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drblockbooks's review against another edition
5.0
I enjoyed this book. It was written in a conversational style, as though you were grabbing a coffee with Mr. Block (no relation to me, by the way) and he was dispensing his wisdom to you.
The thing about most writing advice books is that they all generally contain good advice, but unless you've written several books already, you aren't sure which bits will work for you and, thus, what you are reading can be overwhelming. As someone who has now written a good many books, I am able to find those useful bits or at least wonder if certain bits might actually work for me. I am also able to recognize the bits which will absolutely NOT work for me since I've either tried it before or know my writing process well enough to understand System X just ain't for me. For example, my favorite chapter was the chapter about rewriting because of Block's thoughts about rewriting; basically, do as little of it as possible.
The best thing about WRITING THE NOVEL is that it was published in 1979, before the computer and word processing revolution, before all the digital writing tools and courses and etc. Why is this good? Because the book is strictly about the process of imagining and then writing a novel. Block doesn't need to waste any time talking about this computer program, or that writing tool. His advice is all very general but with specific examples from his career and the careers of other writers.
This book has absolutely nothing in it about self-publishing, because self-publishing wasn't an option in 1979.
Who should read this book? Anyone with designs on becoming a novelist should read it. (There are some good anecdotes about Block's life as a noob writer.) Anyone who has written a few novels, regardless of whether they have been published. Any self-published authors who are seeking to "up their game" or move into the traditional publishing world. (There are a couple of chapters about old school trad pub that are interesting.)
The thing about most writing advice books is that they all generally contain good advice, but unless you've written several books already, you aren't sure which bits will work for you and, thus, what you are reading can be overwhelming. As someone who has now written a good many books, I am able to find those useful bits or at least wonder if certain bits might actually work for me. I am also able to recognize the bits which will absolutely NOT work for me since I've either tried it before or know my writing process well enough to understand System X just ain't for me. For example, my favorite chapter was the chapter about rewriting because of Block's thoughts about rewriting; basically, do as little of it as possible.
The best thing about WRITING THE NOVEL is that it was published in 1979, before the computer and word processing revolution, before all the digital writing tools and courses and etc. Why is this good? Because the book is strictly about the process of imagining and then writing a novel. Block doesn't need to waste any time talking about this computer program, or that writing tool. His advice is all very general but with specific examples from his career and the careers of other writers.
This book has absolutely nothing in it about self-publishing, because self-publishing wasn't an option in 1979.
Who should read this book? Anyone with designs on becoming a novelist should read it. (There are some good anecdotes about Block's life as a noob writer.) Anyone who has written a few novels, regardless of whether they have been published. Any self-published authors who are seeking to "up their game" or move into the traditional publishing world. (There are a couple of chapters about old school trad pub that are interesting.)
dantastic's review against another edition
4.0
Writing the Novel from Plot to Print to Pixel is a book about writing by the legendary Lawrence Block.
Lawrence Block sent me this in an email a couple weeks ago, asking me if I was interested in reviewing his upcoming book about writing. Once I changed into pants that weren't as soaked in my urine, I eagerly agreed to read and review it before getting stuck in the holiday quagmire.
I've often said that reading a book about writing is like asking a psychic for lottery numbers. If they can already predict the winning numbers, why are they offering them to me? However, Lawrence Block clearly has had the winning lottery numbers in his pocket for years and his books on writing are the only ones I take seriously.
This particular volume, WTNFPTPTP, is a revised, expanded, and cybernetic version of his writing book from yesteryear, Writing the Novel from Plot to Print. Instead of taking the lazy route and changing references to typewriters and the library to computers and the internet, present day Block tacks his thoughts on the end of his past-self's chapters. After all, the man has learned a thing or two in the decades that have passed since writing the original version of this book.
In addition to old reliable topics like developing plots and characters, rewriting, developing your style, and breaking into the business, Block also addresses the increasingly important topics of self-publishing and all the pros and cons that go with it.
