Writing 21st Century Fiction: High Impact Techniques for Exceptional Storytelling

by Donald Maass

Capture the minds, hearts, and imaginations of 21st century readers! Whether you're a commercial storyteller or a literary novelist, whether your goal is to write a best-selling novel or captivate readers with a satisfying, beautifully written story, the key to success is the high-impact fiction. Writing 21st Century Fiction will help you write a novel for today's readers and market, filled with rich characters, compelling plots, and resonant themes. Author and literary agent Donald Maass shows you how Create fiction that transcends genre, conjures characters who look and feel more "real" than real people, and shows readers the work around them in new ways. Infuse every page with an electric current of emotional appeal and micro-tension. Harness the power of parallels, symbols, metaphors, and more to illuminate your novel in a lasting way. Develop a personalized method of writing that works for you. With an arsenal of thought-provoking prompts and questions, plus plenty of examples from best-selling titles, Writing 21st Century Fiction will strip away your preconceived notions about writing in today's world and give you the essential tools you need to create fiction that will leave both readers and critics in awe.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Crafts, Reference, Research, 21st Century, How To

224 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2012

About the author

Donald Maass is the author of more than 16 novels. He now works as a literary agent, representing dozens of novelists in the SF, fantasy, crime, mystery, romance and thriller categories. He speaks at writer's conferences throughout the country and lives in New York City.

Reviews

[Jonathan Peto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Those suck-ups who rate this book a 5 are obviously hoping to get on Donald Maass’ good side. (He heads a big literary agency in New York.) The book is a 4, and mainly because of the questions at the end of each chapter. The text contains some wisdom, but I don’t honestly believe it will benefit writers who have not already read about the topics in more detail elsewhere. If you have, you’ll enjoy the review and the fresh examples - lots of contemporary ones. Rereading about topics such as characters may set something at an angle you previously missed, that's all. For example, in chapter 6, The Three Levels of Story, Maass writes about inner and outer conflict, which I’ve read about and thought about just like you, but his focus on inner and outer turning points in each scene did click with me in a new way. Another example of a good from Chapter 6 was what he called the fourth level, which is not plot (beginning, middle, end), scene, or microtension. His concept of the fourth level was useful to me, but based on how little Maass truly elaborates, some enterprising writer of fiction writing books could do him better, much better. I’d try but I know, at this time, I can’t. Maass definitely knows more than I do, duh, but he does not spell it out. Maybe I’ll figure it out as I continue writing.

I found lots of things here I had not considered before, like his discussion of “cool vs. warm”, like his vision of 21st Century fiction and novelists, but none of it gets a lot of detailed attention. Donald Maass has a great eye but he is not a writer. He obviously knows more about writing publishable, successful fiction than we do. His examples are wonderful, varied and contemporary. Maybe he’s used to writers who hear his questions and comments and can deliver on that alone. Maass wants results, not hand-holding. Where you can handle it, this book may be a gem. Where you’re not quite there, you may need to turn to other authors who will break it down for you. Ultimately I think Maass is primarily an agent, a producer, a businessman (which is fine), and not a writer, or even a teacher of writing. All writers can benefit and learn from his analysis. I suppose the degree depends on your experience, knowledge, and ability.

Each chapter ends with questions. I think it may be best to read this book when you have a draft to contemplate as you read, because the questions will spur on your thinking if they are relevant to what you’re working on. Some questions may strike a chord another day, with another novel draft, or not at all, never. Some questions even struck me as lame, redundant, or foolish.

But there were enough good questions that applied to various masterpieces on my hard drive that you will some day treasure, so I will go back to this book again. And again.

But without a specific draft to contemplate, I think the questions’ value could easily be underestimated or even completely missed.

So four stars. And to all those reviewers who gave it five stars? Come on, Donald Maass is not going to accept your trash just because you kissed his ass on Goodreads. And if he passes on my exceptional final copies because of this 4 star review, then, then, phooey.

[Brent Weeks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don's my agent. I'm a New York Times best selling novelist already. This book is making my next book better. Lots better.
This isn't a How-To-Write-a-Best-Seller paint-by-numbers. This is a book that asks YOU questions that make YOU dig deep to write the best book you can, if you're willing to do the work.

