<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: Worthwhile title for your shelf
Review: Billed as a manual for fiction writers, this book is a collection of Lawrence's columns from Writer's Digest and it covers all aspects of the writing game in numerous bite-sized chapters. Funny and incisive, you'll get a lot out of it.
Rating: 
Summary: Good but--
Review: Block is a good writer, excellent in fact. This is a good resource, but I've read better. The gist of content, is study the market, and write steady until you are finished.
Rating:
Summary: Great yarns and experience
Review: I bought this book at the advice of a successful writer friend, who said it was the best book he'd read on how to write a novel. And it does have good advice on writing a novel. But I found it was more about being a writer writing a novel than on the actual contents of the novel. Hmmm. That may not be very clear. This book is loaded with wonderful, practical, inspiring anecdotes and snippets of experience on writing. But it does not tell you about story construction, which was what I was looking for. Reading the book did help keep me motivated and added some clarity to my impression of the novel writing world. But I found books by Frey, McKee, Vogler, Lew Hunter, Syd Field and James Bonnet much more helpful when it came to the nitty gritty of creating stories. So.... if you are looking for practical information about the writing life, about the process of writing-- this book is a gem. If you want details on story structure, character development, etc., check out some of the above mentioned authors.
Rating:
Summary: A great confidence builder
Review: Larry Block's treatises on writing are every bit the page turners that his mysteries are. He demystifies the writing process and walks you through the basics.
Rating:
Summary: A great confidence builder
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Very inspiring collection of essays
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: A great book even if you don't aspire to be a writer
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: A great book even if you don't aspire to be a writer
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Surprised there aren't more reviews; superlative book!
Review: This is simply a great book. LB takes several points from various chapters and teaches you about the many ups and downs of writing; all with his usual wry sesne of humor. To date, I have read this book three times and every time I go through it, I learn something. Used to be working on screenplays but changed to novels recently. Out of my 15 books on novel writing, this was the first one I picked up for review. Learn why the short story should be tossed out for writing a novel instead; how to deal with rejection; what qualities you need for writing fiction; how to work at your book (this is several chapters), how to whip yourself into state even when you don't want to write and so much more. Great quoutes, too. First book you should get on teaching yourself to write novels. Runner up would be WRITING AND SELLING YOUR NOVEL by Jack Brickam.
Rating:
Summary: Writer's Block You Can Use...
Review: 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
<< 1 >>
| 
