Customer Reviews

The Marshall Plan Workbook : Writing Your Novel from Start to Finish

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Evan Marshall explains everything you need to know to get started with your novel. It may be too elementary for experienced writers, but it's exactly what the beginner needs. He not only tells you what to do but shows you how to do it. For instance, all the how-to books say to use a header; this workbook shows you what the header should look like. Marshall's charts for characters and plot make sense of the rhetoric, and his blueprint will move the novel along to completion. This is the clearest, most helpful book on writing that I've found.

I checked out at least 2 dozens books on how to write your own novel from my local library. I then spent at least an hour with each book to decide which ones were worthy of my collection and needed further studying. Was I surprised? There is so much junk out there that is no help at all. This book was very different. It was excellent. It is the one that I decided had all that I needed to get started. It was the only one that actually lays out in detail the steps that you need to follow to complete a novel. Don't spend all your time looking at other books about novel writing, this is the one to get...

I'm about 3/4ths done with this book, and I can't begin to convey what a help it's been. If you're setting out to write a marketable book and need help with structure, as I do, this workbook will really help put the skeleton together for you. It doesn't write your novel for you, but it shows you how to best organize your ideas and plot the necessary elements, giving a lot of attention to pacing and appropriate length. I feel like I have a better handle on my own mind and creation already.

You have got to get this workbook if you are serious about seeing your first-time novel published. Evan Marshall breaks down the process into clear steps that really help the author to define the novel's characters, plot, relationships, pace, and so forth. I was astounded how quickly and in-depth my characters took shape, how the schemes, scenes and plots developed my manuscript to something that I can see being completed and ready for publishing soon. The Marshall Plan Workbook was the "write" plan for me. See if it is for you.

Evan Marshall: I just had to let you know again, I bought your first book 16-step program to write a novel, and am very happy to say I've enjoyed it again. Your Workbook Plan was a great follow-up to your first novel writing book...I only wish you would come out with a followup software program...I would be the first one to buy it. Please keep up writing these how-to wonders...and thanks again....I bought Storycraft software and I'm sad to say I got caught with a worthless piece of software ..SAVE YOUR MONEY, and buy Evan Marshall's 2 writing books.

I want to give credit where credit is due. When I set out to plot my novel, Latter-Day Cipher: A Novel, I bought this workbook, filled it out, and used it to choose the number of characters and when to insert "surprises."

After that, I took the paperback copy of the what I thought was the best suspense novel I'd ever read--The Silence of the Lambs- and outlined it, noting the number of pages for each scene, etc, noting what The Marshall Plan had said.

Did it work? My novel is currently a best-seller on Amazon in its category, Christian fiction.I'd like to thank Evan Marshall -- and hope someone gets word to the author that I'm grateful and a fan of this book.

Latayne C Scott
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I found this book to be a good introduction. I haven't written anything before and needed to have an overview and starting point. I found the general information helpful, but so far have a somewhat difficult time using the worksheets. They are generally intuitive but somewhat hard to get my arms around from the perspective of what I am looking to write.

Not a bad choice for the beginning writer.

I love how to write books. I have many. What I like about Evan Marshall's workbook are the pages from the workbook used to create character biographies, character picture collages, adversaries and other behind the scene work vital to create a novel in any genre you're working on. Using his advice I am almost finished with the first draft of a novel.

I have read other books about how to write a novel, but, this is the best organized method I have come across. The advice is sound and the terminology makes the process of writing a novel clear and understandable.

I'm using the book now and it is an excellent step-by-step guide to help you crate a novel manuscript.