Scan barcode
nicovreeland's review
3.0
Sometimes I learn from a writing book because I agree with it. Sometimes I learn because, in disagreeing, I find myself having to articulate and crystallize opinions that I might not have thought about otherwise. This book was a disagreement-learning situation.
The book is extremely extremely process-oriented. As in, it’s very much about the process of writing and not about what makes a good story. There's a lot about these little tricks that Bell likes to use—widen your margins! change your font!—not very much at all about constructing plots or building characters. And woefully little about the frame of mind he’s in as he forces himself through what sounds like an excruciating, arduous process.
Even outside of the main three-draft strategy—which never takes a bridge when there’s a perfectly good ten-mile detour available—Bell also recommends a lot of EXTREMELY time-consuming revision strategies. There’s one exercise where he recommends highlighting five types of passages in your book in five colors of highlighter, and he suggests rereading it five different times to do this. Another passage makes it clear that Bell expects you to write at least twice the amount of words your book will contain, then cut half out. The entire third section is about spending months If not years painstakingly going over every word to get the phrasing just right.
This all makes it clear that Bell expects to spend the better part of a decade on each of his novels, and probably half that time fine-tuning sentences until they bleed. Which is fine, if that’s the kind of writer you want to be. But if it’s not, this is probably not the book for you.
I did find some nuggets that I really agreed with, especially in the first draft section, but I just can't get down with the MFA-workshop model of reworking prose endlessly, or these shopworn exercises that want you to cut and cut and cut words. To me there is a limit, and saying things like "cut a sentence from every paragraph" either means: you have a shitload of fluff in your paragraphs, or else you will have cut away all the fat you can, and you will begin cutting meat. (But, this is the kind of thing I have realized I believe thanks to disagreeing with Bell.)
The book is extremely extremely process-oriented. As in, it’s very much about the process of writing and not about what makes a good story. There's a lot about these little tricks that Bell likes to use—widen your margins! change your font!—not very much at all about constructing plots or building characters. And woefully little about the frame of mind he’s in as he forces himself through what sounds like an excruciating, arduous process.
Even outside of the main three-draft strategy—which never takes a bridge when there’s a perfectly good ten-mile detour available—Bell also recommends a lot of EXTREMELY time-consuming revision strategies. There’s one exercise where he recommends highlighting five types of passages in your book in five colors of highlighter, and he suggests rereading it five different times to do this. Another passage makes it clear that Bell expects you to write at least twice the amount of words your book will contain, then cut half out. The entire third section is about spending months If not years painstakingly going over every word to get the phrasing just right.
This all makes it clear that Bell expects to spend the better part of a decade on each of his novels, and probably half that time fine-tuning sentences until they bleed. Which is fine, if that’s the kind of writer you want to be. But if it’s not, this is probably not the book for you.
I did find some nuggets that I really agreed with, especially in the first draft section, but I just can't get down with the MFA-workshop model of reworking prose endlessly, or these shopworn exercises that want you to cut and cut and cut words. To me there is a limit, and saying things like "cut a sentence from every paragraph" either means: you have a shitload of fluff in your paragraphs, or else you will have cut away all the fat you can, and you will begin cutting meat. (But, this is the kind of thing I have realized I believe thanks to disagreeing with Bell.)
wafflefonfabre's review
5.0
I'm on a quest to find strategies on how to revise books. I've read on editing and revision and self editing among others. There not bad books but they feel a little bit like liars they skip over the work of revising and just give generally writing or publishing advice. This is the first book I've read in my quest to try and make revision less daunting that broke the process down had a variety of strategies and clear steps to do. Is it perfect? I don't know I haven't tried to revise yet perhaps I'll edit this review when I do but I'm happy that this book gave me steps to start which no other revision book I've read so far has done.
whatsmacksaid's review against another edition
4.0
There are definitely some gems I'll be returning to, but it didn't turn out to be the powerhouse I was hoping for.
clareagrippina's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
5.0
Full of great information and a very quick read, the audio book was good but I'm tempted to get a physical copy to easily reference for future edits.
harborwriter's review
4.0
This is a great craft book for pantsers, especially pantsers who are overwriters. I am a plotter who typically underwrites and does most of my revisions in the second draft, so I did not find this book particularly helpful; some of Matt Bell’s description of his first draft techniques made me feel panicked just at the thought of the chaos. However, it would be fantastic for discovery writers.
The bulk of the book is about the first draft; part two, about the second draft, is extremely short; and part three concludes with a long list of helpful editing tricks and tips.
The bulk of the book is about the first draft; part two, about the second draft, is extremely short; and part three concludes with a long list of helpful editing tricks and tips.
sarah_grey's review
hopeful
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
4.5
One of the better writing books I've read for sure! Lots of things to try to keep going until it is not just done, but something to be proud of.
rodneywilhite's review against another edition
5.0
This was filled with practical, actionable tips that actually have helped me struggle through a draft. There's almost none of the "imagine every adjective is a $100 bill" type nonsense.