Customer Reviews

GMC: Goal, Motivation and Conflict: The Building Blocks of Good Fiction

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Beginning novel writers often need a roadmap to get from chapter one to The End. *Goal, Motivation and Conflict* by Debra Dixon is a practical and insightful manual for writing effective, cogent fiction. She takes you step by step through the writing process using her GMC method. She explains in detail how to create believable characters and events, how to sustain your narrative through multiple plot twists, and how to tie it all up in the end leaving the reader begging for more. Best of all she uses characters and plots from movies such as *The Client*, *The Wizard of Oz*, and *Casablanca.* This book gives you the tools necessary for crafting believable fiction. If that novel you're writing has disintegrated into nothing more than an unruly collection of word clusters, this book is for you. If you haven't started writing your novel yet, this book will save you from pulling your hair out by the roots.
PS. *Goal, Motivation and Conflict* can always be obtained from the publisher, Gryphon Press.

This is the only book I know of that deals exclusively with Goals, Motivation and Conflict; three of the most essential elements to writing good fiction. The book is excellent. Ms. Dixon understands what makes a story memorable and she presents her knowledge in a clear, understandable format.

Patricia Lewin, Author of BLIND RUN, OUT OF REACH & OUT OF TIME

This book, while small, is jam-packed with excellent advice and clear examples. I came away from this book with lots of good ideas for making my characters more compelling and believable, and using their motivations to effectively drive the plot. The author's advice to thoroughly craft appropriate goals and motivations for your protagonists and then put them into direct conflict with the goals and motivations of your villains might seem like an exercise in the stating the obvious, but it's actually surprisingly insightful.

I saw another reviewer bemoan the price of this book... I have to admit, if I'd paid $80 for such a small book, I probably would have been disappointed too. Fortunately, I was able to find it at my local library. It's definitely worth a read for anyone who's serious about bringing their characters to life.

You can still get this book at http://www.gryphonbooksforwriters.com. You're right the prices here reflect greed and exploitation of the readers desire to own the book. This is common on Amazon.com.

I just spent two days at a Lilac City Rochester Writers-sponsored writing conference and I'd honestly forgotten how pumped up my creativity gets when I attend a conference. LCRW brought Debra Dixon -
she of the Goal, Motivation & Conflict fame. If you haven't read this book and you write fiction, you need to purchase a copy ASAP.

Of all the books in my bookshelves, this is the one I turn to the most. To continue reading the extensive and throughout review please visit We Blog The World at: http://bit.ly/ngMXnm

I would have given this book five stars, except that you have to take out a mortgage to buy it. I was lucky to find a used copy at a slight savings. Still, this book contains advice for writers that I haven't found in any other book, and the author illustrates her points with familiar examples.

Especially for the new author, Goal Motivation and Conflict is a concise, practical and easy to understand road map for the writer of commercial fiction. I respectfully disagree with TM Kelly who gave it 2 stars because the book is geared towards commercial and not literary fiction. First that is like being disappointed with a Honda because its not a Cadillac. Second the principles in the book can still be applied to "deeper" fiction. It provides a starting place for the newer writer to build any genre.

The author uses examples from popular movies (something found in many writing books) because almost everyone has seen or can easily obtain them, films are "show" not "tell" mediums, and they clearly illustrate her points. I find the clear, practical guidance of "GMC" a refreshing change from academic, theoretical essays that fill some "how to" writing books.

I have over 70 books on writing in my study, if a friend wanted a recommendation for one book on writing fiction, even deep literary fiction this would be the first one I would recommend. It can be found at the author's web site for $20.00, so no need to pay for high priced used copies any more. I have never met Debra Dixon but I wish I could thank her, this book is a great service to the new and aspiring author.

GMC is one of those books every writer should read. This book is well written, easy to understand and pleasing to the eyes. GMC teaches you what you need to know in order to write a good novel in simple terms with great visual examples so one can grasp the concept of what's needed to write a well written story. I highly recommend this book to all new aspiring authors, as well as those that can sense something is not quite working with their writing.

This is a very good tool for a writer and also is required reading for my current writing class.