How to Write a Damn Good Novel: A Step-by-Step No Nonsense Guide to Dramatic Storytelling (Hardcover)

by James N. Frey (Author) "IF YOU can't create characters that are vivid in the reader's imagination, you can't create a damn good novel..." (more)
Key Phrases: homo fictus, damn good novel, jumping conflict, Humbert Humbert, Big Nurse, Uncle Wilmont (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"At last. A damn good how-to book about writing a novel. Practical, down to earth, easily assimilated advice, presented with humor and authority."—Irma Ruth Walker, author of Air Force Wives

"Frey has the genius of a true teacher: a thorough knowledge of his subject, combined with the ability to entertain while communicating that knowledge. This book has practical adviuce for serious writers."—Donna Levin, author of Extraordinary Means

"Superb. The kind of book that should be kept by every author next to the typewriter. Frey not only includes the basics of good writing, but the invaluable hints of how to add depth and texture to a novel. Inspiring and clear, the book gives detailed examples of common pitfalls and how to correct them . . . Not only instructive but pleasurable."—Alla Crone, author of Winds Over Manchuria and East Lies the Sun
-- Review

Review

"At last. A damn good how-to book about writing a novel. Practical, down to earth, easily assimilated advice, presented with humor and authority."—Irma Ruth Walker, author of Air Force Wives

"Frey has the genius of a true teacher: a thorough knowledge of his subject, combined with the ability to entertain while communicating that knowledge. This book has practical adviuce for serious writers."—Donna Levin, author of Extraordinary Means

"Superb. The kind of book that should be kept by every author next to the typewriter. Frey not only includes the basics of good writing, but the invaluable hints of how to add depth and texture to a novel. Inspiring and clear, the book gives detailed examples of common pitfalls and how to correct them . . . Not only instructive but pleasurable."—Alla Crone, author of Winds Over Manchuria and East Lies the Sun

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; 1st edition (December 15, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312010443
• ISBN-13: 978-0312010447
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (96 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #7,828 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

132 of 134 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Most Practical Manual on Fiction Writing, July 12, 2000

By A Customer

James Frey, where were you when I was taking all those creative writing workshops back in college? His insistence on the Three C's of Premise (character, conflict and conclusion) says it all. He offers practical, down-to-earth advice on writing fiction you will not find in most of the college creative writing workshops, which naturally are mainly taught by very artistic, literary-oriented writer/instructors who do not believe in the validity of Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Michael Crichton or any other best-selling, "commerical" authors.

If you want to write fiction that sells to the masses, at the same time use all the necessary literary conventions used by even the most Pulitzer-winner writers, this book is for you. Frey cannot in the thin volume of this book make you into a writer. What he does is give you a fast, concise rundown on the main techniques that are critical to the story, as well as ways to avoid pitfalls. Every good novel from my experience, whether it be a critically-acclaimed "literary" piece or a commercial bestseller, contains the elements discussed in the book.

If you're in to pretentious books on writing, books that are geared toward English Literature majors, this book is not for you. If you want hard, practical easy reading manual on that silly enjoyable thing you love doing (writing fiction), this book is must for you.

205 of 212 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great steps for getting from A to Z, September 22, 2002

By	Michael Bird (Yorba Linda, CA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

How to Write a Damn Good Novel is a fairly quick read and although studious, it doesn't read too much like a text book. I've noticed that some writing books tend to be very dry and sound like they were written by a teacher, like Bickham's writing books. This work is a considerably better than that. Some tend to be more friendly and fun to read like King's "On Writing" and to a lesser extent "The First Five Pages".

One thing I've noticed is that advice can be at polar ends and yet still sound like it is good genuine advice.

Frey recommends using a very structured route to completing a novel. You must have a premise. Write character bios. Complete a step sheet. Know where you are going. The key to writing a salable novel is too write a certain amount every day following the guide lines and rules. Follow them and you will succeed. For a writer that is going to follow this route I'd also recommend the book "Writing the Blockbuster Novel" as it gives some great examples of structuring a big novel. It also gives examples of an actual outline used in a Follet novel, which I thought was very informative. I recommend both of these books.

Stephen King's "On Writing" tells some of his life story and also tells how he writes his books. He describes writing a fictional novel as being like a palentologist digging up bones; the story is already there, it exists in total and the writers job is to dig it up without destroying all the fragile and delicate pieces. King doesn't mention in his book on writing anything about a premise, a step sheet, writing character bios or even knowing the outcome of the story. He mentions that in the writing of "The Green Mile" he didn't even know if the central character John Coffey was going to live or die. One might just say that he is a genius so the rules don't apply. Perhaps.

Another good book that seems to be in conflict to Frey's work is "Immediate Fiction". In this book we are told to start writing. Write. Write. Write. Ok, I get it. Write something.

I think that a melding of the two approaches could probably work very well. Write as much as you can with the basic idea that you have. Write a lot. Then look at the work as if you were following one of the more structured techniques. Does it work? Did you break the rules or seem to follow them instinctively?

I am going to strongly suggest that the beginning writer like myself read a few different types of writing books. I read various reviews and ordered a bunch of books based on what books received some decent reviews. Some of those are listed here. I would also recommend staying away from the more dry, teacher sounding type books, at least at first. There are harder to read, not as fun and don't really say anything different from the others.

How to Write a Damn Good Novel has received lots of good comments, and I concur, it is a very good book and highly recommend.

156 of 162 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you're a writer, don't ask, just buy this., June 1, 2001

By	E. Dunn - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I had this idea that I'd write for a long, long time. I would jot down this or that, and then forget about my idea. I'd attempt to keep at it, but without any real plan. Well, this book changed my life.

In the two months since I've read this book, I've written over 50,000 words. Granted, much of that is background material and draft, but frankly, this book moved me. It gave me direction, inspiration, and a healthy dose of reality.

Now, don't be mistaken, Frey is not going to teach you all the grammatical rules you're going to need to know. He's not going to go into great detail about characteriztion, voice, plot etc. However, he will cover all of these, and organize them to a conceivable whole. He offers realism in what to expect out of writing.

His tone is light, engaging, and very easy to read. I've already read the book twice, and referred to it, when reading other people's writing.

Simply put, if you ever plan on writing a novel, READ THIS BOOK.