've found for life story writing.......1999-09-27
More than seven years ago I decided to get some folks together to write our life stories. I haunted bookstores looking for the ideal book, and when I came across Lois Daniel's book, I knew it was the right one. That was her Third Edition. The updated Fourth Edition presents the same material, plus a couple of extra chapters.
The book has been ideal for our purpose. Lois Daniel's approach to writing about your life is to suggest that you write in bits and pieces, rather than starting with your birth and what I call "plowing through your life" from birth to the present day. That can be a chore for many; whereas writing about interesting incidents becomes an enjoyable challenge.
Grandma Moses, in her autobiography, wrote, "I have written my life in small sketches, a little today, a little yesterday, all the things from childhood on through the years, good ones and unpleasant ones, that is how they come out and that is how we have to take them."
That is the approach suggested by Lois Daniel. And the author makes it easy for persons who shy away because, they say, "I'm no writer." She suggests that you need not be a "writer", but merely to "write as you talk."
Our weekly class is now entering its eighth year, with 43 participants, both women and men. Since the class started, the members have purchased between 250 and 300 of her books, and, without exception, they are pleased. They find the book to be interesting, while at the same time it provides many suggestions and examples to motivate the writer.
Product Description
How to Write a Story is packed with easy-to-execute ideas and dozens of writing forms that will assist student in refining their sentence writing skills:, lessons and reproducibles to help students learn the parts of a story?characters, setting, plot, conclusion, reproducible planning forms to help students organize ideas and write a rough draft, guidelines for writing in six different genres?realistic fiction, historical fiction, mystery, adventure, fantasy, and science fiction, How to set up a Writing and Publishing Center, including reproducible story prompts and charts for planning stories in different genres.
Customer Reviews:
No one can write your story like you can, Write it!!.......2007-04-07
Everyone needs to write the story of their life. My parents did not write their's which makes me sad because their story will never really be told. But by writing my own story, I was able to write some of theirs from my perspective and how they influenced my life and helped make me become who I am. As a new author, myself, I was cautioned about including a section at the end of the book, about the story of my life. I can tell you that I receive as many comments about "my story" as I do about the content of my book, which is a business book. Ask yourself why is reality TV so popular? Write the story of your life using the easy techniques outlined so well in this book, the loved ones you leave behind will appreciate it!
Rebecca D. Turner author of "Tattoo" a business book, read it-grow your business-enjoy your life!!Tattoo
A Dated "Memoir Writing for Dummies".......2007-02-16
Had Thomas written this a decade or so later, it would have been a great inclusion in the "For Dummies" series. He uses lots of lists and fills his chapters with idea starters for anyone interested in documenting his or her own life for posterity. Given that many who seek to write their own memoirs will not have any real writing background or training, Thomas provides a good range of basic writing hints as well.
The author includes literally hundreds of questions that would be good joggers for those having difficulty thinking of anything "worthwhile" to write about themselves and could also be a resource for anyone seeking to learn more about their own family's oldest generation. Unfortunately, the book's sample memoirs and even some of these questions seem dated (not surprising, given that the book has been in print over 20 years!). Of even more concern is the lack of updating to current technology; computers are essentially non-existent, so his hints on things like first drafts and final format for publishing are irrelevant.
For the price, this is a good book to have just for the idea starters, but it will need supplementing with more recent texts for anyone interested in writing memoir from start to finish.
Well organized; great prompts.......2000-11-11
This is a great read for those interested in writing their life story. Mr. Thomas goes from early childhood through retirement, so having been born in the 1970s, some of the information did not apply personally. However, it is still well worth the reading. He has specific prompts, and works with small "chunks" of life. Entwined are guides to good writing, and other aspects of writing a great story.
