The Weekend Novelist Writes A Mystery

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Summary: This is a wonderful book.
Review: I use this book all the time and I am working on an outline using this method. I'm hooked on this book. I also have The Weekend Novelist by this same author.

Rating:
Summary: The best book on writing fiction in at least a decade.
Review: In Seattle, Jack Remick and Robert Ray have been developing and teaching these approaches and exercises to understanding plot and character for years. As a professional writer and teacher of writing and I have been waiting for them to be published so that I could use them with my own students without blatantly stealing them. Their approaches to writing fiction are unique in the country, as far as I know. Take the question, what is the resource base and who controls it? The answer affects everything from how one character greets another to why one character kills another. Remick and Ray take you through a step-by-step process of exploring character and building plot using Natalie Goldberg's writing practice techniques as well as brilliant strategies for building an underlying structure. This is not superficial, contrived stuff, it is about getting down to archetypal events like threshhold crossiings and down to archetypal characters like mythic helpers. I was a fiction reader for a literary magazine for five years and I wish I could send every aspiring fiction writer in the country the sections on writing dialogue. Remick and Ray use models of mysteries from The Big Sleep to Gorky Park to a mystery they've written themselves within this book to illustrate every point and strategy. They guide you through writing a mystery novel in 52 weekends, but I recommend it for writers writing nonmystery novels, too, and short stories too.

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Summary: Clean up your act as a mystery writer.
Review: Most aspiring and accomplished writers own at least a modest collection of how-to-write books. The majority of these books are inspirational with a smattering of tips and techniques thrown in.

The Weekend Novelist Writes a Mystery is different.

Step-by-step methods for constructing a tight mystery novel plot with compelling and convincing characters fill every page. Examples of the authors' own novel process along with those of other masters such as Agatha Christie, Martin Cruz Smith, Sue Grafton, and Raymond Chandler illustrate each step.

There are no timid suggestions in vague jargon here. The authors have taken great pains to make sure each and every facet of their combined writing and teaching expertise is explained thoroughly and usefully.

The importance of a solid "backstory" is the focus of early chapters, giving the writer a solid view of their story before moving on to the writing itself. The far too common problem of writing oneself to a standstill is virtually impossible if the plot and characterization techniques are followed. The remainder of the book contains a treasure trove of specific techniques for creating scenes, convincing dialogue, and "real" settings. The reader will learn how to group their scenes into logical "acts", control the story's pace, and use the language to set tone and resonance.

While structured specifically for the mystery writer, the techniques can be applied to other genres with relative ease. Any novelist, whether still aspiring or already accomplished, will find a wealth of insight into the plotting and characterization process. The beginner searching for one all-around USEFUL how-to-write book would do well to pick this one.

This is no-nonsense book crammed with useful, week-by-week projects which will lead the writer to the successful creation of a well-written, satisfying mystery.

The Weekend Novelist Writes a Mystery puts the "HOW" back into the how-to-write book market.

Rating:
Summary: A review of The Weekend Novelist Writes A Mystery
Review: Most aspiring and accomplished writers own at least a modest collection of how-to-write books. The majority of these books are inspirational with a smattering of tips and techniques thrown in.

The Weekend Novelist Writes a Mystery is different.

Step-by-step methods for constructing a tight mystery novel plot with compelling and convincing characters fill every page. Examples of the authors' own novel process along with those of other masters such as Agatha Christie, Martin Cruz Smith, Sue Grafton, and Raymond Chandler illustrate each step.

There are no timid suggestions in vague jargon here. The authors have taken great pains to make sure each and every facet of their combined writing and teaching expertise is explained thoroughly and usefully.

The importance of a solid "backstory" is the focus of early chapters, giving the writer a solid view of their story before moving on to the writing itself. The far too common problem of writing oneself to a standstill is virtually impossible if the plot and characterization techniques are followed. The remainder of the book contains a treasure trove of specific techniques for creating scenes, convincing dialogue, and "real" settings. The reader will learn how to group their scenes into logical "acts", control the story's pace, and use the language to set tone and resonance.

While structured specifically for the mystery writer, the techniques can be applied to other genres with relative ease. Any novelist, whether still aspiring or already accomplished, will find a wealth of insight into the plotting and characterization process. The beginner searching for one all-around USEFUL how-to-write book would do well to pick this one.

This is no-nonsense book crammed with useful, week-by-week projects which will lead the writer to the successful creation of a well-written, satisfying mystery.

The Weekend Novelist Writes a Mystery puts the "HOW" back into the how-to-write book market.

Rating:
Summary: The only how-to book you'll ever need.
Review: This is one of the few how-to books for the pro as well as the newbie. It helps the writer maximize limited writing time by planning ahead and by shaping the story from the beginning. But this book isn't about mechanics alone; Ray sees the detective's search for truth as a mythic quest, and this approach deepens the writer's connection to the genre and the reader's appreciation of the final masterpiece. The quotes and references to published books are contemporary and fresh; this is a must-have for anyone serious about writing a mystery.

Rating:
Summary: If you only get one book....
Review: This was the single most helpful book I found to help complete the process of writing an entire mystery. Its most valuable section is on plotting, devoting the appropriate amount of time and space to each of the critical parts of a novel. Much of the advice here is to be found else where--the back story, the characters, the scene writing--but is better organized and more comprehensible in this volume. So, if you plan to only buy or use one book on writing, this is the one I believe would be the best place to concentrate your time and money.

Rating:
Summary: If you only get one book....
Review: This was the single most helpful book I found to help complete the process of writing an entire mystery. Its most valuable section is on plotting, devoting the appropriate amount of time and space to each of the critical parts of a novel. Much of the advice here is to be found else where--the back story, the characters, the scene writing--but is better organized and more comprehensible in this volume. So, if you plan to only buy or use one book on writing, this is the one I believe would be the best place to concentrate your time and money.

Rating:
Summary: A terrific book for veterans as well as novices
Review: While I've never written a mystery, I am a professional writer and I found myself underlining huge chunks in this book that apply to just about every fictional endeavor. Ray and Remick are terrific when it comes to building plot, creating characters, and linking up the two. Not only are they wonderful teachers -- clear, encouraging, and funny -- the demo-model mystery they've created for the book shows they're crackerjack writers as well. I would recommend "The Weekend Novelist Writes a Mystery" to novices as well as veterans whose batteries could use a little recharging.

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Summary: Weekend novelist? Probably not.
Review: Writing fiction is like painting a landscape. A lot of artists can do it, and each one has an individual way they do it. It is the same with writing. Many people have written good novels; each one approaches it differently. So when someone like Ray Robert tells you how it's done, don't believe him. I'm not saying that his method doesn't work for him. What I am saying is it probably won't work for you. (It didn't work for me.) You have to figure out what works for you. Check out Immediate Fiction by Jerry Cleaver. You won't regret it.