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Rock Your Writing #2
Rock Your Revisions: A Simple System for Revising Your Novel
Do you feel overwhelmed trying to revise your novel?
Faced with a hot mess of rough draft, maybe you feel confused, unsure of what to fix -- or rather, what to fix first!
Editing fiction takes a slightly different mindset than writing the first rough pass of a novel. There are a lot of moving parts in a work of fiction. The trick is to not try and tackle everything at once.
ROCK YOUR REVISIONS: A Simple System for Revising Your Novel will show you a clear, easy-to-follow process for editing a novel. It will help you:
- Test for story structure on a macro level, providing detailed checklists for character and plot arcs.
- Test for story structure at the scene level, making sure each serves a purpose in the novel (and hopefully more than one!)
- Gain insight on the mechanics of the novel -- checking POV choice, dialogue, exposition vs. detail (showing versus telling), and more, with a systematic scene-by-scene approach.
This book goes straight to the point, putting theory in plain language, adding illustrative examples, and finishing each section with exercises designed to help you see how to not only edit a novel, but improve your reader's enjoyment of your book.
Faced with a hot mess of rough draft, maybe you feel confused, unsure of what to fix -- or rather, what to fix first!
Editing fiction takes a slightly different mindset than writing the first rough pass of a novel. There are a lot of moving parts in a work of fiction. The trick is to not try and tackle everything at once.
ROCK YOUR REVISIONS: A Simple System for Revising Your Novel will show you a clear, easy-to-follow process for editing a novel. It will help you:
- Test for story structure on a macro level, providing detailed checklists for character and plot arcs.
- Test for story structure at the scene level, making sure each serves a purpose in the novel (and hopefully more than one!)
- Gain insight on the mechanics of the novel -- checking POV choice, dialogue, exposition vs. detail (showing versus telling), and more, with a systematic scene-by-scene approach.
This book goes straight to the point, putting theory in plain language, adding illustrative examples, and finishing each section with exercises designed to help you see how to not only edit a novel, but improve your reader's enjoyment of your book.
ebook
First published November 28, 2012
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342 people want to read
About the author
Cathy Yardley
78 books1,414 followersCathy Yardley is an award-winning author of romance, chick lit, and urban fantasy, who has sold over 1.2 million copies of books for publishers like St. Martin's, Avon, and Harlequin. She writes fun, geeky, and diverse characters who believe that underdogs can make good and that sometimes being a little wrong is just right.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 31 reviews
March 19, 2016
I recently finished the first draft of a novel––and in the month or so since then, I've done a little editing but not much hardcore revising. I find revisions really daunting, and I never know where I should start, so I've been asking around about good advice books about revising. A couple of people suggested this book to me, and it was pretty cheap for Kindle, so I went ahead and bought it.
Rock Your Revisions is a pretty short-and-sweet guide. It's simple and straightforward, and I was able to read the whole thing in about an hour––and I'm sure I'll re-read parts of it as I get deeper into revising my book.
Yardley does a good job breaking down revisions into basic steps: i.e. figuring out the purpose of each scene, cutting out unnecessary material, making sure your characters are well-developed/consistent, etc. I like how she breaks it into categories, which makes the task seem a little less intimidating. (Personally, part of my problem is that I get too overwhelmed thinking I have to fix everything at once––so having it broken down for me is very helpful.)
At times I wished she would go into a little more depth. Also, she references her other books (which I haven't read) frequently (usually along the lines of: "you probably remember [x] from [my other book]"), which at times made me feel a little lost/alienated. But over all, I think this book is a good place to start for anyone who needs a bit of advice on revising.
Rock Your Revisions is a pretty short-and-sweet guide. It's simple and straightforward, and I was able to read the whole thing in about an hour––and I'm sure I'll re-read parts of it as I get deeper into revising my book.
Yardley does a good job breaking down revisions into basic steps: i.e. figuring out the purpose of each scene, cutting out unnecessary material, making sure your characters are well-developed/consistent, etc. I like how she breaks it into categories, which makes the task seem a little less intimidating. (Personally, part of my problem is that I get too overwhelmed thinking I have to fix everything at once––so having it broken down for me is very helpful.)
At times I wished she would go into a little more depth. Also, she references her other books (which I haven't read) frequently (usually along the lines of: "you probably remember [x] from [my other book]"), which at times made me feel a little lost/alienated. But over all, I think this book is a good place to start for anyone who needs a bit of advice on revising.
