Books on Writing – Day 3

by Jason Joyner | Mar 20, 2007 | Blog, fiction, writing craft

I wanted to highlight the book I first read when getting back into writing fiction. I must admit I haven’t really seen it discussed online before – I don’t know if it isn’t in favor, or if it is just because it is an older book. If anyone has any experience with it, let me know, will ya?

Oh. I guess I should mention the name: How to Write (And Sell) a Christian Novel by Gilbert Morris.

Morris is a prolific Christian fiction author (his production is actually pretty staggering, according to Wikipedia). He definitely has the experience to share in his book. It is an older book. The copy I read was from 1994, the one referenced to above on Amazon is from 2000.

I think his book was quite helpful for me as a brand new writer staring at a blank page with a basic premise and a catchy opening to a story, but not much else to back it up! He sticks to the basics of fiction: plot, setting, POV, character development, and dialogue, with a final chapter on marketing your writing.

I appreciated the organized way to writing that he described, especially in regards to plot construction. He suggests starting by identifying the genre you want to write in, stating the overall theme of the work, and breaking it down from there. What is the plot, in a single sentence? Set up sections and label them. Write single sentence chapter headings, and finally turn these into paragraph summaries. Obviously this method works really well for the plotters of the world, and would drive those writing by the seat of their pants absolutely crazy.

He manages to squeeze a lot of material into less than 200 pages. Most of his examples come from his own writing. Since he’s written so much this works, but it can get a bit thin on variety. I view this book as a good introduction to the craft, but it may not be for those with more experience.

For those with some practice, my next books on writing post will be for you. BUT…in the meantime tune in tomorrow for the Christian Sci-Fi and Fantasy blog tour!

Books on Writing – Day 2

by Jason Joyner | Mar 19, 2007 | Blog, fiction, writing craft

On my first day of talking about books on writing, the Cubicle Reverend suggested that a lot of books on writing fiction are written by people who haven’t been published otherwise. This can be a good point – it is important to know an author’s qualifications for giving advice. OTOH, one must use this point with discretion. The authors of Self-Editing for Fiction Writers are editors, so their take is obviously from a different side of things (I couldn’t find where they had published other books/fiction – if someone knows a book, let me know).

Ultimately there is no good way to know if a book will work for you. Reviews on Amazon tell you one thing. Personal recommendations can be good, but this doesn’t always work out either.

I had heard good things about The First Five Pages from Noah Lukeman, so I got it. I thought he was very sparse in explaining his examples, and I really didn’t get much from it at all. See? Even referrals from people you know can be misleading. That isn’t stopping me from throwing out some books for discussion. My hope is that someone will find a book listed here is a helpful resource and grow in their craft from it.

I started with the latest fiction craft book I had read. Tomorrow I plan on highlighting the first book I read on the subject!

Books on Writing – Day 2

by Jason Joyner | Mar 19, 2007 | Blog, fiction, writing craft

On my first day of talking about books on writing, the Cubicle Reverend suggested that a lot of books on writing fiction are written by people who haven’t been published otherwise. This can be a good point – it is important to know an author’s qualifications for giving advice. OTOH, one must use this point with discretion. The authors of Self-Editing for Fiction Writers are editors, so their take is obviously from a different side of things (I couldn’t find where they had published other books/fiction – if someone knows a book, let me know).

Ultimately there is no good way to know if a book will work for you. Reviews on Amazon tell you one thing. Personal recommendations can be good, but this doesn’t always work out either.

I had heard good things about The First Five Pages from Noah Lukeman, so I got it. I thought he was very sparse in explaining his examples, and I really didn’t get much from it at all. See? Even referrals from people you know can be misleading. That isn’t stopping me from throwing out some books for discussion. My hope is that someone will find a book listed here is a helpful resource and grow in their craft from it.

I started with the latest fiction craft book I had read. Tomorrow I plan on highlighting the first book I read on the subject!