Writing a Book That Makes a Difference

Rating:
Summary: Whoa What's This??????How Does He Know Me?
Review: I was shocked to open this book and find the author's words targeting the very soul of my writing. It is a book about craft, not a pop culture "I wanna write a book" manual.Gerard shows a great understanding of the motivation behind the need and desire to write well. He speaks to those who are willing to put effort and excellence where their pen meets the page.I heartily recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: Whoa What's This??????How Does He Know Me?
Review: I was shocked to open this book and find the author's words targeting the very soul of my writing. It is a book about craft, not a pop culture "I wanna write a book" manual.Gerard shows a great understanding of the motivation behind the need and desire to write well. He speaks to those who are willing to put effort and excellence where their pen meets the page.I heartily recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: Inspiration to Set the Bar High
Review: Philip Gerard takes on a seemingly grandiose goal in this guide: how to write a book that will not merely get published, not merely sell, but make a profound impact on many readers. That may seem daunting, and indeed intimidating, but Gerard has a way of nudging the reader (and aspiring writer) to think grandly and take big chances. He teaches primarily through example here, exploring some of the really great books, and telling what makes them so.

Gerard shares anecdotes about how these books started out with more modest aspirations, and if not for the author's impulse to envision a grander purpose, may have been destined to become minor, even forgettable works. For example, Steinbeck originally wanted to do an investigative report on migrant workers, before convincing himself that a novelization of his findings, "The Grapes of Wrath," would tell the story with much more impact. Similarly, Truman Capote took an audacious step (for the times), when he decided that the details of a chilling murder (and his own connection to one of the murderers) would work best as a "factual" novel.

This book explains bold and innovative writing by examining the concrete examples of authors who have succeded in that pursuit. As such, it should appeal not only to aspiring writers, but also to those who simply would like a run-down of great books and some rationale for their admired stature. The one drawback here is that Gerard has a habit of bringing in new dimensions of great writing, but being a little strident in summarizing the cited works. One sometimes gets the feeling that he merely scratches the surface of an important style, and then moves on to an altogether different one. Even so, this is a book that both writers and readers are likely to appreciate and find valuable.

Rating:
Summary: Finally, a book on writing serious fiction
Review: There are so any books on writing fiction, as any budding writer will see. Hundreds of them, on the wider scope of novels, on the specifics of short stories, or on the techniques of dialog, scenes and plot. Many of these books are useful, but they all tend to focus on popular, commercial fiction, generally genre fiction.

I guess if you want to write genre fiction (nothing against it - I read plenty of it), then these books are fine. But for me, embarking on writing serious fiction, none of these books helped very much. Philip Gerard's book fills the gap that these other books have left in the market. It approaches writing fiction for those who want to write novels that make readers think. He covers enough of the basics (tone, point of view, style) to make this a good generalist book, but, above all, doesn't talk down to the reader. In addition, he inpsires you to think of the broader aspect of writing a serious novel.

As a full-time writer of non-fiction, I'm hoping to leap over the fence into fiction. This is the best book I have yet found that gives me the inspiration and the tools to do so. I have already read it three times, and have gotten more out of it each time. If you want to write serious fiction, this is the only book that really helps you do so.

Rating:
Summary: WRITING A BOOK THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE
Review: What differentiates a well-written and interesting book from one that is mediocre?

Philip Gerard, author of WRITING A BOOK THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE, teaches in the MFA program of the Professional and Creative Writing Program at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.
His vast writing experience has included fiction and non-fiction books, magazine articles, and television writing.

Gerard's wisdom is quite apparent when you read and study his book WRITING A BOOK THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE.
He does an excellent job in emphasizing the fundamentals of what constitutes good writing that ultimately leads to a book that makes a difference.

As is the case in any discipline, the author realizes that to effectively share ideas and suggestions it is necessary to have a common meeting ground concerning vocabulary.
Consequently, from the very onset, Gerard introduces the reader to an analysis of indispensable terms.
These terms that form the backbone of the book are: originality, aesthetic distance, didacticism, essay, narrative, narrative stance, non-fiction, novel, persuasion of continuity, psychic distance, public subject, rectitude, resonance, story, subject matter, subtext, suspense, theme, thesis, tone, and universal.

After providing us with an explanation of the jargon that will be constantly referred to in the book, the author proceeds to deal with the larger picture.
This he divides into two parts, the first explaining subject and theme and the second showing the reader how to build a book.
We learn about such elements as choosing a worthy subject, research, theme discovery and theme development, connecting to the reader, creative non-fiction, ethics and art, subject and point of view, and discovering themes as you write.

All of these are viewed within the wider context, if the book stands up to rereading? If we are not left with ideas and impressions that are thought provoking it will not pass the test. As Gerard also points outs" the book must also tease us into comprehension on a higher level. There must be something to possess."

Reading and studying this book is certainly an enjoyable learning experience and one that will be appreciated by novice as well as established writers.
The mixture of concrete excerpts extracted from well-known books together with several writing exercises certainly enhances its attractiveness as a useful resource for students of creative writing.

This review first appeared on the reviewer's own site
www.bookpleasures.com

Rating:
Summary: Gerard gave me courage to write
Review: While I contemplated writing "Remember Cynthia Rose: grandparents fight to keep their grandchildren," I read Philip Gerard's book. In it he said "With the act of witnessing an injustice comes the obligation to tell the truth about it." This one line gave me the courage to write my book.

Gerard teaches writers how to write true stories, but in "Writing a Book that Makes a Difference" he shows us how to write a book that can matter. I hope to meet him someday and thank him.

Rating:
Summary: Gerard gave me courage to write
Review: While I contemplated writing "Remember Cynthia Rose: grandparents fight to keep their grandchildren," I read Philip Gerard's book. In it he said "With the act of witnessing an injustice comes the obligation to tell the truth about it." This one line gave me the courage to write my book.

Gerard teaches writers how to write true stories, but in "Writing a Book that Makes a Difference" he shows us how to write a book that can matter. I hope to meet him someday and thank him.