March 5, 2014
A nice process for going through one's novel draft and making changes/undertaking checks in revision. I personally didn't find it as flexible for a systematic process, but I think it still manages to give concrete steps to examine a manuscript with, and I think that may help a lot of writers. It's probably best to use this with Yardley's "Rock Your Plot" book, and the reason I give this 3 stars is because I don't know if it completely stands alone or provides enough for its respective price.
I can't complain though; it does give a very quick, concise method to approaching the revision of one's work, and that in itself is worth giving it a read.
Overall score: 3/5 stars
I can't complain though; it does give a very quick, concise method to approaching the revision of one's work, and that in itself is worth giving it a read.
Overall score: 3/5 stars
March 19, 2013
I started this book earlier today with the idea that I would quickly scan over it, and then put it aside until I'm ready to start revising my manuscript. Instead, I read the whole book. Then I had to take myself aside and have a quiet (but hard) word to myself and explain that I'm still in the 'mandatory cooling off period' and I'm not ready to start revisions on my manuscript just yet. Even if I am now ridiculously excited about the prospect.
I'm a pantser by nature, and have an intrinsic fear of words like 'structure' and 'plotting' and 'create a scene chart'. And I have to admit, when I started reading the overview of the first section (on Structural Revision), I was instantly overwhelmed. (There's so many steps! But I don't know how to do these things!) And that feeling lasted... oh, about three seconds. Which was exactly the amount of time it took me to turn the virtual page and read on.
Because Cathy Yardley doesn't just provide a checklist of revision techniques, she provides practical, simple, step-by-step instructions on how to complete each step. How simple? Simple enough that I'm no longer quaking in my boots at the idea of creating a scene chart, for one thing.
If it's not clear from the above, I loved this book. And I think you should buy it. Post haste. Especially if you're mired in revisions but don't have an actual process so instead you're wandering aimlessly through the marshy pea-soup of "maybe if I keep making random changes my story will get stronger".
I'm a pantser by nature, and have an intrinsic fear of words like 'structure' and 'plotting' and 'create a scene chart'. And I have to admit, when I started reading the overview of the first section (on Structural Revision), I was instantly overwhelmed. (There's so many steps! But I don't know how to do these things!) And that feeling lasted... oh, about three seconds. Which was exactly the amount of time it took me to turn the virtual page and read on.
Because Cathy Yardley doesn't just provide a checklist of revision techniques, she provides practical, simple, step-by-step instructions on how to complete each step. How simple? Simple enough that I'm no longer quaking in my boots at the idea of creating a scene chart, for one thing.
If it's not clear from the above, I loved this book. And I think you should buy it. Post haste. Especially if you're mired in revisions but don't have an actual process so instead you're wandering aimlessly through the marshy pea-soup of "maybe if I keep making random changes my story will get stronger".
June 23, 2018
Thoroughly useful book, will be re-reading it again this next week. Lots of simple straight forward advice on how to beat an unruly draft into submission.
See what I did there?
See what I did there?
February 13, 2020
Updated review 1/19/17
Rock Your Revisions stresses the importance of scene goal/conflict/disaster, overall plot goal and conflict, and character actions fitting with the scene goal. It seemed like great information, but I just couldn't nail down what all my scene goals/conflicts/disasters were. Were that many simply missing?
After reading Structuring Your Novel: Essential Keys for Writing an Outstanding Story by KM Weiland, I realized that Rock Your Revisions oversimplifies both the plot structure and the scene structure. For example, it omits the aspect of "scene" vs. "sequel." Turns out some scenes are actually "sequels" and don't follow the goal/conflict/disaster structure. [cue light bulb]
Rock Your Revisions does also touch on dialogue, setting, POV, exposition, and detail, but most of the book comes down to the element of the scene - which Structuring Your Novel does much better and much more clearly.
Original review 1/18/16
Seems like great material but wow, I'm apparently so far behind, I'm going to have to do some revisions before I can even get to the stuff in this. I got as far as chapter 2 and got stuck on the Goal-Motiviation-Conflict-Disaster.
Either my scenes don't all have all of these, or I'm just incompetent and can't figure out what each scene's GMCD is. So maybe when I finish my third draft, my scenes will have clear enough GMCDs that I can actually use the rest of this material.
