Telling Lies for Fun & Profit: A Manual for Fiction Writers (Paperback)

by Lawrence Block (Author) "A COUPLE of months ago I returned to Antioch College to teach an intensive week-long seminar on fictional technique..." (more)
Key Phrases: creative plagiarism, creative procrastination, voluntary suspension, New York, Writer's Digest, Bernie Rhodenbarr (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
It's a good thing Lawrence Block is so friendly and generous with his writing advice. Otherwise, you'd just have to hate the guy. After all, it took him a mere two weeks to write his first novel. He was still a teenager at the time, and he promptly sold it to Fawcett, the first publisher to see it. What can a guy like that tell the rest of us about fiction writing that could possibly apply to our lives? Lots, actually. Telling Lies for Fun & Profit comprises four years' worth of Block's monthly fiction-writing column from Writer's Digest magazine. In it, Block turns his witty, welcoming prose to many aspects of the writing life, including collaboration, which Block maintains he does "largely as a means of avoiding work"; speed writing (surprise: "Sometimes a book or story will be better for having been written more rapidly"); the benefits of using strong verbs; and the importance of good character names.

As one might expect from a man who seems to have such a facile way with the typewriter, Block can make writing seem a lot easier than it does in real life. "If you write one page a day," he says, "you will produce a substantial novel in a year.... Don't you figure you could produce one measly little page, even on a bad day? Even on a rotten day?"

Still, just because he's published about, oh, 50 books, don't think Block considers novel writing to be all fun and profit. "Those of us who are driven to produce great quantities of manuscript don't necessarily get any real pleasure out of the act," he says. "It's just that we feel worse when we don't write." --Jane Steinberg

Product Description
"I would urge other writers, at whatever point in their careers, to take the time to read this indispensable handbook....Telling Lies for Fun & Profit should be a permanent part of every writer's library."-- From the Introduction by Sue Grafton

Characters refusing to talk? Plot plodding along? Where do good ideas come from anyway? In this wonderfully practical volume, two-time Edgar Award-winning novelist Lawrence Block takes an inside look at writing as a craft and as a career.

From studying the market, to mastering self-discipline and "creative procrastination," through coping with rejections, Telling Lies for Fun & Profit is an invaluable sourcebook of information. It is a must read for anyone serious about writing or understanding how the process works.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks (February 25, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688132286
• ISBN-13: 978-0688132286
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #366,262 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very inspiring collection of essays, February 20, 2002

By	Craig Clarke (New England) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

There are two books on writing that I always keep on hand: this one and Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury. I can always depend on them to inspire me to write more when my momentum has flagged for whatever reason, usually insecurity.

I really like Block's conversational style. I know this is cliche, but I often feel as if he could be speaking directly to me and addressing my own problems. I find this, among other things, to be very comforting, thus allowing me to let go and just write.

He presents simple solutions to common problems, also inspiring me to go try them out, having never approached the problem in that way before.

I find this book to be very useful in my quest to be a writer, as he seems to have had the same problems I do. This sends the positive message that these problems are universal, and all you have to do is work your way through them, because ALL writers have the same issues to deal with. Also very comforting.

I would recommend this book to anyone struggling with the need to write but not finding the nerve to just settle down and do it; and also for anyone else just needing a little boost.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Writer's Block You Can Use..., November 28, 2001

By	Earl Merkel "earl" (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

Very simply, anyone who wishes to write professionally should read --and preferably, commit to memory-- every page of this collection of both practical how-to advice and sage philosophizing on the art of storytelling.  Sue Grafton
says she re-reads this book before commencing work on her next novel; better advice would be hard to come by for anyone who dares to commit fiction-writing.

I stumbled on the Block's book as I was writing my first two novels, FLU SEASON and LIKE DISTANT CITIES BURNING

(...)It's no stretch to say he probably deserves a co-byline on both my books, though I'll deny everything if he takes me to court. Still, Block provides any writer with advice and insight one can actually USE.

To quote from the jacket: "Characters refusing to talk? Plot plodding along? Where do good ideas come from, anyway? In this wonderfully practical volume, two-time Edgar Award-winning novelist Lawrence Block takes an inside look at
writing as a craft and as a career.

"From studying the market to mastering self-discipline and 'creative procrastination' through copying with rejections, Telling Lies For Fun & Profit is an invaluable sourcebook of information..."

The book itself is a collection of the fiction columns Block did for Writer's Digest in between penning more than 30 books, many of them bestsellers.

I learned something new on almost every page, and something valuable even more often.

(...)

--Earl Merkel

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great book even if you don't aspire to be a writer, January 21, 2003

By	M. Hamilton - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is a collection of monthly columns that Block had written for a writing magazine. They fit perfectly together to make a book that is easy to recommend to anyone who treasures books, especially fiction.

I loved this book, even though I am more of a reader than a writer. You will learn techniques that an actual writer uses when devising plots, character names, and even titles. Don't expect a cookie-cutter approach to producing a story. Block instead gives you many chapters that are filled with actual examples of work written not only by himself but by other writers. The discussions that accompany these examples are both educational, easily read, and highly entertaining.

I believe the book has made me a much better reader. I can now often sit back and understand just why I didn't like a particular book.