[.ca] You Can Write A Novel Kit (ISBN 1582975264)

Endings First:
I'd like to add to the many reviews of You Can Write a Novel by bringing up what I consider to be the best advice in the book--the best advice I've received in a long time. Smith advises you to write the ending first. Instead of starting at the beginning, typing thousands of words, suddenly finding yourself lost, then, naturally, abandoning the project, you're advised to plot your novel ahead of time. Then you're to begin writing at the best part, the end. By writing a strong climax early on, you will clearly see where your novel is going, and you will be able to foreshadow effectively. Honestly, this one professional tidbit has helped me to finish my first story in a long time (a short story, granted, but the advice crosses over). Smith shows you how to zoom out and see your novel as a whole, to write it out of order--always tackling the parts that inspire you most, first, above all others--and to fill in the lesser scenes later. It almost makes writing fun. (Many of us don't write for fun, but out of compulsion.) I'm currently reading another book about novel writing that's twice as long and less than half as effective. You Can Write a Novel by James Smith is short, HELPFUL, and enjoyable. This guy wields words with humor and authority. He makes me want to write a novel, which previously I'd feared. I couldn't imagine how to tackle such a project. He'll make you beleive that you can, too.

Step-by-Step Guide:
This book is an excellent step-by-step guide to writing a novel. Smith covers all the necessary steps from coming up with a good idea to selling your manuscript. He gives clear and detailed instructions right down to the recommended size of the index cards you should make notes on. He also includes 40 Cardinal Rules throughout the book. Rule # 1 is "Never be boring..." and my favorite, Rule #2 is "Every writing rule in the book has an exception--except rule #1" This book contains a lot of useful information for an inexperienced writer. Some will benefit from the very detailed, prescriptive approach. E.g. he says to write a 5x8 card for each major charcater and a 3x5 card for each minor charcater in your book listing their physical traits, goals and motivations, etc. I found this too mechanical, but it does force a writer to consider details that will likely make a novel better. Overall, I found the book to be helpful and well worth reading.

No Excuses Anymore:
Not your typical "How To" where you get hammered with useless theory and history lessons, but a true instructional guide that helps you GET YOUR NOVEL DONE. In my opinion, if the beginning and intermediate novelist did everything that this book instructs, they would have a completed novel. Warning to the experienced writer - this manual could possibly conflict with the techniques that have always produced for you. The methods in this book take a step by step approach toward advancing story in a very particular and focused way which could actually stifle your way of creating which could ultimately change both your story and style. But on brighter note these methods could be a blessing to the "Painfully Experienced". As quiet as it is kept, there are so many experienced writers who have their own way of doing things but struggle and waste a lot of time and energy because they don't have a map, a guide, a plan. In today's world of competition, distractions as well as things that demand our time (family, job, etc.), we (especially creative people) need anything that can help direct and focus our creativity. Hats off to the author's skill to make it easy. No more headaches, no more drifting and no more writing tangents. There's just clear concise instruction in this thin and "to the point" guide. I would even go as far to say that this book could help ANYONE who ever wanted to start and actually finished a novel, minus all of the volumes of horn tooting, irrelevant theory and history, etc. THERE ARE NO MORE EXCUSES!!! This can be your road map.

All about PROCESS:
If you actually want to get writing, this book is for you. This book isn't a mystical cheerlead on the gift of writing, or a drawn-out analysis on the basic elements of fiction. This book is all about seat-in-the-chair/fingers-on-the-keyboard process! And not a long, drawn-out process of lengthy character biographies and overwhelming multi-page outlines. Too many books obsess over "the writing before the writing." This book is all about getting focused and then getting writing. If you're ready to really produce something - not just dream about it - this book will help you do it. I was skeptical till I tried it and surprised to found out how easy it was to get started! It's an excellent value - one of the most practical and useful books on novel writing that I own - and a definite keeper.

A decent book on fiction writing...:
James V. Smith's "You Can Write A Novel" is written for the first-time novelist looking to create a salable manuscript. Smith offers a number of valuable tips that I haven't seen in similar how-to books. One of them is to practice writing out select paragraphs of best-selling authors. In doing so, you can learn a lot about proper sentence structure, good dialogue, and powerful, action-packed sentences. The book is worth reading in order to pick up anything, just one tip that will help improve your writing. However, if you can only buy one book, I would suggest "Stein on Writing", "The First Five Pages", or "Writing the Breakout Novel" instead. Britt Gillette Author of "Conquest of Paradise"