A Must Read For Autobiographers.......2000-06-26
I've worked most of my adult life as an actor. One of my grandchildren was watching television and saw an old movie in which I appeared. "Grandpa, is that you?" After having to explain what I did for a living, it occurred to me that I was no different. I knew very little about my ancestors. At the time, I didn't know what my own grandfather (who died before I was born) did for a living. I wanted to make sure that future generations of my family know that I existed and what I did for a living. It was then that I realized how important it was to write my life's story to preserve my legacy.
Of all the books I researched when I first set out to undertake this task, I found Frank P. Thomas' "How to Write the Story of Your Life" to be among the most concise and most helpful. It became my constant companion as I spent those long hours at night in my study pounding away on my keyboard or sitting at the dining room table handwriting a vignette to be added to the book.
Thomas' book is laid out in an easy-to-read format, lending itself not only as a step-by-step guide, but sectionalized in such a way as to be used as a handy research resource manual. There is a lot of sound advice contained within his book that I found to be highly effective. For example, it helps not to ignore news and current events occurring during the telling of one's life, even if you don't actually relate the news items directly. By spending a few hours in the library to research certain magazine articles and newspaper headlines from a particular period, I found my memory banks were stimulated and I was often able to capture a flavor of the political climate, social mores, fashions, and/or cultural fads of the time. Those influences were incorporated into the events of my life. Sometimes I was able to relate to current events of the time directly, which helps to allow readers to identify with you personally.
Another important lesson I learned was that in order to capture and maintain a reader's attention, you must stimulate as many of his/her senses as you can. Therefore, I found myself going through my text trying to find places where I could introduce stimuli to sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell.
This is but a mere sampling of the invaluable direction I received from Thomas. The result was my autobiography was published under the title "Surrender the Jealous Mistress" (available through amazon.com), which I'm told is engaging and reads like a novel. If that's true, then I attribute a large portion of that compliment to Frank Thomas' sound advice and guidance.
No matter how insignificant you may perceive it to be (it's not), I encourage you to attempt to write your life's story. Once that decision is made, I highly recommend obtaining a copy of Frank Thomas' book, "How to Write the Story of Your Life," to guide you through the process.
Amazon.com
Forget everything you thought you knew about journalism. James B. Stewart shuns pyramid style and all its accoutrements for a more creative type of nonfiction, nonfiction that tells a compelling story. Stewart's ideas about nonfiction stem directly from his experience as a writer and editor of The Wall Street Journal's lengthy page-1 feature stories, which explore subjects, as Stewart says, "in depth, with style, and often ... with wit." "Good writing," Stewart says in Follow the Story, "is rooted not in knowledge, but in curiosity." Curiosity too, says Stewart, "is what make readers read the stories that result." Using examples from his own writing (for the Journal, The New Yorker, and SmartMoney, and also from his books Blood Sport and Den of Thieves), the Pulitzer Prize-winning Stewart shows how to turn your curiosity into ideas, story proposals, and then the stories themselves. Each part of the writing process-- cultivating sources, gathering information, writing the lead and the transition, structuring your piece, and then concluding it--is discussed with authority and demonstrated masterfully. Stewart also includes chapters on how to use (but not overuse) description, dialogue, anecdotes, humor, and pathos to strengthen your work. --Jane Steinberg
Book Description
In Follow the Story, bestselling author and journalist James B. Stewart teaches you the techniques of compelling narrative writing.
It is the indispensable guide to writing successful nonfiction books, articles, feature stories, or memoirs. Stewart provides concrete directions for conceiving, reporting, structuring, and writing nonfiction -- techniques that he has used in his own successful books and stories. By using examples from his own work, Stewart illustrates systematically a way of thinking about and executing stories, a method that has helped numerous reporters and Columbia students become better writers.
Follow the Story examines in detail:
- How an idea is conceived
- How to "sell" ideas to editors and publishers
- How to report the nonfiction story
- Six models that can be used for any nonfiction story
- How to structure the narrative story
- How to write introductions, endings, dialogue, and description
- How to introduce and develop characters
- How to use literary devices
- Pitfalls to avoid
Learn from this book a clear way of looking at the world with the alert curiosity that is the first indispensable step toward good writing.
