How to Write a Damn Good Novel, II: Advanced Techniques For Dramatic Storytelling [Hardcover]

James N. Frey (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0312104782 | ISBN-13: 978-0312104788 | Publication Date: March 15, 1994 | Edition: 1st

"Damn good" fiction is dramatic fiction, Frey insists, whether it is by Hemingway or Grisham, Le Carre or Ludlum, Austen or Dickens. Despite their differences, these authors' works share common elements: strong narrative lines, fascinating characters, steadily building conflicts, and satisfying conclusions. Frey's How to Write a Damn Good Novel is one of the most widely used guides ever published for aspiring authors. Here, in How to Write a Damn Good Novel, II, Frey offers powerful advanced techniques to build suspense, create fresher, more interesting characters, and achieve greater reader sympathy, empathy, and identification.

How to Write a Damn Good Novel, II also warns against the pseudo-rules often inflicted upon writers, rules such as "The author must always be invisible" and "You must stick to a single viewpoint in a scene," which cramp the imagination and deaden the narrative. Frey focuses instead on promises that the author makes to the reader—promises about character, narrative voice, story type, and so on, which must be kept if the reader is to be satisfied. This book is rich, instructive, honest, and often tellingly funny about the way writers sometimes fail their readers and themselves.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Frey ( How To Write a Damn Good Novel , St. Martin's, 1987) expands on his earlier take on the art of novel writing. His focus here is on dramatic fiction. Using examples from a broad range of fiction, he shows what these works have in common and how writers can learn from the authors to improve their own writing. Some of the areas discussed are developing characters, creating suspense, using a strong narrative voice, and understanding the author/reader contract. Chapter 8, entitled "The Seven Deadly Mistakes," talks about being timid, trying to be literary, and the failure to produce; it gives some advice on how to avoid these writing traps. The final word is to write with passion. This is a good choice for the writing shelf. It is a clear-headed study, with a bit of humor and solid advice. Anyone who owns the first book should have this one, but it can also stand on its own. Recommended for public libraries.
- Lisa J. Cochenet, Winfield P.L., Ill.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Frey expands on his earlier take on the art of novel writing. His focus here is on dramatic fiction. Using examples from a broad range of fiction, he shows what these works have in common and how writers can learn from the authors to improve their own writing. Some of the areas discussed are developing characters, creating suspense, using a strong narrative voice, and understanding the author/reader contract . . . A good choice for the writing shelf. It is a clear-headed study, with a bit of humor and solid advice. Anyone who owns the first book should have this one, but it can also stand on its own."—Library Journal

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; 1st edition (March 15, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312104782
• ISBN-13: 978-0312104788
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #127,099 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

James N. Frey is the author of internationally bestselling books on the craft of fiction writing, including 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. He is also the author of nine novels, including the Edgar Award-nominated The Long Way to Die. He has taught at the University of California, Berkeley, Extension, the Squaw Valley Community of Writers, and the Oregon Writers' Colony, and he is a featured speaker at writers' conferences throughout the United States and Europe. Former students include recent Anthony award-nominees Betty Winkleman and Cara Black, and many best-selling authors including Marjorie Reynolds, Melba Beals, and April Sinclair.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

59 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great guide for novelists ~ I swear!, November 26, 2003

By 

Michael Meanwell (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Write a Damn Good Novel, II: Advanced Techniques For Dramatic Storytelling (Hardcover)

The title says it all, and it lives up to its claim.

James Frey, Edgar Award nominee and author of nine novels, knows how to write a damn good guide for novelists. As the title suggests, 'How to Write a Damn Good Book II' is a follow-up to his first volume and breaks new ground, offering advanced tools and techniques for dramatic fiction.

Fray covers a wide range of issues affecting today's fictioneer, including:

* Defining and delivering suspense
* Creating memorable characters
* Finding and writing a premise
* Developing the writer's voice
* Understanding the author/reader contract
* The 'seven deadly mistakes'
* Writing with passion

Frey's advice is most often rock-solid and he illustrates his points by relating them to classic and well known writers and their works. His view is that great novels share common elements ~ distinct characters, strong narratives, dramatic conflicts and satisfying endings. He identifies them and he shows you how to implement them in your own work.

One of his best chapters is one of his last ~ 'The Seven Deadly Mistakes' ~ which Frey lists as:

* Timidity
* Trying to be Literary
* Ego Writing
* Failure to Learn and Re-dream the Dream
* Failure to Keep Faith with Yourself
* Wrong Lifestyle
* Failure to Produce

This chapter, alone, is worth the price of the book. It offers signposts of what to avoid and how to avoid it.

James Frey takes a fresh approach at an age-old art and produces one of the better books on successful novel writing. He injects a touch of humor and humanity, especially in the final chapter where he shares his many failures on the way to literary success. This, like the rest of his book, shows writers what not to do and what you can achieve.

-- Michael Meanwell, author of the critically-acclaimed 'The Enterprising Writer' and 'Writers on Writing'. For more book reviews and prescriptive articles for writers, visit www.enterprisingwriter.com

42 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Indispensable!, January 10, 2002

By 

"irongiant" - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Write a Damn Good Novel, II: Advanced Techniques For Dramatic Storytelling (Hardcover)

James Frey's "Damn Good Novel" books, especially this one, give the aspiring novelist the tools necessary to create gripping, salable fiction.

Like many other aspiring writers, I am a lazy person- collecting writing book after writing book, doing much more reading about writing than actual time at the desk composing fiction. But after reading Frey's books my head was exploding with so many concrete, practical ideas that could be fleshed out immediately that I rushed to write them down- and after having finished his books I have my first draft completed. It is the first time I have been able to piece together ALL the elements for a complete first draft, and all thanks to Frey's wonderful advice.

The most helpful aspect of Frey's books is the way he distills each distinct element of a good novel to its most basic structure, and using acknowledged classic novels as examples he shows how you can create those elements for your own fiction. How does a damn good novelist create reader sympathy for the book's protagonist? How does (s)he structure a plot? Keep a reader glued to the page, thirsty for each new word, sentence, chapter? Let Frey show you how.

In addition to "How To Write a Damn Good Novel" I and II, I recommend Stern's "Making Shapely Fiction" for quick inspiration and James V. Smith's "You Can Write a Novel" for concrete nuts-and-bolts instruction. If you can get your hands on it, "The Weekend Novelist" by Robert Ray is also very interesting.

Out of all these, read both Frey's books, in order. They are as valuable to an aspiring novelist as a four-year degree.

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-have for serious writers!, June 11, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: How to Write a Damn Good Novel, II: Advanced Techniques For Dramatic Storytelling (Hardcover)

A practical yet far from basic how-to guide, this book concentrates on advanced techniques for fiction writers. Frey has a deep appreciation and understanding of the power of fiction, telling us in the chapter titled "The Fictive Dream and How to Induce It": "When transported, the reader goes into a sort of bubble, utterly involved in the fictional world to the point that the real world evaporates. This is the aim of the fiction writer: to bring the reader to the point of complete absorption with the characters and their world."

Frey explains the finer points of writing powerful fiction, including how to make your reader identify, and not just sympathize with characters; how to go beyond the "hook" to develop engaging "story questions" that sustain curiosity and suspense; how to comprehend and use the notion of "premise" to drive your stories; and how to avoid the "Seven Deadly Mistakes" of the inexperienced writer.

The book balances concept with application beautifully, analyzing what makes good fiction work, and then showing us how to apply this understanding in our own writing; you won't find a better book out there for sharpening and expanding your skills as a fiction writer.