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Summary: This book deserved editiorial reviews!
Review: Along with Renni Brown's Self Editing for Fiction Writers and Bird by Bird, this has become one of my favorite books on writing. I just read it yesterday and am amazed at how good it was. I expected another ho-humish how-to with the same old Writers Digest advice but got instead exciting insights, analysis of fine literature, and professional tips on how to improve my novel. I especially liked the way the author kept referring to several master works (A Christmas Carol, The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, Madam Bovary, Lolita, and The Godfather) to illustrate his points about how to have a premise, internal and external conflict, and a satisfying climax. I loved the tips for avoiding melodrama and producing dramatic literature instead, as well as the original suggestions for improving dialogue, tips I have not encountered in a dozen other books. I am a journalist seven-eigths done with my first novel and think this book would be great for both beginners and those who have been working on their craft for years. Frey has something unique to say and says it so well that it is a treat to read. His gift of self-expression and insights into writing make the qualities of fine fiction understandable and something one can learn to reproduce. The book has a scholarly foundation (with helpful references and research) and original premises but is very funny and entertaining, too.
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Summary: A good addition to the library of any writer...
Review: How To Write A Damn Good Novel by James Frey is a great book a true must have for any aspiring writer as well as more polished ones. Unlike most books that deal with formulas and templates that may have you writing like everyone else. Frey's approach in How To is simple but effective. He starts everything off with what should be the main focal point of every story. Great characters termed "Homo Fictus" in How To; Frey touches on everything from creating bios for your characters to ways of avoiding creating "stereotypical characters." From there Frey explains how important conflict is to the story one is writing. Frey also does a great job of explaining premise, climax and viewpoint.
However, what separates this book from the rest of how to writing books are the final two chapters Rewriting and The Zen of Novel Writing. Let's face it rewriting is what separates the pros from the amateurs. Frey lays down a good blueprint for rewriting and then finishes everything off with the most important thing that it takes to become a great writer. The true Philosopher's Stone of writing ...... Want to know the secret writing, writing and more writing there is your golden egg. How To Write A Damn Good Novel by James Frey is one to add to your collection of writing or better yet starting one.
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Summary: Great book not only for writers but readers as well.
Review: I bought this book because I wanted to get a kick start on writing. I got the kick start I needed. This book explains almost everything you need to know about writing fiction. Before I got this book, when I was reading or when I was watching TV or movie, sometimes I knew that there was something wrong about the story. I have tried to analyze and figure out what was wrong. I have come to conclusions about certain stories on what was wrong with it. Now once I've read this book, I know exactly what's wrong with a story when I see one. So far I've been trying to reinvent the wheel. When you finish reading this book, you will not look at a story the same way again. This book will not only help you write a book but also will help you to analyze somebody else's book.
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Summary: Loved this book
Review: I have always wanted to write a novel and this was just the book to get me started. It was informative and to the point and a quick easy read. It provided me with a lot of good tips and I highly recommend it.
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Summary: Perfect for beginners (or failed experts, I suppose)
Review: I've always been driven to write. Despite the desire, I've written only bad high-school poetry, and worse mid-life prose. At 41, an awesome idea for a novel had hit me. I decided I needed to try again. Being now older and wiser, I decided to look for instructions and advice before starting, so I visited my local library.
I checked out all 8 books about "writing novels". My intent was to scan each one and see which one made the most sense to me. About 30 pages into the first one, the author began using terms which she had not yet defined. Bad Form! So, I put that one down. I picked up "How to write a Damn Good Novel". I was captivated. My mind was completely blown. I read through it completely, then got online and ordered my own copy. I won't bother reading those other books; this is the book for me!
I'm into a lot of hobbies, and have read many "how to" books. You will find no fluff in this book, nor anything missing -- only well thought out, practical, and followable advice. I'd give it 6 stars if I could.
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Summary: A useful book on writing
Review: I've read around half a dozen books on how to write fiction and this book was very useful. Lots of tips, tricks, do-this and don't-do-this. Clear and concise explanations why you shouldn't use certain writing styles and in addition he presents solutions, for example how to create good characters and how to avoid stereotypes etc. Frey is detailed and focuses on problem solving and the actual handcraft, rather than being arty. The book has a practical approach and it's a damn good one. You might want to combine this book with Stephen King's "On writing", which has fewer tips, but is worth reading anyway.