Customer Reviews:
A Very Special Journalist.......2006-07-06
Mr. Stewart is a wonderful writer and a great teacher. I was looking for a book to send my friend who is a journalism professor at the University of Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. I have had a hard time finding journalism text books for my friend. I picked up Mr. Stewart's book and he explains that journalism is not and cannot be taught from text books. To be a good journalist, you simply have to learn to write well. His journalism classes at Columbia are writing classes. He tells his students to practice their writing skills, do research for factual content, learn techniques from fiction writing to dramatize the story. He takes you inside a few stories and novels he has written, tells you how to put a personal anchor in a story to hook the reader, how to demonstrate warmth, humanity and drama even in a technical subject, how to write a story and how to read a story. He sure has mastered the art of making stories interesting. That's why he was a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, great editor at the Wall Street Journal and that's why this book is such a good read. I can't recommend this book enough to everyone, whether writing students, journalism students, teachers or just plain people who like to read.
Recommended Reading for Nonfiction Narrative Writers.......2005-05-08
FOLLOW THE STORY is a joy to read. Any experienced nonfiction writer of features or narrative books will appreciate Stewart's personal stories because we are reassured that our ups-and-downs have been shared by a Pulitzer Prize recipient and Wall Street Journal editor.
I re-read FOLLOW THE STORY while I was writing NIGHTMARE IN WICHITA: The Hunt for the BTK Strangler. Stewart's book helped keep me going in the right direction.
In addition to James B. Stewart's FOLLOW THE STORY, I recommend Jon Franklin's WRITING FOR STORY and Tom Wolfe's THE NEW JOURNALISM. For top examples of the advice given in these books read Stewart's DEN OF THIEVES, Franklin's SHOCK-TRAUMA, and Wolfe's THE RIGHT STUFF.
Thank you, James B. Stewart. Well done.
Robert Beattie
Wichita, Kansas
Read this one more than once!.......2004-10-11
This book offers engaging insight into the mind of a true journalistic instructor. It contains helpful chapters on properly formatting dialogue and laying out plot and developing structure. I read this book twice and plan to read it again and also introduce this book to my writing club.
"Follow the story" -- but why bother?.......2001-07-03
When a moderately talented writer convinces himself he's a virtuoso, it's bad enough. But what happens when he takes it on himself to bestow the "secrets of his craft" on aspirants? "Follow the Story," it seems. Its author, James B. Stewart, is hardly a nobody in American journalism. The book jacket reels off all his impressive credentials: a winner of the Pulitzer prize, a former feature editor at the Wall Street Journal, a best-selling author of nonfiction, and a journalism writing coach at Columbia University. So what did his "indispensable guide" (to refer to the book jacket again) teach me? That it's hard labor getting through the 370 pages of a self-serving monologue by a navel-gazing nonfiction writer.
In "Follow the Story," you the reader do exactly that -- follow the story of how Stewart's various nonfiction articles and two books "Den of Thieves" (about insider trading) and "Blood Sport" (the Clinton scandals) came about. He spares us no details, for example, about how his interviews went and how he felt about his interviewees -- everything just short of what he had for breakfast but nothing about how to actually conduct an interview. Then his advice on writing: In the chapter on "Structure" (26 pages), he tells us that chronology can help along the narrative (don't put yesterday after tomorrow, that is). Thank you Mr. Stewart! If you want to learn tricks about structure other than chronology, he leaves you at liberty to think them up for yourself. In the section on "leads" (story beginnings), he reprints the prologue to his book "Blood Sport" in its entirety, all eight and a half pages of it. And I thought I was blessedly lucky if I had that much space to play with in a whole feature article.
