Customer Reviews

Fiction Writing Demystified: Techniques That Will Make You a More Successful Writer

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Confession time: lining the dustier shelves of my workspace are largely unread books with titles like "Practical Tips for Writing Popular Fiction" and "How to Tell a Story." These were acquired in various weak moments--generally after receiving yet another rejection slip--when doubting my abilities. Always, after skimming the first few chapters, I would chastise myself for wasting another $20.00 or so, and swear never to be enticed by another such title.

So when the review copy of "Fiction Writing Demystified" hit my desk I was, to say the least, skeptical. After all, the subtitle promises "Techniques That Will Make You a More Successful Writer." Thoroughly convinced I was wasting my time, I nevertheless opened to the Preface and began reading. Quite literally, I couldn't put it down: all 195 pages (back and front matter comprise the balance) were devoured in one sitting, leaving me hungry for more.

Beginning with the first page, Mr. Sawyer offers a bounty of reasonable and specific advice, useful not only for the novice but for the accomplished writer as well. Drawing upon his years of experience as a creative writing teacher, screenwriter and novelist, he presents practical techniques for crafting a tight, gripping story with powerful characters and unique, exceptional dialogue.

This is not to imply that only fiction writers will benefit from Mr. Sawyer's book. Indeed, a better title might have been "Creative Writing Demystified," as much of what he has to say can be applied by creative writers of all stripes. The historian, the self-help guru, even the cookbook writer all must engage their readers, or "...they'll stop reading or watching or paying attention to whatever it is we're trying to say."

Perhaps the great strength of this book lies in Mr. Sawyer's ability to convey his knowledge and experience in clear, concise language, and an easy to read, conversational format. Certainly some of what Mr. Sawyer writes will seem rudimentary to the experienced writer. But it is basic in a forehead-slapping, "Of course!" way--and a little blatancy is to be expected in a book with so broad a target audience. Still, given some of the fiction I've read--and, to my chagrin, written--lately, many of us would do well to heed much of that fundamental wisdom.

Fiction Writing Demystified is a powerhouse of solid information that will definitely improve your performance as a writer. Sawyer breaks his purpose down into a simple statement: "In a very real way, this book is about troubleshooting your own writing." He provides you with the tools to become a self-editor.

Sawyer walks you through the mindset of the writer, the beginning of the story, the writing process, the construction, and creating unique dialogue. But for me, the most enlightening portion of the book is the character development chapter. This lengthy chapter makes up almost half of the book and covers aspects of character development that I had not even considered.

Sawyer's writing style is conversational and bright. It moves along at a steady pace and propels you forward. I read the entire book before stopping for coffee. It is one how-to manual that you just cannot put down. From the beginning, I was reminded of my favorite writing how-to book, On Writing, by Stephen King. Sawyer's tone and style are so close to King's. His choice of words also resembles King's. Both men reduce the most complex topics into plain, easy to understand explanations.

Fiction Writing Demystified delivers on the promise to make you a more successful writer. If you follow the instructions in this book, I am certain that you will find your manuscripts being accepted more frequently and revised very little. My only problem with any of the advice is when Sawyer warns writers to omit dialect. I have heard this wisdom dispensed by professional writers, editors, publishers, and instructors ever since I began writing. Yet, we repeatedly fall in love with the very characters that have the strongest dialect, proving that the public does tire of making believe that all people are standard Middle American. From Cyndi Lauper and Fran the Nanny to Andy Griffith and Gomer Pyle, we love dialects and variety in our characters. Unfortunately, as long as the icons of the business continue to warn writers to avoid dialects, we will be stuck with Stepford Middle American speech patterns. I would have liked to hear Sawyer stating that dialect is okay, but I am sure that he feels it would greatly reduce the marketability of work. He is providing his readers with solid advice for success.

Thomas B. Sawyer has been on the writing staff of 15 network TV series. He has written 9 series pilots and 100 episode scripts. He was the Head-writer/Producer/Showrunner of Murder She Wrote. His resume goes on and only becomes more impressive.

Reprinted from Gotta Write Network Online.

As of 26 January 2007 I completed an on-line class at The Writer's Store taught by the author and using this book as a text.

This book is self-published. You can draw your own conclusions as to what that may or may not mean.

Every review is the result of the reviewer's interaction with a book and this review is no exception. It's as much about the reviewer as it is about the item reviewed. What follows is my opinion. Yours may differ depending on your background and what you hope to gain from the book.

The author of Demystified spent about 12 years as a TV scriptwriter and probably as a TV script supervisor although he does not say so.

The book contains his ideas about writing interspersed with his political opinions (from the sixties) and war stories of his years in TV.

He does have something interesting to say to mystery writers about what he calls "franchise" which he defines as the investigators legal right to intervene in the lives of the people he investigates. Worth pondering.

