Spider, Spin Me A Web: A Handbook for Fiction Writers [Paperback]

Lawrence Block (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 17, 1996

The craft of writing is a lot like spinning a web: You take threads and weave them skillfully together, and only you know where this intricate network of twists and turns begin and how it will end. Now, with Lawrence Bloock's expert advice, you can learn this art of entrapping your reader in a maze of facinating fiction.

Spider, Spin Me a Web is the perfect companion volume to Block's previous book on writing, Telling Lies for Fun and Profit, which Sue Grafton noted "should be a permanent part of every writer's library." As helpful and supportive as always, Block shares what he's learned over the course of writing over one hundred published books: techniques to help you to write a solid piece of fiction; strategies for getting a reader (or editor) to reaad—and buy—your book; ideas for increasing your creativity and developing an environment that will nourish you and your craft.

Spider, Spin Me a Web is a complete guide to achieving your full potential as awriter.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The short essays included in Spider, Spin Me a Web were culled from Lawrence Block's long-running monthly column about fiction writing for Writer's Digest magazine. Block, an incredibly prolific mystery writer with more than 50 books to his name (at one point he was writing more than a book a month!), employs a funny, conversational tone in addressing issues of technique, career strategy, and living the fictioneer's life. He uses the analogy of the fiction writer as web spinner to hold the many threads of his book together. "The writer of fiction," he says, "is a spider. Drawing upon his inner resources and shaping them with his craft, he spins out his guts to trap his dinner." Block strikes a realistic balance between writing for oneself ("write what you yourself would most identify with, write honestly and unsparingly and fearlessly") and writing with readers in mind ("I try," he quotes his colleague Elmore Leonard as saying, "to leave out the parts people skip"). Though Block's success has been mainly as a writer of mysteries, his wisdom applies to all fiction writing; in fact, he is suspicious of the whole concept of genre writing. "For all that their guidelines attempt to codify their requirements," he confides, "I have heard no end of editors say that the manuscript they most hope to find on their desks is the one that breaks all their own unbreakable rules--but that grabs them so hard and moves them so much that they have to buy it anyway."

Review

"It takes the steady hand of a cool pro to monitor the erratic pulsebeat of New York City...Block has the offhand grace to make it look easy." -- -- The New York Times

"One of the best writers now working the beat" -- -- The Wall Street Journal

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Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (July 17, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688146902
• ISBN-13: 978-0688146900
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #801,801 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lawrence Block (b. 1938) is the recipient of a Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America and an internationally renowned bestselling author. His prolific career spans over one hundred books, including four bestselling series as well as dozens of short stories, articles, and books on writing. He has won four Edgar and Shamus Awards, two Falcon Awards from the Maltese Falcon Society of Japan, the Nero and Philip Marlowe Awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Private Eye Writers of America, and the Cartier Diamond Dagger from the Crime Writers Association of the United Kingdom. In France, he has been awarded the title Grand Maitre du Roman Noir and has twice received the Societe 813 trophy.

Born in Buffalo, New York, Block attended Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Leaving school before graduation, he moved to New York City, a locale that features prominently in most of his works. His earliest published writing appeared in the 1950s, frequently under pseudonyms, and many of these novels are now considered classics of the pulp fiction genre. During his early writing years, Block also worked in the mailroom of a publishing house and reviewed the submission slush pile for a literary agency. He has cited the latter experience as a valuable lesson for a beginning writer.

Block's first short story, "You Can't Lose," was published in 1957 in Manhunt, the first of dozens of short stories and articles that he would publish over the years in publications including American Heritage, Redbook, Playboy, Cosmopolitan, GQ, and the New York Times. His short fiction has been featured and reprinted in over eleven collections including Enough Rope (2002), which is comprised of eighty-four of his short stories.

In 1966, Block introduced the insomniac protagonist Evan Tanner in the novel The Thief Who Couldn't Sleep. Block's diverse heroes also include the urbane and witty bookseller--and thief-on-the-side--Bernie Rhodenbarr; the gritty recovering alcoholic and private investigator Matthew Scudder; and Chip Harrison, the comical assistant to a private investigator with a Nero Wolfe fixation who appears in No Score, Chip Harrison Scores Again, Make Out with Murder, and The Topless Tulip Caper. Block has also written several short stories and novels featuring Keller, a professional hit man. Block's work is praised for his richly imagined and varied characters and frequent use of humor.

A father of three daughters, Block lives in New York City with his second wife, Lynne. When he isn't touring or attending mystery conventions, he and Lynne are frequent travelers, as members of the Travelers' Century Club for nearly a decade now, and have visited about 150 countries.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent resource for writers, May 25, 2000

By 

Dr. Amanda DeWees - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spider, Spin Me A Web: A Handbook for Fiction Writers (Paperback)

Along with Block's _Telling Lies for Fun and Profit_, this is a book I've found indispensable over the years. It's not only tremendously helpful and encouraging for me as a writer, but it's also, like all of Block's work, sheer fun to read. Block's writing on writing is particularly engaging because he gives the impression of addressing a friend and colleague, offering the benefit of his experience for what it's worth, without talking down to his audience or intimidating with a judgmental list of must-dos and must-nots (like some tyrannical authors of books on writing). Block never condescends, and he always acknowledges that writers work in different ways (sometimes, in fact, different books work in different ways), so that the would-be writer feels free to take away only what works for him or her, without obligation to learn to write The Block Way.

While I find _Telling Lies_ even more helpful during the writing process, _Spider_ offers a fuller menu for the writer: not only does Block address specific tools of writing like foreshadowing, mining life experiences, and background information, but he also tackles some bigger issues about writing routines, marketing one's work, what to expect from editors, and the best ways to become successful. He also gives solid practical advice on more "advanced" writing issues for those who have established themselves and may be facing specific dilemmas regarding ghostwriting, living on a writer's income, and other realities of the writing life (not forgetting the harshest reality: rejection). And for those in a philosophical mood, he looks at the writer's mindset: how to set a writing goal, how to achieve it, and even how to determine what kind of writer you are.

Altogether, _Spider_ is a refreshing combination of down-to-earth conversation about the nuts and bolts side of writing and serious thoughts on the more elusive questions liable to bedevil the writer. It's a great resource whether you need a pep talk to get started, find yourself bogged down during your writing, or just want to get the perspective of a lively mind on the whole writing life. I advise every fiction writer to keep a copy on her desk.

5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars How To Writers Book, July 21, 2003

By 

iqhope "Dawn Boyer" (Virginia Beach, VA USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Spider, Spin Me a Web (Hardcover)

This book was written by one of the most prolific writers of our age-Lawrence Block. While I haven't read many of his fiction books, I have read a few of his 'how-to write' books.

He does have a conversational tone in his 'how to write' books, so you have to plow through a lot of verbage to get to the good points. I think that was basically to flesh out the book to bring it up to 250 pages.

If you can read fast and get through the extra verbage, this book does have some very good points to keep in mind when writing a book of Fiction, which if you use, would make your own story more interesting.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very supportive of new writers, September 5, 2007

By 

Christine Powell (McMurdo Station, Antarctica) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spider, Spin Me A Web: A Handbook for Fiction Writers (Paperback)

I absolutely adore this book and it has a special place in my heart; mainly because I found it in the street, battered and face down, in front of my house only days after I flushed out the story line for my very first book. Providence is alive and well!

Although Lawrence Block's literary subject matters falls outside my area of interest, I found the content of his book to touch upon most if not all the of the areas I had questions about. Relating some of the experiences he has had with writing has made me feel more relaxed and at ease with my own.