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A review by readerbythewater
Writing the Novel: From Plot to Print by Lawrence Block
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