[K.M. Weiland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maass is never a disappointment. One of my favorite things about his writing on writing is that he brings as much heart to the table as he does how-to. He is a powerful proponent for “stories that matter,” and as always he does an excellent job sharing his experience as an agent in a way that helps writers write more efficiently and knowledgeably, but also more passionately.

[Cindy Dees · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would rank this book up with STORY by Robert McKee as one of the most intelligent books ever written about writing fiction. And frankly, this book is more accessible than McKee's textbook.

I've always loved Maass's writing how-to materials, and this was no disappointment. However, I have published 45 novels and taught novel writing for years, and this book challenged even me to absorb the full message within it. It is so dense-packed with ideas and expressed so deeply that I literally had to read this book one sentence at a time, stopping to re-read each sentence, in places. But it's THAT brilliant. It was worth it.

I hate to say it's not a book for a beginning writer because I suspect any writer will find many pearls of wisdom in this book. But to really understand what Maass is getting at will take a fair bit of concentration, thought, patience, and deep examination of your writing. This is not a book for the dash-off-cheap-fiction-fast writer.

Mr. Maass is clearly a master of understanding fiction like few other people I've ever had the pleasure of reading or listening to. And in this book, he's kind enough to share his most intellectual take on fiction writing, no holds barred. He doesn't hold back on the complexity or profundity of his ideas, and for that, I am extremely grateful. It's rare for me, at this level of my writing career to run into someone who can blow my mind and force me to fundamentally re-examine everything I thought I knew about writing. But this book did both. In spades.

[Israel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was amazing! If you write books or are thinking about it, definitely try this out. Maass covers every possibly element of story you could think of and warps everything you think you know.

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

How I Came To Read This Book: I was researching some good, more recent writing tomes and this one is pretty high-ranked on Goodreads, so I gave it a whirl.

The Plot: Essentially Donald Maass is deconstructing what makes runaway bestsellers in today's literary world what they are. He notes early on that many of today's top books defy genre but still have commonalities, namely by tapping into the toolbox of high impact storytelling techniques. Each of those general techniques (and sub-activities) are expounded upon with semi-relevant examples (seriously, sometimes I didn't fully see the connection)all written since 2001. At the conclusion of each chapter he gives you about 30-50 different activities / questions / ideas to integrate into your own story. The idea isn't to use EVERY last technique (or your book would be a hot hella mess) but to really challenge your story to come out of the expected.

The Good & The Bad: I guess the most important thing to note about this book is that it's not for someone that's trying to learn how to write a novel. The 'advice' given in each chapter feels kind of fluffy and far-ranging; compared to Story Engineering it was very, very unfocused. Really, this book is for someone that is partway through a manuscript or really, done or close to done a manuscript, but wants to polish it up before sending it off to editors or agents. If you are in that state or you are approaching that state, I think you'll appreciate this book that much more - even if I felt like some of the advice / activities were a little extreme.

On the plus side, there were some genuine nuggets of clarity that make this book worth a first and a second look. Like the other writing tomes I've been perusing lately, I can see myself keeping this on my desk and using it for inspiration (or for 'checking' my work). I think I need to go through the body copy again (not just the helpful and insightful 'techniques' checklists) and highlight the parts that really resonated with me.

Ironically enough, Maass talks about micro-tension and hooking the reader from sentence to sentence so as not to skim a passage. This book, unfortunately, is stuffed with a lot of skimmable content. It's also worth nothing that although it's awesome his examples are all quite recent (and I've read about half of them), if you are intrigued by a novel's premise when he first introduces it, you may want to stop reading as he spoils a LOT of bloody books. But you know, the books he picked are pretty smart throughout - ones that have really entered the zeitgeist to varying degrees. And kudos for mentioning quite a few YA bestsellers, including Maze Runner, The Hunger Games, Before I Fall, among others (including Harry Potter).

Again, I don't think this is a book you'll take much away from unless you have a copy on your desk and you're looking to really strengthen your manuscript. Beginner, aspiring writers, seriously look elsewhere. Budding authors with a solid story under their belt - be prepared to have your 'perfect' story shook up a bit.

The Bottom Line: Useful for a certain type of writer at a certain stage in the writing game. Suffers a bit from overly fluffy 'advice' but grounds itself in real, extreme, exciting activities and ideas.