Rock Your Revisions stresses the importance of scene goal/conflict/disaster, overall plot goal and conflict, and character actions fitting with the scene goal. It seemed like great information, but I just couldn't nail down what all my scene goals/conflicts/disasters were. Were that many simply missing?
After reading Structuring Your Novel: Essential Keys for Writing an Outstanding Story by KM Weiland, I realized that Rock Your Revisions oversimplifies both the plot structure and the scene structure. For example, it omits the aspect of "scene" vs. "sequel." Turns out some scenes are actually "sequels" and don't follow the goal/conflict/disaster structure. [cue light bulb]
Rock Your Revisions does also touch on dialogue, setting, POV, exposition, and detail, but most of the book comes down to the element of the scene - which Structuring Your Novel does much better and much more clearly.
Original review 1/18/16
Seems like great material but wow, I'm apparently so far behind, I'm going to have to do some revisions before I can even get to the stuff in this. I got as far as chapter 2 and got stuck on the Goal-Motiviation-Conflict-Disaster.
Either my scenes don't all have all of these, or I'm just incompetent and can't figure out what each scene's GMCD is. So maybe when I finish my third draft, my scenes will have clear enough GMCDs that I can actually use the rest of this material.
January 17, 2017
A good little book. I tend to write short stories rather than novels, but the majority of ideas can be applied to those too. I really like the systematic approach this book takes to editing rather than jumping around. I bought this book because I am guilty of editing as I go, I can't seem to help it. I think one of the reasons I do, is because I hate just writing any old rubbish on a page to get my word count up. I'd rather write 500 great words than 2k waffle words that I have to fix later. Maybe because I write short stories this allows me the luxury. If I only need 3k words for a piece then I can take my time, maybe. Regardless, I shall use quite a lot of the strategies in this book for revising. Recommended.
August 20, 2013
As with her Write Every Day book, I found this book to be as helpful as it. Yardley gives us good info on how to revise our novels so we can hopefully keep our editing costs down. I have read it once and am working my way through it again as I edit my third book. If you are struggling with revising your novel, then I would suggest you check this book out!
July 5, 2017
I read this while in the midst of revisions on my first novel. It laid out a systematic approach to revision which I found helpful. I listened to the audiobook and took down notes to apply later. It was interesting and narrated well, so i devoured the whole thing in one sitting.
If you are ready to revise your book and don't know where to start, this guide breaks it down into simple steps.
If you are ready to revise your book and don't know where to start, this guide breaks it down into simple steps.
July 23, 2020
This book is a solid contender for good editing books I've read. The great thing about this is that it breaks everything down step by step. I especially loved the examples on how to work on voice and make sure that you're not giving too much exposition vs dialogue. I know I'm particularly bad about infodumping, especially in the early chapters, on a first draft at least. Having this as a great opportunity to see where I'm doing too much of one thing instead of weaving it into the text, and giving solid ideas on how to find other ways to convey a concept without slowing the text down, helps a lot. Yardley breaks everything down neatly and gives great ideas.
Do I think this is the end-all-be-all editing book? No. I think that it is a really great overview of how to edit and polish, and is best read alongside other books (The Ten-Day Edit by Lewis Jorstad comes to mind) as a way to strengthen BOTH of those writing books with more examples and ideas on how to improve writing.
Do I think this is the end-all-be-all editing book? No. I think that it is a really great overview of how to edit and polish, and is best read alongside other books (The Ten-Day Edit by Lewis Jorstad comes to mind) as a way to strengthen BOTH of those writing books with more examples and ideas on how to improve writing.
May 16, 2019
After finishing my first viable book (number five in total) I meandered through edits having to backtrack often. This time I was looking for a way to make the process more efficient. This book helped a lot to make a plan on how to tackle the edits. Although I may not continue to use all the steps the way they are laid out this gave a very clear blueprint to what needed to be tackled and how to keep track of it all. I recommend this book to my friends all the time as a great place to start learning the best process for their own edits.
February 16, 2024
ROCK YOUR REVISIONS: A Simple System for Revising Your Novel will show you a clear, easy-to-follow process for editing a novel. It will help you:
- Test for story structure on a macro level, providing detailed checklists for character and plot arcs.
- Test for story structure at the scene level, making sure each serves a purpose in the novel (and hopefully more than one!)
- Gain insight on the mechanics of the novel -- checking POV choice, dialogue, exposition vs. detail (showing versus telling), and more, with a systematic scene-by-scene approach.
