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A review by ljwrites85
The Linchpin Writer: Crafting Your Novel's Key Moments by John Matthew Fox, John Matthew Fox
4.0
Rounded up from 3.5
Lately I've read a good deal of writing advice books to hone my craft as a writer, so I was interested in what The Linchpin Writer had to offer.
The Linchpin Writer is part memoir, part writing advice with helpful literary examples and exercises scattered throughout to help you along the way. If I were to compare it to another novel, it would be On Writing by Stephen King except this has a lot clearer writing advice in it.
There is also a uniqueness to the novel. I've not read another novel that handles such a broad amount of subjects, from why you want to be a writer to writing your first paragraph and first dialogue, even to making time for your writing.
This book really challenged me, in a good way, about the way I'd been writing, in particular when it came to character description, which is my current nemesis. I would also very much recommend this book if you are in the editing stages of your novel, rather than doing a first draft, to help strengthen the story.
As I was reading, I found there was a bit of a literary angle to the book. As a lover of crime fiction, many of the fiction examples used I'd either never read or even heard of. Also, when discussing steamy/romantic scenes, the tone came across as kind of snobby, but of course, that's just my opinion.
The Linchpin Writer is a book full of practical writing advice, interesting anecdotes and great if you're looking for help to sharpen up your writing skills.
Lately I've read a good deal of writing advice books to hone my craft as a writer, so I was interested in what The Linchpin Writer had to offer.
The Linchpin Writer is part memoir, part writing advice with helpful literary examples and exercises scattered throughout to help you along the way. If I were to compare it to another novel, it would be On Writing by Stephen King except this has a lot clearer writing advice in it.
There is also a uniqueness to the novel. I've not read another novel that handles such a broad amount of subjects, from why you want to be a writer to writing your first paragraph and first dialogue, even to making time for your writing.
This book really challenged me, in a good way, about the way I'd been writing, in particular when it came to character description, which is my current nemesis. I would also very much recommend this book if you are in the editing stages of your novel, rather than doing a first draft, to help strengthen the story.
As I was reading, I found there was a bit of a literary angle to the book. As a lover of crime fiction, many of the fiction examples used I'd either never read or even heard of. Also, when discussing steamy/romantic scenes, the tone came across as kind of snobby, but of course, that's just my opinion.
The Linchpin Writer is a book full of practical writing advice, interesting anecdotes and great if you're looking for help to sharpen up your writing skills.