Customer Reviews

You Can Write A Novel Kit

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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.

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

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.

If you actually want to get writing, this book is for you.

This book isn't a mystical cheerlead on the gift of writing, or a drawn-out analysis on the basic elements of fiction. This book is all about seat-in-the-chair/fingers-on-the-keyboard process! And not a long, drawn-out process of lengthy character biographies and overwhelming multi-page outlines. Too many books obsess over "the writing before the writing." This book is all about getting focused and then getting writing.

If you're ready to really produce something - not just dream about it - this book will help you do it.

I was skeptical till I tried it and surprised to found out how easy it was to get started! It's an excellent value - one of the most practical and useful books on novel writing that I own - and a definite keeper.

NOTE: THE ABOVE IS ONLY ABOUT THE *FIRST* EDITION. FOR THE 2ND EDITION, KEEP READING.

A disappointing rewrite. The first edition used old-school index cards and file folders, creating a portable, flexible system. Plus, he used a 10-scene strategy to quickly build the skeleton of the novel's plot.

All that is gone with this edition, and in fact, this book is now only for Word users, since it relies heavily on Word's "outline" view (a feature not currently available in OpenOffice or Google Docs). I'm glad I kept my old copy, as I think some of his improvements have left this method a little less accessible than previously.

This is the first book I have read about writing a novel that explains in simple, applicable terms what a novel is; what New York is looking for; and how to write a novel. Had I had access to this book earlier, I would have saved myself years -- literally -- of wasted energy and fruitless hopes. Clearly, as the author points out, there are exceptions to the clear-cut rules in this book. But if you're one of the gifted few who meet those exceptions, you don't need this book. For the rest of us, it's a must-read if you want to publish -- as opposed to write -- a novel.

I have read about 15 "writing a novel" type books, and claim to have read all the "best" books out there. This 132-page book by J. Smith is decidedly different. Not only did I find the book inspirational, but very to the point, and with great ideas to get started, to keep going, and to finish your novel.

I already owned the Fiction Writer's Brainstormer by the same author when I came across this little reference. Pound for pound, this is the most succinct, most helpful book on writing advice I've ever seen or even heard about.

The system of cards and checklists shortens my reference shelf by about 14 other books that tell too many personal writer's war stories and spend so much time philosophizing about writing as art. In contrast, Smith says, "It ain't art, it's bidness." This little package is all business. It's full of punch and no puff. Like The Elements of Style, it will be close at hand to guide you through the process of putting a novel together.

Put it beside the Brainstormer and you'll have all the writing reference you need to finish a novel: The blueprint, short and sweet, and the motivation/creativity primer.

The checklist for editing a finished novel alone is worth the price of the book - 40 or so steps you must not fail to take before you send off a manuscript.

This one's a keeper!!!

This is the only book on writing that I've ever found to be remotely useful. It leads you from your little concept to a full manuscript in a straightforward and enjoyable manner. It's gotten so much use I actually had to replace my copy recently.

This book is an excellent step-by-step guide to writing a novel. Smith covers all the necessary steps from coming up with a good idea to selling your manuscript. He gives clear and detailed instructions right down to the recommended size of the index cards you should make notes on.

He also includes 40 Cardinal Rules throughout the book. Rule # 1 is "Never be boring..." and my favorite, Rule #2 is "Every writing rule in the book has an exception--except rule #1"

This book contains a lot of useful information for an inexperienced writer. Some will benefit from the very detailed, prescriptive approach. E.g. he says to write a 5x8 card for each major charcater and a 3x5 card for each minor charcater in your book listing their physical traits, goals and motivations, etc. I found this too mechanical, but it does force a writer to consider details that will likely make a novel better.

Overall, I found the book to be helpful and well worth reading.

This book is great because it offers many unusual alternatives to approaching a novel, and helps the first-time novelist organize all of his thoughts and focus on the task at hand. Keep in mind you do not have to agree with or do everything he says, but it may be wise to at least be mindful of the points he presents. This book is valuable because it breaks down the overwhelming task of writing a novel into realistic procedures.