2.5 stars - 5/10

I like short books, but this one exaggerates.

to-read

I haven't written a novel, although I did try my hand at it. This book is also helpful for understanding the craft of writing, and I'm glad I read it.

How to Write a Damn Good Novel is a quick read, and I enjoyed the author's sense of humor. Although I didn't come across anything earth-shattering, I did learn many concepts that were new to me (creating step sheets, the positives and negatives of various perspectives, what editors are looking for, etc.). Frey didn't answer some of my more technical questions, such as whether I can use the names of real places, TV shows, etc. (I'm guessing not), but I still think this book is worth reading if you are an aspiring novelist.

One of the best books on writing I've ever read. Brilliant!

Great book just old. Explained very well.

One of the best books on writing I've ever read. The author has established himself both with his own fiction and as a writing instructor, and this is full of clear and practical guidance. I strongly recommend this to any aspiring novelist.

ReedIII Quick Review: Basic, introductory, formula based, usable principles and techniques. Though I am not an author I would think that any fiction writer would find useful information here. This is one way to write with an eye to publishing.

I came to this book as we're discussing some concepts from it in a writing workshop, and were suggested to look at this book to find more about it. These concepts are premise, crucible and poetic justice.

Actually, I found the premise described in a very fruitful way, and found it embedded in the process that James N Frey describes. I believe, that this is a process targeted at plotters (and so it's one that will work for me and help me a lot). The concept of the crucible I find much more compellingly detailed in the works of Lajos Egri, but the whole process and the many parts it contains actually made up my mind for things that just don't work out in my own writing. That and all the wisdom sprinkled in between makes me dish out 5 stars (even if I think there's a little too much examples show).

How to Write a Damn Good Novel is an excellent read for novelists, especially beginners. Frey has packed this book with actionable information that will help writers craft, well,...a good novel.

The book addresses everything from character and conflict to storytelling and dialogue. If you’ve never completed a novel or if you’re trying to polish or rework one, this book is a vital and indispensable tool.

Frey is good at instructing the writer, not only on what to do, but on how to do it. He discusses many techniques that are useful for writers, then gives examples showing how these techniques have been used in the published works of successful authors.

In How to Write a Damn Good Novel, you’ll learn which device is the most misused and overworked device in fiction writing, the three commandments of dynamic prose, how to connect with your readers on an emotional level, how to draft a step sheet, how to determine the best viewpoint for your novel, and many more elements that are critical to writing a novel.

*An important note: This book primarily addresses the technical aspects of crafting a good novel (structure, dialogue, creating dynamic characters, etc). I mention this because it seems that How to Write a Damn Good Novel is repeatedly compared to other writing books, books that are more about the emotional and psychological obstacles of writing as opposed to a fundamental discussion on the how-to’s of crafting a good novel. As such, it seems that many reviewers are trying to draw an apples-to-apples comparison that is more akin to comparing apples to oranges. In its own right, How to Write a Damn Good Novel is a practical and useful tool to help writers with the technical and fundamental aspects of structuring and writing a good novel.

Highly recommended.

As page 170 says about writers block: Scream at it.

I quite liked this book, and generally writing books are a bit hard to get through. He used examples of classic books, as well as creating stories/characters/situations to demonstrate how the different types of writing worked with different situations.

It was a bit odd to see Lolita in there as often as it was, just because of how much I despise that whole concept, so there is that. Not necessarily a criticism or anything, just letting people know that he does use Lolita as one of the main examples throughout the novel (Christmas Carol, Old Man and the Sea, One Flew Over the Cuckoo Nest, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, uhhhh, one other that I can't remember right now?).

I also appreciated the ending where he discussed writers block and how to get published. He didn't spend pages and pages on it, he simply boiled it down to 4 main issues, and gave some suggestions for each one. Personally my favorite was to just scream it out.

His discussion on how to get published was basically just find an agent and treat them well. Their job is to get you published, your job is to write the book.

Anything of note: honestly it was just swearing. There were mentions of how characters might react to situations, but he never writes anything out (i.e. if Charlotte is hurt, does she get mad or sad?).