Anything Memorable?: Fun fact, I tried to start this book in December when I was in the throes of the flu. My brain capsized as I tried to read it so I postponed till the new year. I think it was for the best as reading this as a follow-up to Story Engineering makes sense.

60-Book Challenge?: Book #9(!) in 2014.

[Chris Blake · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books on the craft of fiction is literary agent Donald Maass’s classic, “Writing the Breakout Novel.” Maass followed that up with “The Fire in Fiction: Passion, Purpose and Techniques to Make Your Novel Great.” His latest work, “Writing 21st Century Fiction: High Impact Techniques for Exceptional Storytelling,” focuses on what it takes to write high-impact fiction in today’s genre-driven age.

Maass decided to write the book after he noticed commercial, genre fiction dominated The New York Times’ best-seller list for hardcovers (as expected), but the trade paperback list featured literary fiction. His conclusion was that a new kind of fiction was emerging— and that the best 21st Century fiction combined proven commercial story-telling techniques with high impact literary writing that exhibited powerful themes and emotions.

In an interview on the popular blog, Writer Unboxed, Maass discussed what the book is about. “It’s about the death of genre, or more accurately the liberation from genre boxes—including the “literary” box. It’s about creating fiction that’s powerful, free and uniquely your own. It’s about how we change the world,” Maass said.

http://writerunboxed.com/2012/10/03/t...

One of the most lessons Maass imparts to writers is the need to dig deep into their own emotions to create high-impact characters and stories.

“The characters who resonate most widely today don’t merely reflect our times, they reflect ourselves. That’s true whether we’re talking about genre fare, historicals, satire, or serious literary stuff,” he writes. “Revealing human truths means transcending tropes, peering into the past with fresh eyes, unearthing all that is hidden, and moving beyond what is easy and comfortable to write what is hard and even painful to face.

“Get out of the past. Get over trends. To write high-impact 21st century fiction, you must start by becoming highly personal. Find your voice, yes, but more than that, challenge yourself to be unafraid, independent, open, aware, and true to your own heart. You must become your most authentic self.”

Maass urges writers to consider carefully their characters’ inner and outer journeys. These journeys are different, but inter-connected. Each chapter ends with a series of questions and advice specific to character and story.

Action and tension are important to sustain the reader’s interest, but Maass urges writers to consider impact. He writes, “Clever twists and turns are only momentarily attention-grabbing. Relentless forward-driving action, high tension, and cliffhangers do serve to keep readers’ eyeballs on the page but don’t necessarily engage their hearts. By the same token, a dutifully rendered reality (reviewers call such writing “closely observed”) may cause readers to catch their breath once in a while but the effect doesn’t last long. Not enough is happening, and when it does it feels underwhelming. How then can commercial novelists construct plots that have true power? How can literary writers conjure events that give their work long-lasting effect?

“The answer in all cases is to create events of enormous impact. If an event is external, excavate its inner meaning. If a moment is internal, push it out the door and make it do something large, real, permanent, and hard to miss. Whatever your assignment, you won’t find it easy. It’s not natural to you, since your tendency is to hold back.”

If you are a novice writer, I recommend first reading, “Writing the Breakout Novel” before tackling this book. If you are an experienced writer, I highly recommend this book.

[Vaughn Roycroft · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first time I read this book I skimmed over the questions at the end of each segment (they really require deep thought, and the time and space for it), and I still found it quite useful in wrapping my head around where I wanted my work to go. I knew I'd have to revisit it before I went back to the revision drawing board, and this time I focused on the questions. I just finished, and it has catapulted my outlook on my writing life and the work itself into a whole new light (and I've been at this for many years).

I have it on my Kindle, but I just ordered a bound copy, for easy flipping during revsion sessions. If you are a writer looking to up your game, buy this book!

[Ann Rawson · Rating 2 out of 5]

It starts well, and some of the chapters make a lot of sense. Especially when he is talking about genre, and the need to break some of the rules, and stressing authenticity.

But then the whole thing is let down by some of the exercises.

"What's a foundational attribute of your protagonist? Create an odd tic or habit that implies the opposite. Add six times. Voila, a quirk!"

That seems to me to be pretty much the opposite of seeking emotional authenticity, and we are back into writing by numbers territory.

I am only part way through, and may never actually finish reading this one. It is so frustrating....

