The Best of Novel Advice [Paperback]

Jeanne Marie Childe (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 2002 | ISBN-10: 0967440904 | ISBN-13: 978-0967440903

Articles on the craft of writing from writers, for writers

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

The Best Of Novel Advice, edited by Jeanne Marie Childe, is just about the best book I've read on the nature of writing. I plan to use it for my graduate students. It's a delight for would-be writers, seasoned writers, and for people who love literature. Unlike most books that deal with the written word, this is not a mere how-to, but a collection of essays by many different writers on the subject of writing, putting it into a very different class from a how-to book. Tucked into this marvelous collection of essays are wonderfully helpful kernels of advice to the writer, combining sophisticated writing techniques with sensible, down-to-earth, suggestions. Every writer would-be writer, and committed reader should get a copy.
- Barbara Probst Solomon

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Noveladvice Press (December 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0967440904
• ISBN-13: 978-0967440903
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,240,400 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rewards For All, March 25, 2003

By 

Peter Franklin (Columbus, OH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Best of Novel Advice (Paperback)

There are snippets of valuable advice here for every writer, from the novice to the published. As I turned each page, I kept finding a new spin on the craft of writing that I had not thought about before, and I have been a professional writer for more than 50 years. Others will be similarly rewarded, I am sure. As the title suggests, the 78 pithy articles lean in favor of fiction rather than non-fiction, which is my own cup of tea, but then most writers are novelists at heart, aren't they?

Pete

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Variey makes this unique among writing how-to books, March 29, 2003

By 

R. Tiedemann "Sunnye" (Bellevue, NE USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Best of Novel Advice (Paperback)

One might accuse me of prejudice since I have a number of pieces in this book, but in a sense, that authorship gives me a unique perspective that is worthy of expression here.

Most books on writing address only one phase of the subject -- how to write a mystery, for example, or using fiction techniques in magazine articles or developing characters. This one is far more ranging in subject matter. Here a variety of published authors speak out with authority on an equally varied number of aspects of writing.

Eileen Workman's "Ten Commandments For Successful Plotting" includes the "Cardinal Sin of Plotting" and presents solutions to the problem of plot development in a succinct and useful nutshell. "Five Mistakes Beginning Writers Make and How To Avoid Them" by Gwenneth Barnes addresses several concerns that often surprise the novice. Marcia Kiser's example of how to map a mystery takes the ouch out of outlining and John Moir describes the importance of narrative arcs in nonfiction. Books used in researching pieces are listed in a "further reading" section at the end of the article.

Pieces on Genre Writing: Memoirs, Historical Novels, Mysteries, the Short Story, Creative Nonfiction are examples of the range of advice and short cuts covered in these articles.

The inquisitive writer, even the most experienced one, will undoubtedly find surprises and new insights here. From taking the slack out of your writing to the use of setting to indicate character, and from addressing writer's block to "I Is Not Me," I challenge anyone to read this book and, when finished, to tell me he or she has not encountered some new concept.

THE BEST OF NOVEL ADVICE is novel (meaning unique) and contains some of the finest advice for writers that you'll find between two covers. I'm proud to be part of it.

5.0 out of 5 stars Many hints, many helps, December 28, 2003

By 

Joanna Daneman (Middletown, DE USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Best of Novel Advice (Paperback)

From Sunnye Tiedemann's "How to Write an Anecdote" and "How to Create a Villain" to "Where to Start" by Caro Clark, this volume has a wealth of treats for the writer. If you are doing any kind of creative writing, this book is like a toolbox, filled with helpful devices to improve your work. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED