Writer's Little Helper [Hardcover]

Jim Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2, 2006

Big Fiction Advice from a Little Book

There is nothing little about the dynamic fiction-writing advice inside The Writer's Little Helper. With big ideas, time-saving tips, and revision-made-easy charts, James V. Smith, Jr. offers effective guidance in short, easily checklists, Q&As, and practical tools.

This book gives you everything you need to:

• Create great characters



• Maintain a compelling pace



• Craft believable dialogue



• Expand your creativity



• Revise your work to perfection



• Attract agent's and editor's attention



• And much, much more!

The unique format of the book allows you to read from start to finish or to focus just on areas where your fiction needs work. With valuable and surprising tips on every page, The Writer's Little Helper is sure to become your biggest fiction writing aid.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

James V. Smith Jr. is the author of six psychological thrillers and five nonfiction books. The Great Boom Ahead, his collaboration with economist Harry Dent, was an international best-seller. He is also a former feature writer for the Dallas Morning News and the Indianapolis News. He lives in Shelby, Montana.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Writer's Digest Books (February 2, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1582974225
• ISBN-13: 978-1582974224
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.9 x 7.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,007,536 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Good advice, jumbled presentation January 14, 2006

By TheCafeWriter VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Most of the content is a combination of his previous how-to books, "The Fiction Writer's Brainstormer" and "You Can Write A Novel" - both of which I have, use, and highly recommend.

The advice is still excellent - however, it's rather jumbled in its presentation here, following a recent trend of cafeteria-style how-to-write books: you gather a bit here on crafting scenes and a bit there on getting published and little more on characterization. Every two to three pages, the topic changes completely - rather than one idea building directly onto another - and it makes some topics feel incomplete.

For a true beginner, this approach can be confusing. For example, by spreading out his tools for crafting a novel (such as scene cards and character cards), the unity or "big picture" of how they work together is diminished.

I would recommend his other two books first, but "The Writer's Little Helper" is still a sound alternative.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, solid advice April 12, 2006

By A.A

Format:Hardcover

Like most writers, my bookshelves are crammed with books of all kinds. Mostly, books on writing. As a member of the Writer's Digest Book Club, this book was sent to me automatically. I considered sending it back, but thought, What the heck? Might as well peek between the covers. What I found were short, snappy chapters oozing with solid advice. Abadoning any sense of organization, fiction writing topics like "What's the most important key element in bestselling fiction?" and "Texturizing your novel" are scattered throughout. It deals with the normal story elements: plot, pacing, characters, point of view, etc. One of my favorite sections explained how to use Microsoft Word or WordPerfect to edit for readiblility. After finishing those sections, I checked out the advice by browsing a few first chapters of bestselling novels. Sure enough, what Smith said rang true. Another benefital component of this book that it explains how to plot your book in ten easy scenes, goes into detail on how to create scene cards, and how to pace each scene for maximum impact. There are a few things mentioned that you have probably heard before, but I'm willing to bet there's a few nuggets of practical wisdom that will help you polish your work. But my copy isn't available. I've decided to keep it.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Old wine from older bottles March 16, 2006

By Jerome Beck

Format:Hardcover

Smith has authored a series of books on how to write fiction all containing essentially the same material, each separated in time by a couple of years from the last one, and all published by Writers Digest Books with covers which never mention its ancestors.

You can see all the titles by doing an author search on Amazon- just remember that they are essentially the same book.

You don't need them all. Any of them will do and the earlier books are much cheaper. Earlier books also do not suffer from the idiosyncratic manufacturing that mars this book and which other reviewers have commented on.

The book content itself (remember, it's the same as in his earlier technique books)_is interesting and potentially useful.

The 2 stars refer to this book not the series in general.