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randyribay's review against another edition
4.0
A useful and practical guide to starting a story. Not a masterpiece on craft. More reviews at The Book Mark.
stacys_books's review against another edition
5.0
If you suffer from Explaineritis when you write your opening lines, this book will cure you. Edgerton not only drives home the point that you must have an attention-grabbing opening, he shows how having this can help you more easily write the rest of the story. This is a terrific book on the craft of writing.
larrys's review against another edition
5.0
I read this some years ago. Coming back to it after having read much more on story in general, I see that Edgerton's terminology lines up with others':
Story-worthy problem = Truby's psychological and moral weakness. Others call it a flaw or 'fatal flaw'.
Surface-level problem = Truby's 'Desire'. Others call it a 'goal'.
I love Thelma and Louise so I'm glad he focuses on that as a case study, as I know it inside out and back to front. It's impossible learning anything from a description of a story unless you know the story.
This book is not just about the opening few pages. Rather, it's about what the writer needs to set up in order to sustain the entire book. This is a writing book about the whole book.
But in Anatomy of Story, John Truby digs deeper. Specifically, he divides 'story worthy problem' (Need) into two separate parts (moral and psychological weakness), which is vital. Edgerton doesn't do that.
Story-worthy problem = Truby's psychological and moral weakness. Others call it a flaw or 'fatal flaw'.
Surface-level problem = Truby's 'Desire'. Others call it a 'goal'.
I love Thelma and Louise so I'm glad he focuses on that as a case study, as I know it inside out and back to front. It's impossible learning anything from a description of a story unless you know the story.
This book is not just about the opening few pages. Rather, it's about what the writer needs to set up in order to sustain the entire book. This is a writing book about the whole book.
But in Anatomy of Story, John Truby digs deeper. Specifically, he divides 'story worthy problem' (Need) into two separate parts (moral and psychological weakness), which is vital. Edgerton doesn't do that.
daaan's review against another edition
3.0
Good solid advice, but quite repetitive. I get the impression that the writer was expecting more resistance from me, but it mostly just confirmed what I already realised from reading a lot of books.
slcrow's review
4.0
I'm somewhere between 3 and 4 stars for this rating, but I bumped it up to 4 because I do feel that it's earned more than an "average" rating.
As with any instructional book about writing, there's always information that the writer comes to the table knowing previously. I haven't read any instructional book on the writing process and been totally blown away by entirely new information. But a good writing book will show you something new and give you a new perspective on your work that you haven't considered before, and I think that this book is successful at that.
On the other side of the coin, I think he could have achieved this goal much more quickly. Edgerton relies on a lot (and I do mean a LOT) of examples, to the point that sometimes I think they bog down his points. I don't have a problem with his repetition (he repeats a number of significant points a few times throughout the book), since repetition equals retention in most cases, but there were simply too many examples for my taste. I usually only need one or two really solid examples, and he gave me six or seven or more. I also felt that some of his examples weren't the strongest--some of the openings he touted as "good" or "great" seemed to me to be rather cliche and so-so.
I think that this book will be a good starting point for a beginning writer struggling to get her novel off the ground--someone who's been agonizing over the best way to start things off and really not sure about what will catch an editor's eye. For what it is, I think this is a very good jumping-off point, even if it was a little more introductory and sometimes a little more ham-fisted than was useful for me.
As with any instructional book about writing, there's always information that the writer comes to the table knowing previously. I haven't read any instructional book on the writing process and been totally blown away by entirely new information. But a good writing book will show you something new and give you a new perspective on your work that you haven't considered before, and I think that this book is successful at that.
On the other side of the coin, I think he could have achieved this goal much more quickly. Edgerton relies on a lot (and I do mean a LOT) of examples, to the point that sometimes I think they bog down his points. I don't have a problem with his repetition (he repeats a number of significant points a few times throughout the book), since repetition equals retention in most cases, but there were simply too many examples for my taste. I usually only need one or two really solid examples, and he gave me six or seven or more. I also felt that some of his examples weren't the strongest--some of the openings he touted as "good" or "great" seemed to me to be rather cliche and so-so.
I think that this book will be a good starting point for a beginning writer struggling to get her novel off the ground--someone who's been agonizing over the best way to start things off and really not sure about what will catch an editor's eye. For what it is, I think this is a very good jumping-off point, even if it was a little more introductory and sometimes a little more ham-fisted than was useful for me.
megant713's review against another edition
3.0
Ok--so...I had some issues with this one.
The concept of this book sounded excellent. I agree that you need to have a stellar opening to your novel in order to have a chance of becoming published.
However, I don't agree that your novel should begin with your inciting incident. You should set the stage first--show your readers what normal life looks like before the inciting incident happens, making it impossible for your protagonist to return to their normal life.
Second, and more problematic, is that this author references his works often as examples of ways to open a novel or essay. First off, this is just poor form. Secondly, I don't believe I share the opinion that his previous works had compelling openings...
Again, I love the concept behind this book and I appreciate what Les Edgerton tried to do here, but I feel that this fell a little short of the mark.
The concept of this book sounded excellent. I agree that you need to have a stellar opening to your novel in order to have a chance of becoming published.
However, I don't agree that your novel should begin with your inciting incident. You should set the stage first--show your readers what normal life looks like before the inciting incident happens, making it impossible for your protagonist to return to their normal life.
Second, and more problematic, is that this author references his works often as examples of ways to open a novel or essay. First off, this is just poor form. Secondly, I don't believe I share the opinion that his previous works had compelling openings...
Again, I love the concept behind this book and I appreciate what Les Edgerton tried to do here, but I feel that this fell a little short of the mark.
lapetite's review
4.0
An excellent book and a must-have for anyone that is writing a novel.
Mr. Edgerton's humor and warmth is translated into words as he guides and empowers you in the lonesome journey that is that of being a writer. His words mixed with the conversation-like approach touch the reader and fills him with such a positive and realistic (quite the combo) outlook for their future novels, that they truly believe nothing can stop them.
Above crafting a great opening for your book, he goes into backstory, foreshadowing, and many other things you need to have in mind while you're breathing life into your book.
It's very easy to read. Highly recommended.
Mr. Edgerton's humor and warmth is translated into words as he guides and empowers you in the lonesome journey that is that of being a writer. His words mixed with the conversation-like approach touch the reader and fills him with such a positive and realistic (quite the combo) outlook for their future novels, that they truly believe nothing can stop them.
Above crafting a great opening for your book, he goes into backstory, foreshadowing, and many other things you need to have in mind while you're breathing life into your book.
It's very easy to read. Highly recommended.
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