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Summary: Indispensable, Practical Tool For Writing Novels
Review: In James N. Frey's "How To Write A Damn Good Novel", he will teach you key methods to creating dynamic, well rounded, and most importantly, highly believable characters for your story, how to make them interesting, noble, slobbish or extraordinarily ordinary. He will explain how conflict is the most important element in turning your characters to life, how the conflicts must be made clear to the reader, and reach climactic conclusions that fully satisfy them at the end of the novel, and he will teach you with practical advice, style and great humor. Mr. Frey speaks heavily of the necessity of Premise, and describes thoroughly the difference between a workable Premise, and one that will fall through the cracks like dry sand. He discusses perspectives, view points, flashbacks, which he feels has been misused greatly in storytelling (agreed), symbolism and the imagists who abuse it, the importance of foreshadowing, and writing sensuous, dramatic prose that engages the reader, along with clever, witty and unique dialogue to keep the reader entertained. And finally, the Zen of writing novels. You will also learn how the only type of writing group worth enlisting in is one that serves destructive criticism. Or how to get along without a writing group entirely. "How To Write A Damn Good Novel" is an indispensable, practical tool for writing novels. His book will change the way you think about sitting down to your word processor or type writer, and likely help you kick the habit of watching too much TV that otherwise keeps you from working on your novel.
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Summary: Deceptively easy or masterly easy?
Review: James Frey clearly intends that the potential author-reader has a lot of fun by hugely encouraging the reader to write! He gives sound fundamentals for the creative writing process. An engagingly readable 'fundamentals-of-successfull-dramatic-writing' book, this Guide gives valuable practical analysis of the reasons why books succeed and why they fail. Frey supports his viewpoint with quotes and references to other masters of the subject of the art and craft of writing. At the same time he does hesitate to disagree with the experts, making his case convincingly.
Some very valuable sections--the neccessity for creating characters with a biography, a history; how fictional characters are different from real life people, while being identifiable with real people; the basic single premise-based message that is the reason for the story; the driving premises of the individual characters; what elements drive a story forward making in an interesting/readable way; identification of the dreaded 'writer's block' in its various forms and solutions for these; the self-editing and re-writing that Frey includes as an essential part of the writing process itself. And of course, the committed hard work that goes into the writing process.
In this book, in order to grasp the information in a usable way will require many re-readings, making connections and note-jotting. This will be true for published authors as well as for those starting out. (In that sense "How to Write.." is not quite a formula book and reads more like an interesting novel.)
A quick way to do this is, having got a point the author makes, to re-read the related section skipping the examples and going directly to the formulation-conclusion represented by those examples. These then become the reference points for understanding the framework of How to Write Damn Good Novel. This makes the reader work at really understanding the methods in a practical way. All said and done--Damn well done, James!
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Summary: Great Info, Fun to Read
Review: OK, James N. Frey is warped. But in a wonderful, readable and inspiring way. I got more out of this book than all the other books I read on writing a novel, except the Writers Journey. I loved reading this book. It is the exact opposite of dry. Frey has insights and distinctions that elude other "how to write a novel" authors. His years of teaching workshops shows in his writing. He knows what writers go through and how to write a damn good novel. Buy this book. You will love it. Thank you James. I bet you are a damn good writing coach too!
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Summary: Practical, Professional, Insightful
Review: Practical, professional, and, despite its title, a very insightful book. I've read scores of books on writing fiction, and this is one of the best I've found. Along with Self Editing for Fiction Writers and If You Want To Write, it's one of those books that's beautifully written and has something special to say. It can teach you structure and how to write drama instead of melodrama to create a novel that hangs together as a satisfying whole. Frey uses examples from noted novels--The Old Man and the Sea, Madame Bovary, The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, The Godfather, A Christmas Carol--and shows you how great novels begin, create rising action, and have climaxes that come from their characters' conflicts. This book brings together the worlds of the English classroom and the publishing workshop to show how to write novels with the narrative drive that readers love. There is neither the snobbery of the purely literary nor the crassness of the commercial how-to. I learned more about writing fiction from it than in my Master's program, an English major, and years of writing groups. It's top advice from a practitioner of craft--and funny, inspiring, and entertaining to boot. If I sell my first novel, which two editors are currently considering, it will be because of this book along with the editing I learned from Renni Browne and the inspiration of B. Ueland. It's helped me tremendously as a teacher of writing, too.
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