Fiction Writer's Brainstormer

Rating:
Summary: Fiction Writer's Brainstormer
Review: Different, yes, Down-to-earth, definitely.

After the disparity in reviews covering this book at both extremes of the spectrum, I had to see it for myself. Here's what I found.

Definitely go with the readers who liked the book. The author debunks the notion of writing as heaven-sent art. He gets down to the nitty gritty. He doesn't take himself too seriously but does take writing seriously. This comes through in the way he puts himself down while approaching the nuts and bolts of writing from a practical point of view.

I didn't just read the book. I actually tried Smith's creativity tips and found myself wanting to get back to a manuscript that's been buried in the back of my closet for years. I'm back in the writing game because of the Brainstormer.

I can see how somebody could take umbrage at the book. If you think of writing as sitting back with a smoking jacket and pipe and dreaming philosophically about literature while waiting for the muse to tap you

on the shoulder, don't buy the Brainstormer. If you want an author to set up, tap you on the brain and tell you to get to work, this is the reference for you. Thanks, Mr Smith, for putting me back to work on my Great American Novel.

Rating:
Summary: Fun and Stimulating
Review: I am a published novelist and writing teacher. Thus, I read all the writing books I can lay my mitts on. Smith's book is easily the most fun and full of great ideas. Some, like the 1100 title exercise, may seem a little excessive, but that's part of the fun. You can use the ideas and forms here and give them a little tweak. The book stimulated me to ratchet up my own creativity, and has energized me. Terrific job!

Rating:
Summary: Creating Fiction that Will Sell
Review: The author of this book seems to think that the way to awaken your creativity is to throw lots of little word puzzles at you. Oh well--what works for one person doesn't work for another. I found some of the exercises similarly annoying, but again, everyone is different.

At first the author of this book came across as exactly the sort of writing author I dislike--early in the book he seems to be saying, "My way of writing is right for everyone." Given the wide variety of types of writing and writing styles out there, this is never a good claim to make. Luckily he turns out to be much more reasonable later in the book.

Many of the author's hints are directed specifically at novel authors (in particularly, "category" or "commercial" novels). On the other hand, there's quite a bit of material in this book of use to any sort of fiction writer, so this isn't a big problem. Part 1 of the book is something of a general primer on creative thinking. Part 2 contains exercises for coming up with ideas related to specific projects. And part 3 addresses "The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective Writers." I prefer other books when it comes to general creativity, but there are some great exercises in here to help you specifically address the needs of your particular projects.

This book is probably most useful for people who want to make the transition from writer to published writer. There's information on what publishers are looking for, how publishers think, and how you can catch their eye, and the focus is on creating fiction that will sell. I suggest, however, that you not accept everything in this book blindly. Read other books on writing as well. Use your own common sense. Experiment, play around, and see what works best for you.

As a book to help writers of commercial fiction, Alice Orr's "No More Rejections" might make a better choice. For a general-purpose creative thinking book, I recommend Mari Messer's "Pencil Dancing," Monica Woods' "The Pocket Muse," or Eric Maisel's "The Creativity Book."