If you're looking for a new book on writing, this is it. The odds are good that none of us are going to be the next Stephen King but Lawrence Block gives you enough tips to at least get a book written, if not published. The man is responsible for the Matthew Scudder series and once wrote a porno novel over a weekend so clearly knows his stuff. Four out of five stars.
Lawrence Block sent me this in an email a couple weeks ago, asking me if I was interested in reviewing his upcoming book about writing. Once I changed into pants that weren't as soaked in my urine, I eagerly agreed to read and review it before getting stuck in the holiday quagmire.
I've often said that reading a book about writing is like asking a psychic for lottery numbers. If they can already predict the winning numbers, why are they offering them to me? However, Lawrence Block clearly has had the winning lottery numbers in his pocket for years and his books on writing are the only ones I take seriously.
This particular volume, WTNFPTPTP, is a revised, expanded, and cybernetic version of his writing book from yesteryear, Writing the Novel from Plot to Print. Instead of taking the lazy route and changing references to typewriters and the library to computers and the internet, present day Block tacks his thoughts on the end of his past-self's chapters. After all, the man has learned a thing or two in the decades that have passed since writing the original version of this book.
In addition to old reliable topics like developing plots and characters, rewriting, developing your style, and breaking into the business, Block also addresses the increasingly important topics of self-publishing and all the pros and cons that go with it.
If you're looking for a new book on writing, this is it. The odds are good that none of us are going to be the next Stephen King but Lawrence Block gives you enough tips to at least get a book written, if not published. The man is responsible for the Matthew Scudder series and once wrote a porno novel over a weekend so clearly knows his stuff. Four out of five stars.
raven_morgan's review against another edition
3.0
Lots of outdated advice (acknowledged by block in an afterward), simply due to the nature of the changing world (PCs vs typerwriters etc), but there's still a decent amount of good stuff in here.
nucikore's review against another edition
4.0
Most of what was written here I already knew from writing advice videos and Sanderson's lectures and even though I found this book a bit too overwritten in some aspects, there were some really good nuggets that I'm gonna try to incorporate in my own writing routine, like trying to keep a steady pace instead of overworking myself for a couple of days and having to deal with the burnt-out for the next week.
readerbythewater's review
3.0
Block is a prolific author and his book of writing advice speaks to his years of experience (and hundreds of published books). Once you got past the fact that he was typing everything...on paper...all the other guidance was timeless. His examples and metaphors were awesome and his insights were helpful. It was very much written in the "I don't know what's going to work for you, but this worked for me. Have at it." tone.
Written in 1979 (!) I was struck by this insight in particular. "Openings are important. In a more leisurely world - a couple of centuries ago, say - the novelist had things pretty much to himself. There was no competition from radio and television, nor were there many other novelists around. The form was new. Furthermore, life as a whole moved at a gentler pace. There were no cars, let alone moon rockets. One took one's time and one expected others to take their time - in life and in print. Accordingly, a novel could move off sedately ... Things are different now. Novels, crowded together like subway riders at rush hour, stand on tiptoe shouting 'Read me! Read me!' ... the reader expects a book to catch his interest right away; if it doesn't, it's the easiest thing in the world for him to reach for another."
He hits the nail right on the head, doesn't he? So often I pass a book by because the Kindle sample didn't grab me. When we read books from "a more leisurely world" (I'm looking at you, Tolstoy), we find ourselves flummoxed by all the characters and loooooong descriptions.
We've been spoiled by a plethora of good books. #GoodProblemToHave
Written in 1979 (!) I was struck by this insight in particular. "Openings are important. In a more leisurely world - a couple of centuries ago, say - the novelist had things pretty much to himself. There was no competition from radio and television, nor were there many other novelists around. The form was new. Furthermore, life as a whole moved at a gentler pace. There were no cars, let alone moon rockets. One took one's time and one expected others to take their time - in life and in print. Accordingly, a novel could move off sedately ... Things are different now. Novels, crowded together like subway riders at rush hour, stand on tiptoe shouting 'Read me! Read me!' ... the reader expects a book to catch his interest right away; if it doesn't, it's the easiest thing in the world for him to reach for another."