[Liz Fenwick · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thought provoking look at writing fiction. It was the right book for me to be reading now. As with all of Maass's book there is insight and then practical exercise to push your writing further. It's a book I will return to again and again.

[Jodi McIsaac · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always find Donald Maass' books on writing enormously helpful, and this book was no exception. Although some of the content seemed to be similar to his book The Fire in Fiction, the sections on deepening the emotional intensity were excellent (and much needed at this stage in my current work-in-progress!). I enjoy the exercises/questions he gives at the end of each chapter--I don't sit down and implement them all, but they are certainly good food for thought, especially if you have a scene that just isn't working but you're not sure why. I'd recommend this book to any writer.

[Katerina Diamond · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a pretty good book to dip and out of but I prefer his book on the emotional craft of writing fiction.

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maass, as always, has some great advice here for livening up your fiction if your draft is feeling stale. Much of it sounded similar to what he offered in The Fire in Fiction and Writing the Breakout Novel, though the spin here is that the modern audience (and agent) doesn't have the time for your boring-assed fiction. Do EVERYTHING YOU CAN to make sure your characters are memorable, your plots well-paced, and your endings so astounding their heads will explode. It's a tall order.

I came away feeling rather overloaded with suggestions, too. Not necessarily a bad thing, but I was somewhat reminded of my skating coach back in the day helping me learn a jump or a spin. My coach could show me examples of the maneuver being done well and he could offer a lot of suggestions for different ways to hold my shoulders, position my feet, or stretch my body. Not all of them were actually useful though, because it was impossible for him to predict the ripple effects of a single change. Without even considering that, he'd just throw a bunch of advice at me to see what worked. Some of it resulted in some rather exaggerated (and incorrect) results, which were made even worse when he made five suggestions at once.

Same for Maass's advice, particularly in the battery of lists at the end of each chapter. "Think of something your character would never say. Make them say it." "What's the most improbable thing your character would do at the climactic moment of the book? Make them do it." "What's an ironclad rule of your genre? Break it." You can't do ALL of these things, or else you're going to end up with a manuscript as spastic as my first attempts at double axels. That's my sense anyway.

If you're in the mood to wade through it all, however, there are some good ideas here for experimenting with your fiction. The lists are themed, I know, but they end up making the book as a whole feel less cohesive than the others I mentioned. I don't think Writing 21st Century Fiction is bad, but I would recommend The Fire in Fiction instead.

[Rod Raglin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Go big or go home This latest offering from non-fiction author and literary agent/agency, Donald Maass, basically talks about the melding of literary and genre writing, or beautifully written, character driven novels with page-turning, plot driven novels, to create what he calls literary/commercial fiction. Maas liberally quotes (about a quarter of the book) from his favorite examples. Another big chunk of pages are taken up by exercises which I found interesting to read, but tedious to undertake. Other chapters include his thoughts on creating: inner journey, outer journey, standout characters, three levels of story, beautifully written, and elements of awe. This is not a book for beginners who need the basics like goal, motivation and conflict. Maas assumes you've written a novel, had limited success and want more. A few good ideas here but the premise is 'go big or go home'. Write big stories about larger than life characters in life altering situations. Oh, really?
 

[Shaun Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maass has done it again. Hands-down the best book on writing I've read.



Update: Upon second reading, yup, still the best book on writing novels I've read.

[Sunyi Dean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant

Another amazing Maass craft book. Others don't work well for me as they tend to focus on structure or slightly more formulaic writing aspects. Maass though is basically analysing a series of best sellers and teaching you to spot patterns in how they're written, then providing suggestions for implementing that in your own work. Much like EMOTIONAL CRAFT OF FICTION, the only other craft book I've read which happens to also be by Maass, I will return to this many times I'm sure.

[Andrew Crofflard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let's face it there a lot of books about writing and most say the same thing. What was refreshing about this book seemed to me that it was more advanced than most and took off where most stopped.

What was most interesting for me was the concept that to be engaging the writing must be deeply personal. What I found most interesting about his writing is that it did that. I'm not sure why I didn't imagine that to become a true literary artist the process should be any different from that of other forms of art where the process of greatness is the one of ridding inhibitions, to stand naked, alone and vulnerability.

I don't know why it had never occurred to me before, but I think because Authors create magic - ie visions in the air out of nothing, that somehow, the deeply personal was only for those writing memoirs, high-concept literary art.