Whether it's enough to justify the purchase price is up to the purchaser.

I found the material poorly orgaznized and expect the author to publish a 2nd edition in the not too distant future.

Personally, I found nothing here that you cannot find in more detail elsewhere (except for the notion of "franchise which IMO, does not justify the price).

If I had it to do over I neither would have bought the book or paid for the class.

Having read this book as part of an online course led by the author, I can say that most of the advice he gives in the text can be followed quite easily to a tighter, more cohesive screenplay. I personally had the advantage of getting direct feedback from Mr. Sawyer on my outline-in-progress, but I also mined the book for nuggets of wisdom, and came up with a cart full of gold.

What I like most about the book (and about Mr. Sawyer's teaching style) is that he tells it like it is, not bothering with all that guff about the inner artist and the million-dollar idea. An example: He says never to have one of your characters say, "What the!?" His reasoning, sound as far as I can tell, is that no one outside of a comic book ever says it, and "because, worse than a cliche, it is the almost quintessential example of mindless writing..." It's a practical bit of knowledge from someone who's been there. More than that, it illustrates the fact that there are definite indicators of poor writing, ones that can be identified easily if you know what you're looking for. Mr. Sawyer's rationale seems to be that if you avoid the symptoms, or red flags, you're forced to think more deeply about your writing, to pare it down and beef it up until you're writing real stories instead of filler.

My only complaint about the book, and the only reason I didn't give it five stars, is that it should have been better edited. I came across some typos and odd hyphenation that distracted from my enjoyment of Mr. Sawyer's message.

However, the message is the main thing, and in this case, it's one worth seeking out. I have no regrets about buying this book.

If you're a fiction writer...if you want to BE a fiction writer...put everything else aside and read this funny, by-the-numbers guide to getting it down on paper. Sawyer's not simply some self-annointed "expert"...this is a guy who has actually been out in the trenches doing it, day by day, for many successful years. Put it this way: the guy has written everything from cartoons to feature films, and he brings all of that practical and creative sensibility to bear in this highly entertaining (it's like talking to a guy at a bar!) info-packed guide to making it happen for you. If you can't afford to buy this book...STEAL it, read it, believe it, and DO IT.

Of all the books on writing I have read I have to say that I like this one least.

First, there is the writer's tone, which is needlessly confrontational and carried off with an attitude of "I know more than you." His word choices are distracting; substituting "heat" for "action" or "conflict" is an obvious example. I do not know if this is TV-speak, but I found myself constantly needing to translate his idioms into something clearer.

Second, there is a lot of information here. However, hardly any of it is presented in any clear order. Despite all of this stuff I felt that most of the book was fluff and filled with too many superflous examples. It would have been a much better book at 1/2 to 3/4 of its length.

Third, the character chapter begins with such promise and takes up so much of this book. Sawyer starts it with several excellent ideas in its opening, but then meanders through it as he barely touches those wondrous thoughts.

Fourth, the ending of the book is so mixed up and confused that it needs therapy to find its way in life. Yes, art is subjective (this chapter's theme), but so is every single chimeric, bewildering sentence in this portion of the book.

Finally, the part that insulted my intelligence most and had no business being in a book on writing: Sawyer devote two full pages lecturing at us as to why we, as writers, must read the New York Times. Why is this here? Did he really need to have the book be a certain length and then ran out of things to say?

"Fiction Writing Demystified" is not without its merits, though. There are some really good ideas burried within it. My favorite was the subject of adding "texture" to a scene -- this made me rewrite my second draft to include the added tension inspired by this wild idea and my work is stronger for it. I also found the idea of choreographing dialogue scenes a useful concept. My forays into not using "he said, she said" in dialogue have made for several interesting and fruitful writing exercises, and I may incorporate that style into several of my chapters. The idea of big entrances, which I picked up from another writer, is a must for any work of fiction -- it makes characters stick in our minds -- and Sawyer did a good job covering it. I just wish that there was more stuff like this in the book.

On having finished this book, I found it too disjointed and with not enough "there there." To put it another way, "Fiction Writing Demystified" is the fiction writing book equivalent of the McDonalds hamburger: lots of calories, lots of fat, and too little of healthy nutritional value.

Extremely helpful. This is a real nuts-and-bolts guide to fiction writing, written by an expert in the field. Mr. Sawyers credits are long, and his ability to convet his knowledge is unsurpassed. Highly recommended.

The book is professionally written by a man who, without a doubt, understands the craft of writing.

I haven't finished reading this book yet, but so far it's awesome. Techniques are well explained with heaps of examples. I am picking up so much good stuff that I'll be able to implement in my writing.
I'm very happy with my purchase.

I've been writing for awhile now, and there was a problem with my scripts, but I had trouble nailing it before this book. One of the best books on fiction writing I've ever read.