Customer Reviews

The 38 Most Common Fiction Writing Mistakes

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

First of all, I purchased this book over a year ago and I continue to use it. I pick it up to refresh my memory and it helps me see my work with fresh eyes. True, it is a don't do this don't do that book. I saw a few reviews complain about this... I wonder if they noticed the title of the book. Anyhow, a lot can be learned from what not to do.

Second, this a book about writing works that publisher's find appealing (and the public too of course). If that is not what you hope for, then take it with a grain of salt and read Writing Down The Bones; that is a book focused on the creative side of the craft.

Third, the most popular review of this book is negative "Not that interesting with some poor advice" July 2000. I'd like to point out Bickham is an accomplished, popular and published writer while the reviewer was at the time "...near completion of my first novel." Frankly, I think it is silly to critique a book like this on how well it deals with the creative side of writing; the creative part of writing is your job and no one can stop you but you.

To sum it up, this is a writer's advice on writing books. There are plenty of authors I wish would do this; I am grateful Mr. Bickham did. I don't think he is claiming his word is law; any sensible person knows there is no such thing in art. But, if you hope to have an audience, you'd better know how to please it and I think this book does a fine job pointing out some things that can make that audience throw rotten fruit at you.

;)

As a writer and a teacher of writing, I didn't like this book nearly as much as Self Editing for Fiction Writers or How to Write a Damn Good Novel. It is much less elegantly written, far more simplistic, and actually gives some bad advice in my opinion. For example, the author says, "Don't worry about being obvious" and says it's okay to introduce characters with direct author statements such as the following: "James Marx was a mean man all his life, and on one had ever liked him. He never gave an inch in business, and he never gave a cent to charity. Of all who knew him, his wife liked him best; she merely detested him." This is certainly the opposite of "showing vs. telling" and sounds corny and uninteresting to me. Good writing makes characters come to life and lets readers form their own opinions by letting them see, hear, and smell them. Effective literature's also much more subtle than blatant, with nuances, ambiguities, and contradictions shown through rich visual detail .. . that's how you create layered, believable, interesting characters instead of stick figures. And I'm not talking about just "literary" fiction here--the best of mainstream and genre fiction also has nuanced characterizatons that don't hit the reader over the head with an over-obvious approach.

The author also says, "beware of late-blooming ideas that seem to come from nowhere during your writing of the project" and mocks the idea that characters can "come to life" and seem to take over a story. I think this advice is counter to the creative process, where some of one's best ideas can come from who knows where and you develop something that wasn't part of your preconception. Much of the fun of writing to me is experiencing those times when new ideas and angles come from the ether (or the muse)--when I'm in the creative flow and the characters DO seem to come to life and I know what they can and cannot do. Scores of writers speak of and actually revere this phenomenon. It seems terrible advice to me to stick to your plan no matter what and ignore the gifts of the creative process. I'm a journalist and some of my best writing has been that that came to me relatively late in the process of working on a story--the "ah ha, so that's how to do it" moment when it all falls together differently--and so much better than-- than the original idea. As I near completion of my first novel I find that some of my most exciting material is without a doubt that which I did not pre-plan. I believe in structuring but think you must go with the flow, too, and be open to following those serendipidous ideas that come to you. You can also choose not to use them if they don't pan out.

This book has some good sections that I was able to learn from and enjoy (for example the chapters on characters going from feeling to thinking to action and on scenes/sequels), but much more of it seemed wordy and tiresome with such phrases as "pardon me while I disagree" and statements of the obvious, for example, "A windbag, in old-fashion slang, is a person who talks and talks and talks . . . and never lets anybody get a word in edgewise. Windbags in real life are colossal bores. In fiction they're even worse."

In this very short volume, Bickham manages to get to the essence of writing good popular fiction. His language is very easy to understand, very easy to apply, and yet reveals his decades of experience. He has distilled it all down into this one book, and it's a must for all those who want to write more effective popular fiction. For those looking for even more, try his 'How to Write and Sell Your Novel', which contains longer, more in-depth treatment of the material.