I have not read Douglas Maass's work before but the best compliment I can offer is that it resonated with me, engaged me and rang true.

Now, if I can only do that in my writing.....where were those exercises again?

[Brandon Petry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Right up there with Thrill Me: Essays on Fiction, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft and Self-Editing for Fiction Writers: How to Edit Yourself Into Print as the best and most useful craft books I've ever read. Anyone interested in writing literary genre fiction, genre fiction, literary fiction or whatever you want to label what you write should read this book. Each chapter ends with sections of review and checklists that are so helpful I know I will be coming back to this book many times. Highly recommenced.

[Dave Morris · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Common and obvious symbols are lame: dove, eagle, rose, sunrise, winter, lightning. Others are so obtuse that they are eternal fodder for term papers: albatross, white whale, the Valley of Ashes."

If you don't see anything wrong with that statement and if you prefer, say, the brash oomph of the Breakfast at Tiffany's movie to the slippery nuance and ambiguities of the novel, then this is the book for you.

[Tracey Jaffart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely great read. Very inspiring. I am ready to apply all that he says to my WIP. He really challenges us writers to go way beyond our comfort levels...and I agree that it probably is necessary. A must read.

[Richard Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books on writing I've read in years. Pick it up. NOW.

[Calypso · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book consists of 9 chapters focusing on different storytelling aspects, in which Maass waffles on about what brilliant books (he calls them "high-impact stories" here) need to stand out and how to achieve that. It all boils down to these two things: be bold, and pour yourself into your stories so they're as unique and specific as you are.

I'm sure there are many authors out there who need to hear this, but it's nothing we haven't heard before. Nothing groundbreaking. However, and this is why I've rated it 3 stars, each section is accompanied by sets of specific tasks to apply to your own work. They won't all apply or appeal to an author and they can get repetitive, but I noted several exercises that I'm eager to try. There was one in particular that seemed designed especially for my next project and which gave me a small epiphany of sorts, so thanks Maass.

This craft book isn't for beginner authors. For an author who needs to learn or brush up on the basics (the secrets of POV, descriptions, etc) before she attempts a novel, this book won't help her. It's ideal for authors who've finished a novel (or a few) or are in the process of finishing. Lots of the tasks mentioned are perfect for the planning or the revision stage.

Overall, a bit waffly but with a bunch of exercises that seem very promising.

[Carmilla Mayes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't decide which Maass book I prefer... Oh wait, yes I can. Emotional Craft of Fiction. I liked this book - hence 4 stars, and I will likely read it again, as I do with all my craft books. Matt Bird's Secrets of Story was more interesting and better developed, in my opinion. Maass hits some high notes in this, but never goes into enough detail.

[Becky Avella · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book.
I love this author.
Every page is filled with underlines and notes scribbled in the margins.
No other teacher of writing craft gets right to the heart of who I long to be as Don Maass does. I fully expect the cover will eventually fall off of this book because it will be re-read so much.

[Judy Croome · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great addition to any writer’s craft bookshelf.

Focused primarily on how to make logical plot-driven fiction high impact, but also gives some attention to intuitive character- based fiction.

Overall, a well-balanced book, easy to read and containing some great writing tips.

J A Croome
“The Sand People”

[Shawn Bird]

This one took me a good year to read, because you need to have a specific project on the go, and time to work with the questions if you want to get the most out of this book.

It will be a book to return to with every project, once the 'crappy first draft' is done, and one is ready to edit into brilliance.

[Izzati · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I did learn a few surprisingly things from this book, I found it rather repetitive.

Also, it definitely spoiled a number of well-known books because of the need to break the stories down for us to see how successful authors bring their messages across to the readers.

[Alia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read for writers and readers alike! I found it fascinating to learn about what makes a good book and then look for those elements in current reads. I think it will help me define why I enjoyed a book or determine a DNF without any remorse.

[Heather Myers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, as usual

Maas has always been excellent at writing books on how to write, but I especially liked his chapters on process in this book - what defines success? What type of writer are you? Definitely recommend. Thank you for sharing!

[Boo Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb!

This is one of my favorite craft books of all time. It spoke to me very deeply. I like that he dove into the spiritual and cosmic. The books that he describes are exactly the books I set out to write.