The Weekend Novelist

Rating:
Summary: Get started. Keep going. Finish. Perfect for all writers!
Review: Bob Ray is a master at teaching the "how to's" of writing. He offers great suggestiions on how to get started, which are useful if your trying to write a novel for the first time or for the tenth time. He also offers tips on how to keep going when the going gets really tough. And his advice will carry you thorugh to a finished manuscript. And, perhaps most importantly, he shows how everyone can find the time and dicipline to write that book they've alway wanted to write. This is the book I give to my friends when they ask me for advice about the "how to's" of writing. As proof that his techniques work, I suggest reading his Murdock novels.

Rating:
Summary: Not much time to write? Do it on the weekends!
Review: I never seemed to find the time to work on my book during the week, so I found that I was spending loads of time on the weekends trying to do what I felt I should have been doing a little at a time all week long. I read several books on writing a novel and did the exercises they recommended. I ended up doing a lot of stuff, without a lot of thought on what I was really doing-and most importantly WHY. Then, out of the blue, a friend asked me, "Hey, aren't you working on a book or something?". I sort of beat around the bush that I was, but that it was going to take me a million years to do it, and they told me that they were secretly working on a novel on the weekends with the help of a book they got. I borrowed it from them, and WHAM...I had to buy it!

Ray's book is designed to give you the main points of novel construction, yes, one weekend at a time. You do a little thinking about stuff during the week, but you sit down and do the "assignment" on the weekend. Ray's book is one of the best books for a weekend warrior like myself. The assignments given aren't difficult, unless you haven't thought out your plot...or characters...or anything else. What makes these things, and many others hard, is that it makes you understand what you are doing in your story. You have to do a lot of hard thinking during the 52 week period. This is a good thing! You will better understand your characters and plot if you do the background work he suggests.

Like I said, if you would love to write that novel you have been mulling over but only have the weekends to do it-GET THIS BOOK!

Rating:
Summary: An unexpected treasure
Review: I originally acquired this book through a book club offer. Because I thought its premise sounded formulaic, I didn't read it for a couple of years. When I finally did, I discovered a guide to the organization of a novel that is the best I've found. Not only did it make me feel like a novel was a task I could actually accomplish, it made me a more astute a reader of novels in general, allowing me to recognize plot and thematic patterns, character development, etc. in way I'd never thought of before, despite many classes in writing and many other books on the subject. I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone who wants to write fiction.

Rating:
Summary: The Most Helpful Book for Writing a Novel
Review: I wish I had studied this book before I ever put pen to paper. I used to think that if only I had something very interesting to write about, then all I would have to do is start writing, and a great story would magically appear. Robert Ray helped me understand just how much planning and preparation go into writing a good novel, as well as what to focus on when plotting your story. There are three things in particular that this book taught me which were especially helpful.

First, this book taught me that what really drives a novel is the characters and their relationships to each other and to events. I looked at Grisham and Clancy and thought that smooth prose filled with action would make a novel into a bestseller. Although that is sometimes true, Robert Ray showed me that the real key to a compelling, meaningful story is a stellar character through which the reader can identify. A good character can drive the whole novel.

The second thing this book taught me, which was perhaps the most valuable for me, is that the basic building block of the novel is not the chapter or even the major plot points, but the individual scenes. Robert Ray shows that each scene is like a compact story within your story, with a set-up, a middle part for conflict and development, and a climax which pushes the story into the next scene. The section on scene building in this book was excellent, and it gave me the breakthrough I needed in understanding how to give a story real structure.

Finally, this book helped me understand the importance of the major plot points, and what has to happen in the scenes at these points in order to make your writing tight.

In addition to the above, this book has many basic tips on how to organize yourself, how to approach your writing, and how to work through the major revisions of your story. There's even an appendix at the end with tips on getting published.

For an amateur like me who has never had any classes in story writing, this book was the most helpful guide that I was able to find.

Rating:
Summary: The Most Helpful Book for Writing a Novel
Review: I wish I had studied this book before I ever put pen to paper. I used to think that if only I had something very interesting to write about, then all I would have to do is start writing, and a great story would magically appear. Robert Ray helped me understand just how much planning and preparation go into writing a good novel, as well as what to focus on when plotting your story. There are three things in particular that this book taught me which were especially helpful.

First, this book taught me that what really drives a novel is the characters and their relationships to each other and to events. I looked at Grisham and Clancy and thought that smooth prose filled with action would make a novel into a bestseller. Although that is sometimes true, Robert Ray showed me that the real key to a compelling, meaningful story is a stellar character through which the reader can identify. A good character can drive the whole novel.

The second thing this book taught me, which was perhaps the most valuable for me, is that the basic building block of the novel is not the chapter or even the major plot points, but the individual scenes. Robert Ray shows that each scene is like a compact story within your story, with a set-up, a middle part for conflict and development, and a climax which pushes the story into the next scene. The section on scene building in this book was excellent, and it gave me the breakthrough I needed in understanding how to give a story real structure.

Finally, this book helped me understand the importance of the major plot points, and what has to happen in the scenes at these points in order to make your writing tight.

In addition to the above, this book has many basic tips on how to organize yourself, how to approach your writing, and how to work through the major revisions of your story. There's even an appendix at the end with tips on getting published.

For an amateur like me who has never had any classes in story writing, this book was the most helpful guide that I was able to find.