Warning: For those wanting to write 'literary fiction' or such stuff, this is not the book for you.

I don't often drop 10 to 12 bucks on how-to books, but this one got my attention with concise, helpful specifics. I'll definitely keep it to read and re-read. Great for helping you figure out what you're good at and what you need to work on, reminding you of the important stuff, and inspiring you to get back to the keyboard!

This is one of the very first writing books I ever encountered. When I first read it I had less confidence in myself as a writer and took its 38 dictums for granted. Now that I have a more nuanced view of things, it's safe to say the book does contain some good advice; however:

1. This book won't really motivate you to write. It's a list of rules, of things not to do. If you attempted to concentrate on all of them while writing, you would kill your creativity entirely. One could follow all 38 rules and still end up with an unreadable piece of trash.

2. Some of the advice is problematic. Encouraging writers to make bold, specific exposition statements about characters is dangerous. I suggest that characters should be presented through their own actions and words, not through exposition.

3. Characters DO grow and change during a piece of writing, and while Mr. Bickam may not employ that style personally, there are many, many well published authors who do. His obvious distaste for that variety of creative process is strange, but not quite as strange as his extreme dislike for writing professors.

Overall, this book feels a bit clumsy. It does contain a useful information for sure, but it is buried amongst some bad advice. Probably a lot more useful to a novice than someone honing their craft, it's worth a flier if you can get a used copy at a reasonable price.

The book delivers exactly what it says--38 things NOT to do. No one can learn a "formula" for writing--there doesn't exist a list of things you *should* do. Bickham's book, however, points out the most-likely pitfalls novices plunge into (and hoo-boy, have I seen these too many times in actual practice!) and gives examples that should help the aspiring writer identify and correct these problems in his own manuscript.

More importantly, Bickham explains *why* these are problems, instead of just presenting them as laws from on high. His style is eminently readable, making the information easy to absorb. Not every point will apply to every writer, and the book is geared to the most common issues--and therefore primarly novice writers. But I find it a useful periodic reminder to keep a more-experienced writer on her toes.

This book is a "must" for beginning fiction writers who want to write to publish stories. This book accomplishes its mission; it identifies many obvious mistakes that beginner writers make but ought to avoid--simple mistakes that could cause both editors or readers alike to reject a story and, ultimately, its author. My recommendation to a beginner fiction writer is to read this book now. I'd like to offer a backhanded compliment for this book, as well: //WARNING: if you are a person who just wants to read fiction for pleasure (and do not want to write fiction for profit), then don't read this book because it exposes the mystique of well-written fiction.// I am wildly enthusiastic about this book and am glad that Writer's Digest Books is still offering this gem. This book is well written in an easy-to-understand style. Bickham's examples are clear and meaningful. This book can be read and digested in small segments (each chapter ranges from 1 to three or four pages) or at one sitting. It can be used as a handy reference, tool, too. My copy is heavily highlighted for quick referral. I heartily look forward to reading other books on writing by Jack M. Bickham and will probably look for his novels, too (to study and hopefully enjoy as well).

I reccomend reading this book before you writing your novel and then re-reading it again when your finished. The sections on confidence and persistence are what keep me writing. The rest I read while I edit. Noting wasted on buying this book!

This book presents a series of well thought-out and practical points on fiction writing. It is mostly targetted towards the novice writer, but probably most will find some useful information here. Particularly interesting are the following comments, which are elaborated upon in the book: How to start the action NOW without 'warming up', how to build strong characters by exaggerating traits, how to use 'stimulus and response', why NOT to use real life as a model for your books, and much more. For a more detailed treatise see also Gardner's 'Art of Fiction', which covers some of the points in more depth (and is generally better, but also much more complex and demanding).

Pithy, to-the-point, and more useful than any other single book on the subject. Have yet to see the important writing questions asked (and answered) so well. Probably the best first book for aspiring writers to read, well before their manuscripts are finished.