- Test for story structure on a macro level, providing detailed checklists for character and plot arcs.
- Test for story structure at the scene level, making sure each serves a purpose in the novel (and hopefully more than one!)
- Gain insight on the mechanics of the novel -- checking POV choice, dialogue, exposition vs. detail (showing versus telling), and more, with a systematic scene-by-scene approach.
February 6, 2018
I really appreciate when a non-fiction author writes tight, and this book definitely hits the bill. Despite its small size, Rock Your Revisions provided some tips I hadn't come up with after revising over a dozen novels. It's got a good work-flow too --- I plan to put Yardley's system to work tomorrow on my current work in progress.
September 8, 2019
If you write fiction, this would be a great manual on editing. It is straight nuts-and-bolts, and one of the best go-to resources I could recommend for you to pick up and follow as a sort of manual. However, if you write only non-fiction, as I do, I would not recommend reading it.
January 25, 2021
Excellent techniques for novice writers. Cathy Yardley writes like she's a friend who is giving kind yet helpful advice over a couple of beers. These types of books tend to be written like textbooks, but not this one. It is legitimately funny!
December 23, 2023
I really liked that this stepped out a practical approach to revising, and I will be using it as I dive into the self-edit and revision stage next.
October 3, 2013
Rock Your Revisions by author and writing coach Cathy Yardly is a How-To writing book focused on the revision process. It purports to offer a simple system, and in my experience, delivers on that promise.
If you're a traditionally- or self-published author of a certain age, you've consumed and incorporated a fair share of writing advice in your efforts to pursue your craft in the most effective and efficient way possible. Every author has their own creative process, every author has their own workflow.
Some of us work organically and by the seat of our pants, others are more process-oriented. We all revise, either to suit our own sense of perfection or, as Heinlein requires, only to editorial demand.
While we may add scenes or characters at this stage, for most of us revision is the most analytical and least creative part of the process. Even if you're normally a free-flowing and stream-of-consciousness writer, you could benefit from an orderly approach to revision.
Yardley delivers such a process within the pages of Rock Your Revisions.
While she does reference her earlier writing guide, Rock Your Plot, which offers a similarly structured approach to creating a pre-writing outline, the method presented in Rock your Revisions can integrate into any writers process. You take a fresh look at what you've written with a mind towards structure and pacing, both on the level of the scene and the level of the work as a whole.
I personally found that following her method has resulted in a 30-40% increase in efficiency with my revision speed, while resulting in a more polished end-product. And I hate revision.
It's not the be-all and end-all of this stage of writing. As she herself writes at the end of the book, "It's not the 'One and Only Approach' -- but an approach used consistently is better than no approach at all." Advice from writing books is really only useful if you can and will incorporate it into your already existent methods, and the system within Rock Your Revisions was superior to what I'd been doing previously.
In the end, though, as a writer you need to make your process your own, just like you need to craft a unique voice.
If you're a traditionally- or self-published author of a certain age, you've consumed and incorporated a fair share of writing advice in your efforts to pursue your craft in the most effective and efficient way possible. Every author has their own creative process, every author has their own workflow.
Some of us work organically and by the seat of our pants, others are more process-oriented. We all revise, either to suit our own sense of perfection or, as Heinlein requires, only to editorial demand.
While we may add scenes or characters at this stage, for most of us revision is the most analytical and least creative part of the process. Even if you're normally a free-flowing and stream-of-consciousness writer, you could benefit from an orderly approach to revision.
Yardley delivers such a process within the pages of Rock Your Revisions.
While she does reference her earlier writing guide, Rock Your Plot, which offers a similarly structured approach to creating a pre-writing outline, the method presented in Rock your Revisions can integrate into any writers process. You take a fresh look at what you've written with a mind towards structure and pacing, both on the level of the scene and the level of the work as a whole.
I personally found that following her method has resulted in a 30-40% increase in efficiency with my revision speed, while resulting in a more polished end-product. And I hate revision.
It's not the be-all and end-all of this stage of writing. As she herself writes at the end of the book, "It's not the 'One and Only Approach' -- but an approach used consistently is better than no approach at all." Advice from writing books is really only useful if you can and will incorporate it into your already existent methods, and the system within Rock Your Revisions was superior to what I'd been doing previously.
In the end, though, as a writer you need to make your process your own, just like you need to craft a unique voice.
