Elements of Writing Fiction - Beginnings, Middles & Ends (Elements of Fiction Writing) (Paperback)

by Nancy Kress (Author) "There's a story in your heador maybe just the start of a story..." (more)
Key Phrases: Jurassic Park, Bonfire of the Vanities, Gone With the Wind (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Covering the main elements of fiction writing, Beginnings, Middles & Ends demonstrates effective solutions for potential problems, from how to hook the editor in the 1st few paragraphs to building drama and credibililty in prose.'

Product Details

• Paperback: 149 pages
• Publisher: Writers Digest Books (March 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0898799058
• ISBN-13: 978-0898799057
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #48,891 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

104 of 110 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extremely Helpful, Very Practical, No Nonsense, December 16, 2001

By	A. Wolverton (Crofton, MD United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

After reading "Beginnings, Middles and Ends," any beginning writer will have many of the tools needed to put together a good story or novel. Kress takes the reader through a step-by-step process that makes you think, "It's so simple. Why didn't I think of that?" It's so simple because Kress has expertly targeted the areas that most writers have trouble with and has offered workable solutions. Her writing is very clear and readable. The examples and exercises alone are worth the price of the book. If you are interested in writing fiction and can only buy one book, this is the one.

72 of 75 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best in this series, July 4, 2000

By	Eldonna Bouton "http://www.whole-heart.com" (author of, "Journaling from the Heart.") - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

My favorite in this series, this book is the definitive source in describing how important each part of your book is to the overall story. I ended up re-writing the first three chapters of my novel based on the author's excellent advice. She gives specific examples of how to grab the reader from the very first sentence, keep him/her reading the first few pages, and holding their attention all the way to the climax. A must for any writer's library.

41 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you want to write, you need this book, August 14, 2002

By	chemikalguy "chemikalguy" (Durham, NC USA) - See all my reviews

The further into this book I read, the more impressed I become with Nancy Kress.

Many people don't understand the mechanics involved in writing a story. She "sits" the reader down and explains the best way to start a story from the first sentence. She then goes into the first scene, and even into the second scene! She explains the things necessary to include in a good opening, and also gives examples of poor ones. I find this approach to be the best way to hammer home the ideas.

She then goes into 'middles,' and later 'ends' of stories, and explains the best ways not to [upset] off your reader, by having a story, for example, where you spend six hundred pages falling in love with the main character, only to have him killed off on the last page for no reason. You pulled the old "bait and switch"!Your next book, having not even been published, just lost a reader!

I would rather have this book, than almost any other in my rather large collection.