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71 of 75 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fun and accessible, March 3, 2004
This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Writing a Novel (Paperback)
This book is fun, informative and refreshingly to-the-point. His chapter on "reading to write" is the most varied and comprehensive I've seen, discussing the value of all kinds of fiction and nonfiction reading, including literary criticism, book reviews - even bad novels. (Also see the chapter on "other sources of help" where he talks about books on writing.) This book is very comprehensive with chapters on ideas, process (as in "getting it done"), fiction elements (plots, characterization, setting, etc), revision, grammar, publication, and writing as a business. Unlike a lot of books on this subject, the writing style is humorous and candid, in everyday language as if you were sitting down at a writer's conference to talk one-on-one. Best of all, he distills important points to their essence so they can be quickly absorbed and remembered. If it's your heart's desire to write a novel, this book could be the only one you'll ever need. At the very least, I'd suggest buying and reading this book before you buy any others on writing. You may find you don't need them.
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26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A very nice reference and an outline for successful completion., March 27, 2007
This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Writing a Novel (Paperback)
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Writing a Novel
by Thomas Monteleone
I will not go so far as to refer to this as "great" or call it some kind of a "triumph"; but it is an excellent reference as well as an outline for success.
It contains all the ordinary material such as one might hope to find.
It discusses ABILITY, the art of STORYTELLING, the TOUGHNESS & DETERMINATION necessary, and the ADVENTUROUS ATTITUDE that leads to progress. The book invites you to examine CREATIVITY, inviting you to discover your own implicit ideas and make them explicit. It encourages you to do new things, like travel, to acquire learning experiences and to spark your own imagination.
TCIGTWN introduces the idea of the writing GENRE, and encourages aspiring novelists to understand history, at least in the context of bestselling novels, so as to become familiar with what people enjoy reading about.
PLOT, CHARACTERS, SCENE DESCRIPTION, SETTING, DIALOGUE, TRANSITION, PACING, etc etc. All of these things are introduced. I remind myself that there is not only a single good book on writing. There are many good ones, and many of the same topics are covered. In fact, when I searched the bookshelves I found only three of about twenty five that seemed worth buying. I bought three, and this was one of them. This one is adequate, and there is just so much good material to produce an inspired novelist. I really enjoy the preponderance of information contained herein. Besides, I qualify for this book.
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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
If you are serious about being published, pay attention..., October 13, 2004
This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Writing a Novel (Paperback)
I read the reviews and opinions offered on the validity of this guide and I can say only this... Tom Monteleone knows what he is talking about. In a powerful presentation, both from the point of view of a successful novelist and the culmination of years of practical knowledge properly applied to his own and the careers of others, this book is invaluable. I fall into the category of the "others". I have followed Tom's advice and through hard work, I have published my first hardcover novel, released this fall, 2004. I can only encourage the serious writers out there. If you want to create a writing career, Tom's Idiot's Guide is the light to help guide you down the dark paths of the publishing world. Fellow writers buy this book and start walking.
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