Then there's his grammar: like his incorrect use of "like" for "as if" as in "...it looked like she hadn't even been to the hairdresser..." In "Description" (Chapter 8), he "describes" a major character in a story as "handsome." Yes, but what did he LOOK like? Or here's a descriptive segment of Mr. Stewart's, one that he offers as an example of good writing (lamentably, he never uses other writers' work as examples): "A pink Rolls-Royce turned into the driveway. It pulled quietly into the parking area, and a smiling Boesky emerged carrying a tennis racket, Siegel noticed with some curiosity..." Other than providing a pedestrian description of an interesting scene (it tells us more about the pink Rolls-Royce's route -- driveway, parking area -- than its striking appearance), the segment also defies logic. How can a powered-up Rolls-Royce pull "quietly" into parking? Did it not have its engines running, or were the observer's ears waxed up? And why did Siegel notice it "with SOME curiosity," not plain "curiously"? And all the rest of it...
The saving grace of the book, if there's one, is Stewart's encouraging words to novices and his insistence that when all is said and done, "the only reader who matters is you" -- meaning writers themselves. On second thoughts, though, this is just what Stewart does in "Follow the Story": write for himself. But then why publish the book at all?
Read this One with a Highlighter in Hand.......2001-04-16
James B. Stewart appears to be in love with himself. But weed out the self-glorifying comments. Harvest the tips, ideas and fruit and you'll find a helpful a step-by-step plan for writing an interesting feature story.
The six page introduction has between 90 and 100 references to himself. He explains why he is qualified to write this book and walks the reader through the events in his life that led him to become a writer. He was the editor of the Wall Street front page.
Nearly every illustration in the book is from his work. The 60 page appendix is three stories that he wrote. His most frequent statement thoughout the book is, "In my opinion" or a variation of that. I can see my high school English teacher cringing and shouting, "Who else's opinion would it be?"
But skim the book with a highlighter. Marking the sections that are instructional, the step-by-step writing processes. Of the 300 actual book pages (excluding the appendix), you'll be left with about half the book. Read them carefully. If you're looking for a good instructional feature writing book, what's left is worth the effort.
Stewart begins the writing process with curiosity. He then shows how to turn that curiosity into idea hunting. He teaches how to gather information, form a lead, and decide on and follow a structure. According to Stewart, the type of question the story is answering tells the author what lead, structure and ending to use. Possible types of questions: What's going on? What are others are doing? What is a certain person really like? How could that have happened? How should I feel? What should my reaction be? What caused such-and-such? What happened? Each of those questions suggests a different story type and requires a different kind of structure and response. Once an author knows the question, the story writing process is basically determined and the author knows how to proceed. This practical guide for feature writing is a very practical guide for the author asking "How?".
I would have rather read a book already edited into just the practical information and a variety of examples (skipping the self glorification). But I haven't found one yet.
Book Description
Would you like some friendly help getting started writing some of America's most popular fiction? Author Rebecca Vinyard has put together a collection of folksy wisdom for aspiring romance writers to help them get published.
Romance fiction makes up more than half of all mass-market novels sold, with over 2,000 new titles released each and every year. And unlike other fields of fiction, romance truly welcomes new writers, as editors search through queries and conference appointments for the next Nora Roberts or Barbara Delinsky. In 49 chapters, The Romance Writer's Handbook takes aspiring writers through a quick course in writing romantic fiction for today's markets. Here is "from-the-ground-up" advice on how to begin to climb romance writing's ladder of success..
The short, readable chapters in The Romance Writer's Handbook provide practical information to help improve any writer's stories. They offer advice on creating new but familiar heroes and heroines; crafting scenes, places and plot complications; and tackling thorny issues that range from point-of-view conundrums to steamy love scenes.
The Romance Writer's Handbook is the helping hand every author needs to get going and write romance stories that satisfy and sell.
It includes:
• Info on the business side (setting goals, finding an agent, formatting manuscripts, submitting winning query letters, and more).
• The lowdown on giving and receiving critiques.
• A paragraph-by-paragraph study of a well-written synopsis (essential to catching an agent's or editor's eye).
