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lapetite's review against another edition
challenging
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
5.0
This might be my favorite craft book ever. It’s concise and precise, not wasting any time in overwrought descriptions or explanations. I feel more prepared to tackle my second draft revision/rewriting and I’m looking forward to applying most of the techniques explained here.
asparagusisreading's review
5.0
I only needed to read one section for class and I read the entire thing in two sittings and heavily annotated my copy. This is probably the most interesting and user friendly book for me as a writer that I've ever read.
erikbergstrom's review
4.0
Enjoyed this unique take on a writing craft book. I was beginning to enter that solitary realm of writing where everything I put down looks like garbage and that nobody's ever had to deal with this amount of self pressure or disappointment before. Matt Bell reminds me how normal it is, and how easy it can be to overcome. He doesn't write as a smarty pants professor (even though he is one) but as a fellow writer, like he's sitting with you at the pub telling you what secrets have worked for him and sounding casually excited about it.
Nothing really groundbreaking here... write the scenes you want to first and rearrange later, write without a plot in mind and see where your characters feel like going, revise on paper instead of a word processor, etc. But it's laid out for a quick read (pick up and set down when the inspiration strikes) and it has the reinforcement most writers need from a unique voice in the craft writing genre.
Nothing really groundbreaking here... write the scenes you want to first and rearrange later, write without a plot in mind and see where your characters feel like going, revise on paper instead of a word processor, etc. But it's laid out for a quick read (pick up and set down when the inspiration strikes) and it has the reinforcement most writers need from a unique voice in the craft writing genre.
pastryghost's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
4.5
This was my favorite book I read last year (I was so surprised my reading gauntlet ended with a nonfiction writing help book as my top read of the year! 😂) - and I wanted to read it again but on audiobook.
I think the book is more successful in physical copy, especially if you're like me and you wanna pause and go back to absorb the advice.
The audiobook narrator did a great job, but I found it more tricky to follow along due to the format.
I think the book is more successful in physical copy, especially if you're like me and you wanna pause and go back to absorb the advice.
The audiobook narrator did a great job, but I found it more tricky to follow along due to the format.