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wintrovia's review against another edition
4.0
A short but handy book about writing suspense books. I liked how Patricia Highsnith avoided giving absolute rules that have to be followed and instead discussed her own experiences of writing successfully and less successfully. The conversational tone and advice rather than instructions made it feel like a friendly chat but I still feel like I came away from the book with some useful pointers.
pbraue13's review against another edition
4.0
After the lackluster biography I read on Highsmith, this book was a refreshing and delightful read. This book gives both insight to how Highsmith wrote some of her biggest successes and also her process of writing itself. I love how she writes this book stating plainly that she isn't here to write rules for writing as everyone writes differently and not one process works for every artist. She just simply says what she does and what she recommends, while also laying out what works for others, giving the reader and young writer options of what route to take. I think the best summation of her writing advice, apart from technique and structure, is "The first person you should think of pleasing, in writing a book, is yourself". I give this a 4.5/5 only because I wish it was a little longer.
cattytrona's review against another edition
4.0
an interesting tour of highsmith’s writing, in both verb and noun senses of the word. does a really good job of breaking down the stages of a story. have notes i want to go back over
j_s_savage's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 would be 4 stars but penultimate chapter a bit irrelevant
arachan's review against another edition
3.0
This is somewhat dated but a very interesting insight into how a very successful suspense writer approaches her craft and what she suggests to make a really good suspense story.
peelspls's review against another edition
2.0
Patricia Highsmith is a competent writer, but this is not a good book for writers. I like that Highsmith writes with a relatable humility, and explores a few plots of stories she has already written. But also, there's nothing about this that I learned to apply as a useful writer.
This disorganization from a non-fiction book also made it a drag to finish. I only marked it as finished to clear my reading log. My moment of learning from this book is that not all books need to be finished and I AM SORRY that it has to be this way.
This disorganization from a non-fiction book also made it a drag to finish. I only marked it as finished to clear my reading log. My moment of learning from this book is that not all books need to be finished and I AM SORRY that it has to be this way.
nedhayes's review against another edition
5.0
Solid craft book on both the basics, balancing the writing life and how to write thrilling plots by the master of suspense - Patricia Highsmith
hklnvgl's review against another edition
4.0
«Los escritores o están desarrollando una idea o buscando, aunque sea inconscientemente, el germen de una idea.»
No imaginaba que mi forma de enfrentarme a la escritura fuera tan parecida a la de Patricia Highsmith. Muy recomendable
No imaginaba que mi forma de enfrentarme a la escritura fuera tan parecida a la de Patricia Highsmith. Muy recomendable
novelesque_life's review against another edition
3.0
3 STARS
A great reference for writers and readers or suspense.
A great reference for writers and readers or suspense.