• Valuable advice on creating an author website.
• Short interviews with bestselling authors Lorraine Heath, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Connie Flynn, Katherine Sutcliffe, Judy Christenberry, and Suzanne Brockmann.
• Market information on mainstream publishers active in the romance field.
• A useful list of small presses and e-publishers.
Customer Reviews:
rudimentary .......2007-07-16
I'm going to begin by picking a nit, here. This book is not authored by Ms Vinyard in the conventional sense. Probably 50% of the copy is authored by other women.
On to more important issues:
1) Most of the material in the book is quite elementary. If you don't know what point of view is or what the options are, this book explains that. But if you want advice beyond "don't change point of view too often," you will not get much help.
2) Unlike other writing manuals, this book is not structured in a way to help a beginner actually write a romance. It reflects this in it's contents, which include "Elements of Romance Storytelling," but nothing on putting the elements together.
I prefer "On Writing Romance" by Leigh Michaels and "Writing Romance" by Vanessa Grant, both of which rewarded my reading time with a great deal of useful information.
On the other hand, if you want to be part of the romance writers' community, this might be a good book for you, as it often mentions Romance Writers of America and the author's own web site. The section on "Support Networks" is as long as the one section on writing, "Elements of Romance Storytelling," and there is a whole section titled, "Inspiration, Comisseration and Information." That's all padding, from my point of view.
My own experience? I've won a state wide fiction award, edited a very small magazine and a book published by a major publisher, and written for a web site with ga-zillions of hits a week (yes, that's a technical term), and a glossy magazine. I teach college. I need to organize my material well and include plenty of useful content if I want my work to benefit my students.
I'm Gonna Be A Star........2007-01-10
This book is generally known as the mack-daddy of the "how to write a romance" books. My sister and I intend to become embarrassingly rich with the information we glean from it. Should you never see my name again, rest assured, the fault lies with me, and not the book.
A Keeper!.......2006-11-27
I'm about halfway through this book and have already learned so much that I'd pay FULL price for the book (I'm a used book nut, so that is saying a lot).
The info about proper manuscript set-up is worth buying this one.
I am not a "new" writer but haven't written romance until now. Looks like I chose a quality reference for the job!
I'm afraid many sub-par books are published every year about how-to-write. THIS one is not one of those!
A Must Have for all new Romance Writers!.......2006-07-03
A wealth of knowledge! A must-have for the new writer and an excellent guide for writers at any level. It covers virtually everything you need to know when writing about romance, Including a basic understanding of the different types and sub-categories within this genre! Starting from the basic idea or concept, it takes you through the writing process with ease, step-by-step information teaches you about writing and selling in this genre. This book contains tips, ideas, advice, examples and more on every topic. I have read more than 25 books on this subject but THIS BOOK is undoubtedly one of the BEST!
The BEST book on Romance Writing.......2005-02-26
Many of the books on this subject are not current and are only mildly entertaining... Ms. Vinyard on the other hand fills the pages with exciting descriptions of the current Romance market and piles on the practical advice for the new and experienced writer. This book is a must for ever Romance writer!!