He hits the nail right on the head, doesn't he? So often I pass a book by because the Kindle sample didn't grab me. When we read books from "a more leisurely world" (I'm looking at you, Tolstoy), we find ourselves flummoxed by all the characters and loooooong descriptions.
We've been spoiled by a plethora of good books. #GoodProblemToHave
ksotala's review against another edition
3.0
I would give this three and a half stars. I liked reading it, and it was written in a very relatable and personal style that made me like the author as a person, but I'm not sure if I got much in the way of new useful information. Still, worth reading because of hilarious/wonderful bits such as this one:
> When I was fifteen or sixteen years old, and secure in the knowledge that I’d been placed on this planet to be a writer, it didn’t even occur to me to wonder what sort of thing I would write. I was at the time furiously busy reading my way through the great novels of the century, the works of Steinbeck and Hemingway and Wolfe and Dos Passos and Fitzgerald and all their friends and relations, and it was ever so clear to me that I would in due course produce a Great Novel of my own.
> I’d go to college first, naturally, where I might get a somewhat clearer notion of just what constituted a Great Novel. Then I’d emerge into the real world where I would Live. (I wasn’t quite certain what all this capital-L Living entailed, but I figured there would be a touch of squalor in there somewhere, along with generous dollops of booze and sex.) All of this Living would ultimately distill itself into the Meaningful Experiences out of which I would eventually produce any number of Worthwhile Books.
> Now there’s nothing necessarily wrong with this approach. Any number of important novels are produced in this approximate fashion, and the method has the added advantage that, should you wind up writing nothing at all, you’ll at least have treated yourself to plenty of booze and sex en route.
> When I was fifteen or sixteen years old, and secure in the knowledge that I’d been placed on this planet to be a writer, it didn’t even occur to me to wonder what sort of thing I would write. I was at the time furiously busy reading my way through the great novels of the century, the works of Steinbeck and Hemingway and Wolfe and Dos Passos and Fitzgerald and all their friends and relations, and it was ever so clear to me that I would in due course produce a Great Novel of my own.
> I’d go to college first, naturally, where I might get a somewhat clearer notion of just what constituted a Great Novel. Then I’d emerge into the real world where I would Live. (I wasn’t quite certain what all this capital-L Living entailed, but I figured there would be a touch of squalor in there somewhere, along with generous dollops of booze and sex.) All of this Living would ultimately distill itself into the Meaningful Experiences out of which I would eventually produce any number of Worthwhile Books.
> Now there’s nothing necessarily wrong with this approach. Any number of important novels are produced in this approximate fashion, and the method has the added advantage that, should you wind up writing nothing at all, you’ll at least have treated yourself to plenty of booze and sex en route.
annettewolf's review
4.0
I picked this book up when I heard the Director of my MFA program praise it. Taking recommendations from my professors is a good way to read a lot of really amazing books.
I’m surprised I didn’t know about this before, and really glad to have read it now. Block gives a thorough, yet completely accessible, overview of the writing life. Everything from daily writing habits to what happens after a publishing deal. It may not go as deep as some people would like, but there are books out there specializing in all stages of the writing process.
As a primer, this one is a fantastic place to start. I wish I’d read it when I was new to this whole writing thing. Now my MFA is behind me and I still managed to get useful advice out of this book. I highly recommend it to any writer who enjoys reading books about the craft of writing.
This and other reviews by me can be found at www.annaimber.com
I’m surprised I didn’t know about this before, and really glad to have read it now. Block gives a thorough, yet completely accessible, overview of the writing life. Everything from daily writing habits to what happens after a publishing deal. It may not go as deep as some people would like, but there are books out there specializing in all stages of the writing process.
As a primer, this one is a fantastic place to start. I wish I’d read it when I was new to this whole writing thing. Now my MFA is behind me and I still managed to get useful advice out of this book. I highly recommend it to any writer who enjoys reading books about the craft of writing.
This and other reviews by me can be found at www.annaimber.com