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Rating: 
Summary: Even Best Selling Authors Could Benefit From this Advice
Review: "How to Write a Damn Good Novel, Vol. II" earns its claim as "Advanced Techniques for Dramatic Storytelling" with uncommon advice such as how to create a multi-premise novel and strengthening the narrative voice. Frey far exceeds the typical hints found in most writing books, including his own Volume One. This book covers completely new territory and will be extremely useful if you are interested in writing a dramatic novel. I can think of several best-selling authors who would benefit from the advice in this book. For the newcomer there is a lot of clear and practical information offered. I found the "Seven Deadly Mistakes" chapter particularly interesting and insightful. One warning: this book is definitely geared to a specific type of story - the dramatic novel. It may skew your focus if your goal is writing a satirical or allegorical story, for instance, as it's easy to become caught up in the author's enthusiasm for dramatic fiction.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't expect too much
Review: "How to Write a Damn Good Novel, Vol. II" earns its claim as "Advanced Techniques for Dramatic Storytelling" with uncommon advice such as how to create a multi-premise novel and strengthening the narrative voice. Frey far exceeds the typical hints found in most writing books, including his own Volume One. This book covers completely new territory and will be extremely useful if you are interested in writing a dramatic novel. I can think of several best-selling authors who would benefit from the advice in this book. For the newcomer there is a lot of clear and practical information offered. I found the "Seven Deadly Mistakes" chapter particularly interesting and insightful. One warning: this book is definitely geared to a specific type of story - the dramatic novel. It may skew your focus if your goal is writing a satirical or allegorical story, for instance, as it's easy to become caught up in the author's enthusiasm for dramatic fiction.
Rating: 
Summary: Continues the Excellence of His First Book
Review: In Vol II Frey corrects a few ideas he has changed his mind on since writing Vol I and deepens his discussion of several central topics. He also adds some new ones. He teaches more on creating memorable characters, dealing with premises, sustaining suspense, and using various narrative voices. All this is highly valuable instruction for the novelist. I found the material on character development and narrative voice particularly helpful. The final third of the book where he talks about the author/reader contract, seven deadly mistakes (one is failure to learn to re-dream the dream), and writing with passion (he recommends separating from a non-supportive spouse, really!) was a little disappointing to me but others may find it helpful. Overall, a worthwhile book for the aspiring writer.
Rating:
Summary: Giving the Art Form
Review: James N. Frey writes an extremely readable how-to guide which forces the would-be writer to take a good look at him/herself and the story he/she is writing. Instead of going through the usual definitions of tone, description, theme, characterization and dialogue, Frey cuts right to the heart: does the writing transport the reader? Does the story have a premise? Is the narration strong? Does the writer deliver to his audience what he promises? Whether he illustrates his methodology with examples from popular writers like Stephen King and Peter Bencheley or classic literary greats like Jane Austin and Franz Kafka, his upbeat common sense advise underlines the usual directive that a writer must write in order to see his dream become reality. In order to write the next modern classic, you must color within the lines first, creating a clear idea of what you wish your reader to come away with and sticking to it. The art has a form.
It takes no more than a rainy afternoon to read this book. As you read, your thoughts will gather and you will begin to experiment with story ideas already gathering dust in your head. Using his guidelines just may allow you to see past the idea through to a fully developed story. Remember however, that Frey isn't going to write the story for you---he's there to help formulate your thought patterns into something meaningful and publishable. He may give the art form, but the art is yours to create.
Rating:
Summary: Giving the Art Form
Review: James N. Frey writes an extremely readable how-to guide which forces the would-be writer to take a good look at him/herself and the story he/she is writing. Instead of going through the usual definitions of tone, description, theme, characterization and dialogue, Frey cuts right to the heart: does the writing transport the reader? Does the story have a premise? Is the narration strong? Does the writer deliver to his audience what he promises? Whether he illustrates his methodology with examples from popular writers like Stephen King and Peter Bencheley or classic literary greats like Jane Austin and Franz Kafka, his upbeat common sense advise underlines the usual directive that a writer must write in order to see his dream become reality. In order to write the next modern classic, you must color within the lines first, creating a clear idea of what you wish your reader to come away with and sticking to it. The art has a form.
It takes no more than a rainy afternoon to read this book. As you read, your thoughts will gather and you will begin to experiment with story ideas already gathering dust in your head. Using his guidelines just may allow you to see past the idea through to a fully developed story. Remember however, that Frey isn't going to write the story for you---he's there to help formulate your thought patterns into something meaningful and publishable. He may give the art form, but the art is yours to create.
Rating:
Summary: The best How To book on Writing a Damn Good Novel
Review: The title says it all, and it lives up to its claim.James Frey, Edgar Award nominee and author of nine novels, knows how to write a damn good guide for novelists. As the title suggests, 'How to Write a Damn Good Book II' is a follow-up to his first volume and breaks new ground, offering advanced tools and techniques for dramatic fiction. Fray covers a wide range of issues affecting today's fictioneer, including: * Defining and delivering suspense
* Creating memorable characters
* Finding and writing a premise
* Developing the writer's voice
* Understanding the author/reader contract
* The 'seven deadly mistakes'
* Writing with passion Frey's advice is most often rock-solid and he illustrates his points by relating them to classic and well known writers and their works. His view is that great novels share common elements ~ distinct characters, strong narratives, dramatic conflicts and satisfying endings. He identifies them and he shows you how to implement them in your own work. One of his best chapters is one of his last ~ 'The Seven Deadly Mistakes' ~ which Frey lists as: * Timidity
* Trying to be Literary
* Ego Writing
* Failure to Learn and Re-dream the Dream
* Failure to Keep Faith with Yourself
* Wrong Lifestyle
* Failure to Produce This chapter, alone, is worth the price of the book. It offers signposts of what to avoid and how to avoid it. James Frey takes a fresh approach at an age-old art and produces one of the better books on successful novel writing. He injects a touch of humor and humanity, especially in the final chapter where he shares his many failures on the way to literary success. This, like the rest of his book, shows writers what not to do and what you can achieve. -- Michael Meanwell, author of the critically-acclaimed 'The Enterprising Writer' and 'Writers on Writing'. For more book reviews and prescriptive articles for writers, visit www.enterprisingwriter.com
Rating: 
Summary: a few good ideas
Review: This book covers the basics in a very conversational, provocative way. Frey challenges and provokes in an effort to get writers to re-examine what they're doing and try to do it better. He discusses "the fictive dream and how to induce it," suspense, memorable characters, "premise", narrative voice, and the author-reader contract. By "premise" he means "a brief statement of what happens to the characters as a result of the actions of the story." (p.51). He points out common mistakes with these, but just how "advanced" his tidbits of information are-that is another matter. For example, nothing in the chapter on suspense should be news to someone who has read a few books on fiction writing.
Also, "the seven deadly mistakes": timidity, trying to be literary, ego-writing, failure to re-dream the dream, failure to keep faith with yourself, etc.
His guiding examples of damn good novels are Jaws, The Red Badge of Courage, Gone with the Wind, The Trial (Kafka), Crime and Punishment, and Carrie (Stephen King). Most of the time, Frey's own tastes dictate what constitutes a damn good book and, thus, how one ought to write, so all of his advice needs to be taken with a few grains of salt. Also, there is a great deal more that can be said about fiction writing that this book does not say. The book is also short. Bottom line: you need to read other books too.
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