Average customer rating:
- A must have for picture book writers
- Practical and Easy-to-understand
|
How to Write a Children's Picture Book Volume II: Word, Sentence, Scene, Story: Learning from Leo the Late Bloomer, Harry the Dirty Dog, Lilly's Purple ... Purple Crayon, and Other Favorite Stories
Eve Heidi, Bine-Stock
Manufacturer: E & E Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
| Baby-3
| Ages 4-8
| Ages 9-12
| Audiobooks
| Animals
| Arts & Music
| Authors & Illustrators, A-Z
| Computers
| Educational
| History & Historical Fiction
| Issues
| Literature
| Obsessions
| People & Places
| Popular Characters
| Reference & Nonfiction
| Religions
| Science, Nature & How It Works
| Series
| Sports & Activities
Authorship
| Publishing & Books
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
Children's Literature
| Writing
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Writing
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
Look Inside Reference Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
How to Write a Children's Picture Book Volume III: Figures of Speech: Learning from Fish is Fish, Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile, Owen, Caps for Sale, Where the Wild Things Are, and Other Favorite Stories
-
How to Write a Children's Picture Book: Learning from The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Corduroy, Where the Wild Things Are, The Carrot Seed, Good Night, Gorilla, Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, and Other Favorite Stories
-
The Business of Writing for Children: An Award-Winning Author's Tips on Writing Children's Books and Publishing Them, or How to Write, Publish, and Promote a Book for Kids
-
Childrens Writers Word Book (Children's Writer's Word Book)
-
Creating Characters Kids Will Love
ASIN: 0974893323 |
Book Description
Whereas Volume I of this series investigates the overall structure of children's picture storybooks at the macro level, this volume, Volume II, investigates the very building blocks of picture storybooks at the micro level: the word, the sentence, the scene and the story. We look at the importance of word choice for giving the story meaning and cohesion. We look at ways to change sentence structure to emphasize the information that is important, and to ensure that sentences flow easily from one to another. We look at the scene: how to begin it, how to end it, and how to create the Beats of action-reaction that make up the scene. And finally we look at the story: what types of problems must a character solve? When does a story introduce a problem? And once a problem is intro-duced, how do picture storybooks move from problem to solution? What types of solutions do characters find? Is there any part of a story that occurs after the solution is found? To answer these and other questions is to describe storytelling strategies. We look at enduringly popular children's picture storybooks to see what storytelling strategies they employ.
Customer Reviews:
A must have for picture book writers.......2007-09-04
I was having trouble with rhythm and beats in my picture book writing. This book really helped me learn the beat structure in picture book writing and how they create rhythm. My picture book writing seemed flat and lifeless and now, thanks to this book, it has the rhythm it was lacking. I would also suggest Volumes I and III for other parts of picture book writing. Definitely a must have for those writing picture books and those needing to learn the structure, rhythm and specific language used in those types of books.
Practical and Easy-to-understand.......2006-11-14
I'm thrilled to see a second volume to Bine-Stock's first in this series dedicated to taking the mystery out of writing a picture book. Bine-Stock rises to the top once again as she explains, simply and clearly, how to build a picture book from the ground up. Focusing on choosing the right words, using the best sentence structure, creating a scene, and utilizing a powerful storytelling technique, this book is a valuable tool. I plan on recommending it to other authors I know!
Book Description
Edgar award nominee James N. Frey, author of the internationally best-selling books on the craft of writing, How to Write a Damn Good Novel, How to Write a Damn Good Novel II: Advanced Techniques, and The Key: How to Write Damn Good Fiction Using the Power of Myth, has now written what is certain to become the standard "how to" book for mystery writing, How to Write a Damn Good Mystery.Frey urges writers to aim high-not to try to write a good-enough-to-get-published mystery, but a damn good mystery. A damn good mystery is first a dramatic novel, Frey insists-a dramatic novel with living, breathing characters-and he shows his readers how to create a living, breathing, believable character who will be clever and resourceful, willful and resolute, and will be what Frey calls "the author of the plot behind the plot."Frey then shows, in his well-known, entertaining, and accessible (and often humorous) style , how the characters-the entire ensemble, including the murderer, the detective, the authorities, the victims, the suspects, the witnesses and the bystanders-create a complete and coherent world.Exploring both the on-stage action and the behind-the-scenes intrigue, Frey shows prospective writers how to build a fleshed-out, believable, and logical world. He shows them exactly which parts of that world show up in the pages of a damn good mystery-and which parts are held back just long enough to keep the reader guessing.This is an indispensable step-by-step guide for anyone who's ever dreamed of writing a damn good mystery.