Rating:
Summary: My Bible!
Review: I've read all of the so-called writing gurus, John Gardner, Janet Burroughs, Dwight Swain etc., but this is the one that has been most helpful.
Don't be put off by the title. This was how Robert Ray wrote his first novel; I don't think he means to imply that everybody should write only on weekends.
If you're a beginning writer, Ray will take you from idea all the way through three rewrites. The first thing he will do is help you get to know your characters. You will write a back story for each of your main characters, you will come up with a time line, and you will dress them for business. When you finish they will start to come alive for you.
Next he will provide a structure for your novel, something I've been led to believe is the biggest problem for beginning novelists. Ray uses the Three Act method. Act one is where you show the problematic situation and bring your main characters on stage. Act Two is where you build complications. Act Three is the climax and resolution for your novel. Ray will help you fashion plot points that will help you write all the way to the end. There are three of them, plot points one and two and midpoint, which will give you targets to aim at. Ray also emphasizes chains of events before and after each plot point which will further hold your work together.
Every time I start a new novel I skim over the WEEKEND NOVELIST. The man clears things up. I had no idea how rhythm worked in a novel until I reread this book. The scales have fallen from my eyes. What's really surprising is that the book is out of print (Used copies are available). It was originally a Dell Trade Paperback but I got it from Writer's Digest Book Club. They need to republish this baby; it will enhance their somewhat suspect reputation.

Rating:
Summary: My Bible!
Review: I've read all of the so-called writing gurus, John Gardner, Janet Burroughs, Dwight Swain etc., but this is the one that has been most helpful.
Don't be put off by the title. This was how Robert Ray wrote his first novel; I don't think he means to imply that everybody should write only on weekends.
If you're a beginning writer, Ray will take you from idea all the way through three rewrites. The first thing he will do is help you get to know your characters. You will write a back story for each of your main characters, you will come up with a time line, and you will dress them for business. When you finish they will start to come alive for you.
Next he will provide a structure for your novel, something I've been led to believe is the biggest problem for beginning novelists. Ray uses the Three Act method. Act one is where you show the problematic situation and bring your main characters on stage. Act Two is where you build complications. Act Three is the climax and resolution for your novel. Ray will help you fashion plot points that will help you write all the way to the end. There are three of them, plot points one and two and midpoint, which will give you targets to aim at. Ray also emphasizes chains of events before and after each plot point which will further hold your work together.
Every time I start a new novel I skim over the WEEKEND NOVELIST. The man clears things up. I had no idea how rhythm worked in a novel until I reread this book. The scales have fallen from my eyes. What's really surprising is that the book is out of print (Used copies are available). It was originally a Dell Trade Paperback but I got it from Writer's Digest Book Club. They need to republish this baby; it will enhance their somewhat suspect reputation.

Rating:
Summary: A GOOD REFERENCE GUIDE
Review: Mr. Ray's Weekend Novelist is an excellent reference book. However, I wouldn't necessarily use it as a template for writing a novel . . . unless you plan on writing novels similar to Mr. Ray's or to Ann Tyler's "The Accidental Tourist", the novel that Ray uses as an template throughout citing it as a perfect example of a well written novel.

For those new to the daunting task of writing a novel, this book can pigeonhole you into thinking this is the only way to tackling writing. I came across that dilemma. After getting halfway through the book, doing the exercises and starting to write my own novel I began to abandon my old habits of writing and started to adopt Mr. Ray's. I started to feel that I couldn't put pen to paper UNLESS I completely plotted my novel, developed my characters and set up every scene. This didn't work for me. The natural flow I usually feel when writing was taken away and eventually I completely gave up on the process returning to my methods of writing: sitting down with a pad and pencil and allowing the ideas to flow. Then fine tuning the story only after I have a huge chunk of it written and some idea of what I want to convey. Not all novels are structured in Mr. Ray's manner, not all novels use Aristotle's incline to develop plot and storylines and not all novels can be written in 52 weekends.

Not to say this is a bad book at all. It's a wonderful reference book full of ideas and exercises to help you strengthen your writing. For example, it never occurred to me to create backstories and timelines for each of my characters giving them dimension and realism. Ray also offers exercises to help you set up scenes, write dialogue, write action and plot your novel. I now find that I refer to these exercises to help me develop my writing but I no longer follow the program.

This book is a great starting point for those interested in writing a novel but do not have an idea how to start (one more thing: you definitely have to have some idea of what you want to write BEFORE you start). However, for experienced writers you will find that this book is more useful as a reference guide rather than a program to follow.

Rating:
Summary: Best I've read on how to write
Review: Ray cuts to the heart of stiffling issues relavent to all writters. He clarifies and zooms in like a camera, focusing on the important facets of novel writting. Most impressive, is that Ray does so, in a format that allows creation and finalization of a novel in one year. Organized, concise and accurate. The best how to book I have read yet. I've read many.

Rating:
Summary: A remarkable program
Review: Robert J. Ray's "The Weekend Novelist" can help just about anyone realize their potential as a novelist. I don't think any of us out there can drop everything to become a professional novelist (unless you're born into wealth, I guess). We all have to work sometime. So, Mr. Ray puts together a program that will allow you to not only write a novel on the weekends but also write a novel with depth and meaning.

Before I read this book, I wrote lots of short stories and the start of a few novels. I used this book to turn some of my old ideas into the reality of a manuscript.

I felt myself getting bogged down at first by following his program of hashing out the details of the lives of the characters. But I quickly realized the commitment that is involved in writing a novel. It's important to develop meaningful characters/structure before you start writing.

Thanks, Mr. Ray! I highly recommend this book to any aspiring writer.