December 23, 2015
Um bom livro sobre revisão de textos de ficção. A autora aponta alguns processos a serem utilizados como base para que o escritor desenvolva seu próprio método de revisão, que se baseia na ideia central de primeiro lidar com as grandes questões, como estrutura e enredo, para depois se dedicar ao trabalho de correção de palavras e de ajuste de estilo. Para isso, ela estrutura um método de trabalho que consiste em determinar os pontos principais do enredo, organizar um quadro de cenas e proceder à análise das cenas, uma a uma.
Embora o sistema seja bastante funcional, por vezes o trabalho passa a ser bastante esquemático, com determinações absolutamente rígidas para as cenas. Isso deriva, em parte, de uma abordagem voltada para literatura comercial. Desta forma, o livro pode ser bastante útil para que um manuscrito adquira maior qualidade, mas também pode se tornar limitador para quem pretende trabalhar com formas mais livres e experimentais de literatura.
Embora o sistema seja bastante funcional, por vezes o trabalho passa a ser bastante esquemático, com determinações absolutamente rígidas para as cenas. Isso deriva, em parte, de uma abordagem voltada para literatura comercial. Desta forma, o livro pode ser bastante útil para que um manuscrito adquira maior qualidade, mas também pode se tornar limitador para quem pretende trabalhar com formas mais livres e experimentais de literatura.
February 21, 2013
In the middle of revision myself, I have finished Rock Your Plot also. And I am currently doing an online workshop by the author on Revisions.
In both books, as you would expect, there is a good lot of repetition around the structural components the author expects of a novel. If you haven't broken into a scene outline via Rock Your Plot, Rock Your Revisions (and the Revision workshops run by this author) will give you all the fundamentals to re-engineer this from your first draft. The book Rock Your Revisions, and as I've found - the workshop - contain different examples, however.
The revision pass stages and elements in revision make a lot of sense. Rock your Revisions is a book I will refer back to several times.
In both books, as you would expect, there is a good lot of repetition around the structural components the author expects of a novel. If you haven't broken into a scene outline via Rock Your Plot, Rock Your Revisions (and the Revision workshops run by this author) will give you all the fundamentals to re-engineer this from your first draft. The book Rock Your Revisions, and as I've found - the workshop - contain different examples, however.
The revision pass stages and elements in revision make a lot of sense. Rock your Revisions is a book I will refer back to several times.
December 23, 2013
This looks like it is going to be more helpful than many of the "how to revise" books I've looked at. It may not be all that helpful for someone who's already published, but for a first-time novelist like myself, it looks golden.
Having a clear process for revision laid out for me, one that I can follow, tweak, and make my own, is water in the desert. Like untangling a kitten-snarled ball of yarn, my problem with revision has been finding the place to start, and having a clear path for progress. Even if I don't use all Ms. Yardley's suggestions, her process is a starting point that looks to be invaluable.
This is a provisional review, as I have not yet finished the revision process. I'll come back and update once I have my novel revised.
Having a clear process for revision laid out for me, one that I can follow, tweak, and make my own, is water in the desert. Like untangling a kitten-snarled ball of yarn, my problem with revision has been finding the place to start, and having a clear path for progress. Even if I don't use all Ms. Yardley's suggestions, her process is a starting point that looks to be invaluable.
This is a provisional review, as I have not yet finished the revision process. I'll come back and update once I have my novel revised.
May 9, 2014
Informative and succinct, but ironically filled with errors.
This step by step manual helped me to view my book as a to do list rather than an overwhelming project. I found it to be really helpful. However, the author should have done one more pass on it before publishing. There were a lot of grammatical and punctuation errors. Coming from a book about revising and editing, the errors were off-putting (more so than usual given the content). By the time I finished it (read the whole thing in one evening just to get a feel for it), I was disappointed in an apparent lack of professionalism. The author should have taken her own advice and hired an editor for help with polishing. And, if she did, she should ask for her money back.
This step by step manual helped me to view my book as a to do list rather than an overwhelming project. I found it to be really helpful. However, the author should have done one more pass on it before publishing. There were a lot of grammatical and punctuation errors. Coming from a book about revising and editing, the errors were off-putting (more so than usual given the content). By the time I finished it (read the whole thing in one evening just to get a feel for it), I was disappointed in an apparent lack of professionalism. The author should have taken her own advice and hired an editor for help with polishing. And, if she did, she should ask for her money back.