Customer Reviews:
How to do a "Who Did It".......2007-07-11
For any avid mystery reader and frustrated mystery writer like me, this book is a treat. It analyzes the structure and content of mysteries in an entertaining and informative manner. The author teaches writing courses and knows how to explain his ideas clearly and simply. It is easy to imagine him performing in front of his students, mixing humor with sound advice. The only doubt I have in recommending this book is that after reading it, a mystery reader will always be aware of how the author of the mystery uses the formulas detailed in the book and this might prove distracting. Kind of like finding out how a magic trick is accomplished, thus losing the magic and being left with only the trick. Certainly for an aspiring mystery writer the book is perfect.
Hmmm.......2007-07-06
It's too bad Frey wastes all of his bluster and energy on this stuff instead of writing real books.
A great guide for a mystery author to follow.......2007-05-16
I bought this book when it came out, based on the strength of Frey's previous guide "How to write a damn good novel" and I was not disappointed. Despite the similar titles, this book focuses in on the salient things particular to the mystery genre. He touches on several subjects, ranging from the four pillars of mystery to how to become intimate with a murderer to how to craft strong endlines for each of your chapters. The book echoes his previous works, but that in no way detracts from all the new stuff he presents. It is a good read, and I found it extremely helpful to my writing.
If you want to write a mystery novel, buy this book, and read it.
King of the How-tos.......2007-05-04
I have been writing for 28 years and I admit I'm not God, but after reading over 300 writing books, most of them I own, I can unequivocally tell you that this one is tops!
Please read it. It anwers all your questions and shows you exactly what to do then what to do next.
If you don't find this book helpful, send it to me and I'll save it for you until you are serious about your work.
It also works up an exciting novel to show you how it's done, and will fire you up while entertaining you.
Joan of Art
A Practical Guide.......2007-03-31
I really liked this book. You read right along with the author as he creates a mystery novel, step by step. He teaches you how to create characters with depth by writing a detailed background and having your characters write a journal. He starts with the murderer, the plot behind the plot, then takes you on to your hero/detective and each of your other characters. You learn to write a plot by using a stepsheet. I especially found helpful the fact that you write a stepsheet for what the reader sees and what the reader does not see (what is happening offstage). You learn about the five act design in which a mystery novel is divided. The author then gives helpful pointers in writing good prose, writing the mystery scene, choosing viewpoint, the final steps in rewriting, and then some words on marketing your novel. I found this book enjoyable to read and very helpful in writing a mystery or any novel. It's one of the best "How to Write" books I've read because it's so practical in how it teaches you to write a mystery novel. It would be a great resource in any writer's library.
Books:
- I Hope You Dance
- I Married Wyatt Earp: The Recollections of Josephine Sarah Marcus Earp
- I, Rigoberta Menchu: An Indian Woman in Guatemala
- Icebreaker: Who Started the Second World War?
- Iceman Inheritance : Prehistoric Sources of Western Man's Racism, Sexism and Aggression
- In Search of Captain Zero: A Surfer's Road Trip Beyond the End of the Road
- Inhuman Bondage: The Rise and Fall of Slavery in the New World
- Interpreter of Maladies
- Iran Awakening: A Memoir of Revolution and Hope
- Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- The Patient Safety Handbook
- The Fire: The Bombing of Germany, 1940-1945
- New Shanghai: The Rocky Rebirth of China's Legendary City
- Networks and Devices Using Planar Transmissions Lines
- Strategy and Structure: Chapters in the History of the American Industrial Enterprise
- reGeneration: 50 Photographers of Tomorrow
- Selling to Newly Emerging Markets
- Accounting: A Decison Approach
- Pragmatic Imagination: A History of the Wharton School,F 1881-1981
- Spanish All Talk Basic Language Course
How to Write a Children's Picture Book Volume II: Word, Sentence, Scene, Story: Learning from Leo the Late Bloomer, Harry the Dirty Dog, Lilly's Purple ... Purple Crayon, and Other Favorite Stories
Writer's Guide to Crafting Stories for Children (Write for Kids Library)
