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Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook [Paperback]

Donald Maass (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews) |
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Book Description

Publication Date: June 14, 2004

Make Your Novel Stand Out from the Crowd!

Noted literary agent and author Donald Maass has done it again! His previous book, Writing the Breakout Novel, offered novelists of all skill levels and genres insider advice on how to make their books rise above the competition and succeed in a crowded marketplace.

Now, building on the success of its predecessor, Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook calls that advice into action! This powerful book presents the patented techniques and writing exercises from Maass's popular writing workshops to offer novelists first-class instruction and practical guidance. You'll learn to develop and strengthen aspects of your prose with sections on:

  • Building plot layers
  • Creating inner conflict
  • Strengthening voice and point of view
  • Discovering and heightening larger-than-life character qualities
  • Strengthening theme
  • And much more!
Maass also carefully dissects examples from real-life breakout novels so you'll lean how to read and analyze fiction like a writer. With authoritative instruction and hands-on workbook exercises, Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook is one of the most accessible novel-writing guides available.

Set your work-in progress apart from the competition and write your own breakout novel today!

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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Donald Maass as a leading literary agent, represents more than 100 fiction writers and sells more than 100 novels per year to top publishers in North America and overseas. He is the author of 14 pseudonymous novels and the books The Career Novelist and Writing the Breakout Novel.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 240 pages
  • Publisher: Writers Digest Books (June 14, 2004)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 158297263X
  • ISBN-13: 978-1582972633
  • Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.5 x 0.6 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #30,041 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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More About the Author

› Visit Amazon's Donald Maass Page
Donald Maass
Donald Maass is the author of more than 16 novels. He now works as a literary agent, representing dozens of novelists in the SF, fantasy, crime, mystery, romance and thriller categories. He speaks at writer's conferences throughout the country and lives in New York City.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
161 of 165 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
If you have "Writing the Breakout Novel," you don't really need the workbook. If you don't, this might be enough. It condenses "Writing the Breakout Novel." Each chapter deals with a topic (such as Exposition or Characterization) with some "workbook" pages at the end of each. The workbook exercises are basically questions with blanks (as opposed to charts or tables), which could just as easily be accommodated at the end of any book.

You certainly don't need both books. In either case, neither book will take you from idea to finished product. More accurately, both expect that you at least already have a work-in-progress, so an accurate title would be "REVISING the Breakout Novel."

I bought both books and I would suggest only one or the other. If you want some in-depth on topics, buy the book. If you want just the essence and a few questions for thought, buy the workbook.
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76 of 76 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Donald Maass is a New York literary agent who seems to spend as much time promoting himself as he does his clients. Maass also does workshops on novel writing throughout the country, and this book, a companion publication for the more-in-depth WRITING THE BREAKOUT NOVEL, incorporates some of the exercises he assigns during those workshops.

I have read dozens of writing books over the years; just about always I glean some valuable nuggets from each of them. Maass's workbook is no different. For instance, he suggests that the beginning novelist put off back story as long as possible to add tension and suspense. Maass stresses THERE CAN'T BE TOO MUCH TENSION in a novel. He suggests the writer add tension on every page!

Another segment I found useful was his section on plot development. He recommends using layers and subplots to add texture and believability to your work. Subplots are plot lines given to characters other than the protagonist; layers are additonal plot lines given to the main character. He uses Mystic River as an example. Sean Devine is a homicide cop who must investigate the murder of his boyhood friend Jimmy Marcus's daughter; his wife has also left him, taking their baby daughter with her; he also flashes back to the day when the principal suspect, Dave Boyle, was kidnapped by child molesters while he and Jimmy stood by and watched.

Maass reinforces his advice by furnishing a sample outline in an appendix. He insists that every novelist, whether he uses an outline in actual practice or not, must provide one for a possible agent or film producer eventually anyway, so he might as well learn how to do one.

Beginning writers should understand that writers never quit learning and that they should continually practice their craft. Baseball players and piano players practice continually, why not novelists? WRITING THE BREAKOUT NOVEL WORKBOOK will help you practice and head off possible mistakes.
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56 of 56 people found the following review helpful
By Reader
Format:Paperback
Since he published Writing the Breakout Novel in 2001, Maass has taught a seminar of the same name at many writers conferences, and naturally learned from these experiences. The original book is here expanded by nearly three dozen exercises, which seem quite sensible, not hokey as are some by other teachers I've read.

I own the Breakout book and just now am comparing the workbook that I checked out of the local library. They're not the same, not by a long shot, despite what one reviewer here says. Though many sections have identical headers (such as Inner Conflict), they are completely rewritten, using different examples. The original book is 259 pages of 6x9, the workbook is 230 pp. of 8-1/2x11 format, thus it is by no means a condensation as TheCafeWriter asserts, and the original book is not necessarily more "in-depth." Some sections are, some aren't. The structure is substantially rearranged. Yet the concepts and the really fundamental points -- keep your story charged with tension, and so on -- do remain identical. These are essentially two complementary treatments of the same material by the same author

Maass asks his seminar participants to bring their in-process novels to perform exercises on, so the workbook is particularly useful if you are well into writing a novel already. With the discipline of the exercises, Maass teaches you to be your own draft doctor.

For me, there appear to be easily enough new perspectives and ideas here to warrant buying the workbook even though I have read the original and have it on my bookshelf.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
NOT JUST ANOTHER WRITING BOOK
Donald Maass has written a book for writers that really does help! And the workbook is the best part, a chance to dive in and apply his ideas to your own work. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Susan Gregg Gilmore
A booby trap
A non-fiction author should divulge his true premise up front. Maass does not. The essence of Maass' premise is that the plot is unnecessary. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Robert Louis
A good source for inspiration
I previously purchased WRITING THE BREAKOUT NOVEL. The workbook was recommended by an instructor at the University of Wisconsin novel writing clinic in November. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Fred M.
Makes you plan, think and plot
Excellent guide for writing a novel, whether your first, second, third, etc. Love the exercises. They really make you think! Read more
Published 9 months ago by L. Jones
Great idea, great book.
I love this book because it has given me exactly what I wanted when I finished a first draft of my novel. Read more
Published 12 months ago by writer christopher
A tool for a revisionist
For anyone who has finished their first draft or is planning to write a novel this book is a must. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Jerilyn Ring
Exactly what I was looking for...
Very pleased with the book. The workbook provides very straight forward advice and suggestions, it was exactly what I needed to help me rethink my focus, characters, etc. Read more
Published 19 months ago by D. Allen
A great guide
This is a great gide to writing a book. I was stuck writing my novel and needed a few pointers to help me along. I found a wealth of information in this book to use. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Leah
FINISHED, OR WRITING IN PROGRESS?
Maass' workbook is terrific. My only problem while using it was that Maass intended for it to serve both as a companion piece as you write your novel, or as a workbook afterward. Read more
Published 22 months ago by W. S. Olsen
Good solid writing exercises to increase tension in your scenes
The workbook definitely has some good and solid, yet simple, exercises to increase the tension in each and every scene - part of Maass' view of what is in a breakout novel. Read more
Published on April 22, 2010 by Rich
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Miss Julia, New York, Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook, South Carolina, The Ghost, Anita Blake, Crystal City, Gossip Girl, Nathan Price, Sheila Rogers, Three Oaks, Joe Morelli, Northern Union, Salem Falls, Sullivan's Island, Artemis Fowl, Carolina Moon, Dave Boyle, Dennis Lehane, Hattie Durham, Katie Marcus, Nora Roberts, Pastor Ledbetter, Richard Russo, Sam Murdoch
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