Customer Reviews

Novel Ideas: Contemporary Authors

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In NOVEL IDEAS, twenty-three literary novelists interviewed by the authors share their writing experiences. They reveal how their novels developed or "gathered," the relative importance of characters versus plot, whether or not they knew the ending before they wrote it, and the extent to which they used an outline or simply started writing without knowing what their characters were going to do.

There is good stuff here for anyone curious about the literary fiction writing process, but don't expect to discover a magic formula. There were only two consistencies amongst the 23 authors. First, that characters drive fiction and the invention of characters precedes the development of plot. Second, although nearly every one of the authors interviewed had an MFA (or PhD) in writing, none thought that the MFA itself helped them become writers. These authors became successful writers by writing. The value of the MFA, for them, was the contiguous time dedicated to writing and the association with other writers.

After nearly five years, I recently finished my first novel. I cannot tell you that my struggle would have been easier had I read NOVEL IDEAS first, but I certainly enjoyed reading it afterwards. Read this book if you are interested in the truth about the process of writing literary fiction, which is evidently quite different from writing genre fiction.

What a breath of fresh air in a market that is flooded with books that offer formulas for writing and getting published! Instead, Novel Ideas offers the reader real life experiences of those who have gone before them and lived to tell. Those of us struggling with the writing life will find solace in the words of those interviewed and guidance in the chapter text itself. It was like having the modern version of the Algonquin roundtable at my fingertips!

There are many works that seek to compile interviews with writers, but none I have found approach them from this unique angle. Rather than have the authors muse over a variety of topics and soliciting the same stock responses, Margaret-Love Denman and Barbara Shoup--like all good writers--have a singular, distinct focus: inquiring into the artistic process of some of America's finest artists. The answers they receive are therefore both focused, informative, and encouraging to anyone who is curious about the many things that go into the making of art, and the variety of ways that writers achieve what they set out to do.

This is an incredibly real, wonderful book about the craft of novel writing featuring interviews with many different writers. I had published 3 novels with a major publisher and won a national award, and then became quite stuck;I couldn't finish anything in good enough form. This book helped immensely; every problem I faced artistically was discussed by one novelist or another. I felt as if I were sitting around a round table of peers and friends, talking through difficulties in the craft and celebrating its joys. NOVEL IDEAS was very important in helping me over the bump. My copy is dog-earred and much underlined. Many thanks to the authors!

As I am a novice writer with a story that needs to be told, I found myself mired and needing assistance. I purchased "Novel Ideas" to be my guide. I found the ideas and suggestions presented to be exactly what I needed. After I completed reading the authors' suggestions and the many personal stories by recognized writers, I had a feeling of confidence in my story and myself. I used that inspiration to restart my novel from page one, making important changes, deletions and additions. I am now half-way into the story with no thought of stopping. Whether my completed novel will be published or not, "Novel Ideas" will get the credit for providing my inspiration to write.

I admit I have a lot of books on writing....but this book really is exceptional! If you can only afford a handful of books on the craft- this should be one of them! Highly recommended.