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How to Write a Damn Good Novel, II : Advanced Techniques For Dramatic Storytelling :: 0312104782
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"Damn good" fiction is dramatic fiction, Frey insists, whether it is by Hemingway or Grisham, Le Carre or Ludlum, Austen or Dickens. Despite their differences, these authors' works share common elements: strong narrative lines, fascinating characters, steadily building conflicts, and satisfying conclusions. Frey's How to Write a Damn Good Novel is one of the most widely used guides ever published for aspiring authors. Here, in How to Write a Damn Good Novel, II, Frey offers powerful advanced techniques to build suspense, create fresher, more interesting characters, and achieve greater reader sympathy, empathy, and identification.
How to Write a Damn Good Novel, II also warns against the pseudo-rules often inflicted upon writers, rules such as "The author must always be invisible" and "You must stick to a single viewpoint in a scene," which cramp the imagination and deaden the narrative. Frey focuses instead on promises that the author makes to the reader—promises about character, narrative voice, story type, and so on, which must be kept if the reader is to be satisfied. This book is rich, instructive, honest, and often tellingly funny about the way writers sometimes fail their readers and themselves.
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Author: Guest
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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Author: Guest
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.
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Author: Guest
I've studied writing for a while. I've taken courses taught by ramblers who have written successful books. I've studied with phenomenal writers and teachers, but a lot of their stuff was all over the place. Frey's book is the real deal. Read it, Do it his way,and you'll do well. He's big on picking a theme for your novel and then proving it. If money buys you more trouble than goodness, you have to prove this through the lives of your characters. If you have a story to tell and want to tell it in novel form, this book holds your feet to the fire. He has a fixit for ever excuse from writer's block to fleshing out your characters. Enjoy. Dixie Swanson
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Author: Guest
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
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Author: Guest
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.
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