Most Helpful Customer Reviews
70 of 72 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Endings First, February 28, 2004
I'd like to add to the many reviews of You Can Write a Novel by bringing up what I consider to be the best advice in the book--the best advice I've received in a long time. Smith advises you to write the ending first. Instead of starting at the beginning, typing thousands of words, suddenly finding yourself lost, then, naturally, abandoning the project, you're advised to plot your novel ahead of time. Then you're to begin writing at the best part, the end. By writing a strong climax early on, you will clearly see where your novel is going, and you will be able to foreshadow effectively. Honestly, this one professional tidbit has helped me to finish my first story in a long time (a short story, granted, but the advice crosses over). Smith shows you how to zoom out and see your novel as a whole, to write it out of order--always tackling the parts that inspire you most, first, above all others--and to fill in the lesser scenes later. It almost makes writing fun. (Many of us don't write for fun, but out of compulsion.) I'm currently reading another book about novel writing that's twice as long and less than half as effective. You Can Write a Novel by James Smith is short, HELPFUL, and enjoyable. This guy wields words with humor and authority. He makes me want to write a novel, which previously I'd feared. I couldn't imagine how to tackle such a project. He'll make you beleive that you can, too.
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37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A novel approach on writing novels, December 10, 2005
Since I am about three-fourths done with the first draft to my novel, it's too late to take all his advice. As you may have gathered from other reviews, Smith takes a very practical and logical approach to writing. Organizing everything up front. It should make your writing clearer and more focused. It involves a series of cards for each character and scene in your book. Larger cards for larger scenes and characters of greater importance. I will write my next book based on this system.
Other invaluable advice he gives involves what to do once you finished the first draft. And it is up to date requiring word processors. He shows you how to do searches and look up offending words and types of words. In a word, brilliant.
In fact, he gives you no less then thirty-five items to go through for the revision stage. All of them valuable. Perhaps some of the most compact, yet best advice I have seen. Remember, the only thing between your novel and a best seller, is in the revision. These thirty-five steps will shine your work to brilliance! Go for it.
In short, if you haven't started your new novel yet, don't be a moron, buy this book and be signing your own books and a year or so. If you are part way through your present novel. Kick yourself for not buying this book first, buy it and use the editing section. This book goes on my shelf as a must read.
PS This book is yet another home run from "Writer's Digest Books" who is in my mind the premier source of fine how to write books.
PPS My short list of must reads:
The First Five Pages, Noah Lukeman
Writing the Breakout Novel, Donald Mass
45 Master CHaracters, Victoria Lynn Schmidt
Dialogue, Gloria Kempton
Description & Setting, Ron Rozelle
Scene & Structure, Jack M. Bickham
You Can Write a Novel, James V. Smith Jr.
PPPS My short list of stinkers that slipped through:
Creating Character Emotions, Ann Hood
Writing Dialogue, Tom Chiarella
Theme & Strategy, Ronald B. Tobias
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24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Be honest. You need help., September 4, 2001
To all would-be novelists: do you need help? Is there a first line, or a first chapter, lurking in your desk drawer, waiting for your ideas to gel? Maybe scraps of ideas written on envelopes and napkins? Get organized. This book is what you need. James V. Smith covers all necessary aspects of writing novel-length fiction, up to and including a unique way to organize characters and scenes on index cards, keeping all your info available when you need it. Then, beyond the mechanical help, Smith gives you practical advice on the creative process. Learn how to revise by eliminating text; exactly how many main characters a well-crafted novel has in population; how to make those characters believable, and the reader care about them; how to start and keep going until you finish. It's as good as a fiction workshop priced at ten times the price of this book.
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