June 23, 2016
A brief, to-the-point guide for anybody doing fiction revisions, this book falls into the newly popular category of short books on specific writing topics by one author that could, if combined, be one normal length book on writing. Yardley's real passion is on plot and plotting, and I don't plot in advance. This is why I didn't get her book 'Rock Your Plot.' However, it's impossible for her to hide her true emphasis on plot, so a large percentage of this book is on that. I still enjoyed it, but for those interested in the topic, I must do as Yardley herself does in this book, and instead recommend 'Self-Editing for Fiction Writers.'
Read
December 4, 2013I think this is a great book for those who have seemingly went through revision after revision of their novels and something still isn't quite right. It actually helped me pinpoint things to work on that I didn't even think about and various ways to do it. If you're stuck, I think it's worth a look at. If anything, it can only move you further along and it's actually enjoyable to read!
February 11, 2017
Good Stuff
Awesome because it basically gives you a checklist of what you need to write a better 2nd,3rd and polished draft.
Awesome because it basically gives you a checklist of what you need to write a better 2nd,3rd and polished draft.
June 17, 2013
A quick read that offers a good system to revise a novel. Worth checking out if you're a writer looking for some new insights or a refresher.
The book does contain a number of minor typos that an effective copy edit would find and fix. That's the one reason I didn't give this 5 stars.
The book does contain a number of minor typos that an effective copy edit would find and fix. That's the one reason I didn't give this 5 stars.
March 16, 2014
This was a great read. I'm actually excited about revising my novel now. I'm looking forward to doing the exercises at the end of the chapters. i truly believe this book will help me become a better writer. Looking forward to reading more of her books.
October 15, 2020
A friend recommended this book to me and I downloaded an audio copy through Audible. Self-editing is tough, but Cathy takes you through the process step-by-step. Sound advice coupled with clear instruction on how to apply it to your body of work. Highly recommend.
November 1, 2016
This was a great book to aid in learning some pointers to help in revising your book once you have written your novel. It was very helpful.
September 13, 2013
A solid work full of useful and considered advice.
July 9, 2017
I first became aware of Cathy Yardley through the popular writing advice website Writer Unboxed. I always find her periodic contributions to that site both incisive and instructive, replete with the author's obvious intellect. Her book Rock Your Revisions is no different.
At only 70 pages, Rock Your Revisions swiftly cuts to the heart of how to transform a good piece of writing into a great one. By focusing on the fundamentals of story structure, including story arcs, character arcs, scene structure, and goal, motivation, and conflict, Yardley provides useful lists of things to look for when revising, all the while explaining things in clear, no-nonsense language with the occasional analogy thrown in to better illuminate her point.
Many writing how-to writing books have exercises that ask you to write a random paragraph of text that completely lacks context and has nothing to do with anything you're actually working on. I've never liked those sorts of exercises and usually end up skipping them. Thankfully, the exercises in Rock Your Revisions not only directly relate to your WIP, they help provide more insight into it (e.g. writing down the GMC (both internal and external) for every main character in your book).
My only criticism of this book is that in its discussion of scene structure, it makes no distinction between action scenes and reaction scenes (aka sequels). Since I myself already knew the difference going in, though, this was no hindrance to my understanding of the concept of scenes, and isn't enough to prevent my giving this writing guide five enthusiastic stars.
At only 70 pages, Rock Your Revisions swiftly cuts to the heart of how to transform a good piece of writing into a great one. By focusing on the fundamentals of story structure, including story arcs, character arcs, scene structure, and goal, motivation, and conflict, Yardley provides useful lists of things to look for when revising, all the while explaining things in clear, no-nonsense language with the occasional analogy thrown in to better illuminate her point.
Many writing how-to writing books have exercises that ask you to write a random paragraph of text that completely lacks context and has nothing to do with anything you're actually working on. I've never liked those sorts of exercises and usually end up skipping them. Thankfully, the exercises in Rock Your Revisions not only directly relate to your WIP, they help provide more insight into it (e.g. writing down the GMC (both internal and external) for every main character in your book).
My only criticism of this book is that in its discussion of scene structure, it makes no distinction between action scenes and reaction scenes (aka sequels). Since I myself already knew the difference going in, though, this was no hindrance to my understanding of the concept of scenes, and isn't enough to prevent my giving this writing guide five enthusiastic stars.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 31 reviews