What do you think?
Rate this book
The Plot Thickens: 8 Ways to Bring Fiction to Life
As a literary agent, Noah Lukeman hears thousands of book pitches a year. Often the stories sound great in concept, but never live up to their potential on the page. Lukeman shows beginning and advanced writers how to implement the fundamentals of successful plot development, such as character building and heightened suspense and conflict. Writers will find it impossible to walk away from this invaluable guide---a veritable fiction-writing workshop---without boundless new ideas.
Noah Lukeman is a New York literary agent whose clients include winners of the Pulitzer Prize and American Book Award, National Book Award finalists, Edgar Award finalists, New York Times bestselling authors, and the faculty of esteemed universities. He has worked as a manager in Artists Management Group, and is currently president of Lukeman Literary Management Ltd. He is also author of the bestselling The First Five Pages, now part of the curriculum in many universities.
“One of the best-ever books about the craft of writing. It is a book that can change the world of every writer who embraces Lukeman’s ideas. His classroom on paper should be on every writer’s shelf to be read again and again.” ---Authorlink
“Full of practical common sense about how to write fiction and [he] answers many of the difficult questions first novelists ask themselves.” ---Michael Korda, author of Making the List
“Lukeman’s advice is practical---and often entails multiple, time-consuming steps---without a hint of the flakiness that creeps into many writing guides. Though Lukeman works with books, he wisely asserts that the observations in this volume are applicable to all types of imaginary writing, from film to poetry. Indeed, it is a worthy addition to any writer’s reference shelf.” ---Publishers Weekly
“A godsend...The Plot Thickens is not the type of book you want to check out from the library or borrow from a friend. It is the type of book you need to purchase so it can sit on your desk, dog-eared and underlined, worn from years of overuse.” ---Prairieden.com
Noah Lukeman is a New York literary agent whose clients include winners of the Pulitzer Prize and American Book Award, National Book Award finalists, Edgar Award finalists, New York Times bestselling authors, and the faculty of esteemed universities. He has worked as a manager in Artists Management Group, and is currently president of Lukeman Literary Management Ltd. He is also author of the bestselling The First Five Pages, now part of the curriculum in many universities.
“One of the best-ever books about the craft of writing. It is a book that can change the world of every writer who embraces Lukeman’s ideas. His classroom on paper should be on every writer’s shelf to be read again and again.” ---Authorlink
“Full of practical common sense about how to write fiction and [he] answers many of the difficult questions first novelists ask themselves.” ---Michael Korda, author of Making the List
“Lukeman’s advice is practical---and often entails multiple, time-consuming steps---without a hint of the flakiness that creeps into many writing guides. Though Lukeman works with books, he wisely asserts that the observations in this volume are applicable to all types of imaginary writing, from film to poetry. Indeed, it is a worthy addition to any writer’s reference shelf.” ---Publishers Weekly
“A godsend...The Plot Thickens is not the type of book you want to check out from the library or borrow from a friend. It is the type of book you need to purchase so it can sit on your desk, dog-eared and underlined, worn from years of overuse.” ---Prairieden.com
242 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 5, 2002
162 people are currently reading
1694 people want to read
About the author
Noah Lukeman
25 books113 followersIn addition to being an active literary agent, Noah Lukeman is also author of the best-selling The First Five Pages: A Writer’s Guide to Staying out of the Rejection Pile (Simon & Schuster, 1999), which was a selection of many of Writer’s Digest 101 Best Websites for Writers and is part of the curriculum in many universities. His The Plot Thickens: 8 Ways to Bring Fiction to Life (St. Martins Press, 2002) was a National Bestseller, a BookSense 76 Selection, a Publishers Weekly Daily pick, a selection of the Writers Digest Book Club, and a selection of many of Writer’s Digest 101 Best Websites for Writers. His A Dash of Style: The Art and Mastery of Punctuation (W.W. Norton, 2006 and Oxford University Press in the UK, 2007) was critically-acclaimed, a selection of the Writers Digest Book Club and the Forbes Book Club, was profiled on NPR, and is now part of the curriculum in over 50 universities and writing programs. His e-book How to Write a Great Query Letter, which he gives away for free as a way of giving back to the writing community, was the #1 Bestselling title on Amazon Shorts for many months. His most recent book geared to help aspiring authors is How to Land (and Keep) a Literary Agent. To help aspiring authors, he has also made available free chapters from all his books, which you can read by clicking here.
Noah has also worked as a collaborator, and is co-author, with Lieutenant General Michael “Rifle” Delong, USMC, Ret., of Inside Centcom (Regnery, 2005), a selection of the Military Book Club. His Op-Eds co-authored with General Delong appeared in the Sunday New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Dallas Morning News. He has contributed articles about the publishing industry and the craft of writing to several magazines, including Poets & Writers, Writers Digest, The Writer, the AWP Chronicle and the Writers Market, and has been anthologized in The Practical Writer (Viking, 2004).
Creatively, Noah is author of The Tragedy of Macbeth, Part II, (Pegasus Books, 2008) an original play written in blank verse, which aspires to pick up where Shakespeare’s Macbeth left off. Macbeth II was critically-acclaimed, and featured as recommended reading in New York Magazine’s 2008 “Fall Preview.” He has also written several screenplays, one of which, Brothers in Arms, was chosen as one of Hollywood’s 100 Best Scripts of the Year on the 2007 Black List and is currently in development at a major studio.
Noah Lukeman has been a guest speaker on the subjects of writing and publishing at numerous forums, including Harvard University, The Hotchkiss School, The Juilliard School, the Wallace Stegner writing program at Stanford University, the Writers Digest Panel at Book Expo America, the MFA at Northern Michigan University, the National Society of Newspaper Columnist’s annual Boston conference, and Riker’s Island Penitentiary. He earned his B.A. with High Honors in English and Creative Writing from Brandeis University, cum laude.
Noah has also worked as a collaborator, and is co-author, with Lieutenant General Michael “Rifle” Delong, USMC, Ret., of Inside Centcom (Regnery, 2005), a selection of the Military Book Club. His Op-Eds co-authored with General Delong appeared in the Sunday New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Dallas Morning News. He has contributed articles about the publishing industry and the craft of writing to several magazines, including Poets & Writers, Writers Digest, The Writer, the AWP Chronicle and the Writers Market, and has been anthologized in The Practical Writer (Viking, 2004).
Creatively, Noah is author of The Tragedy of Macbeth, Part II, (Pegasus Books, 2008) an original play written in blank verse, which aspires to pick up where Shakespeare’s Macbeth left off. Macbeth II was critically-acclaimed, and featured as recommended reading in New York Magazine’s 2008 “Fall Preview.” He has also written several screenplays, one of which, Brothers in Arms, was chosen as one of Hollywood’s 100 Best Scripts of the Year on the 2007 Black List and is currently in development at a major studio.
Noah Lukeman has been a guest speaker on the subjects of writing and publishing at numerous forums, including Harvard University, The Hotchkiss School, The Juilliard School, the Wallace Stegner writing program at Stanford University, the Writers Digest Panel at Book Expo America, the MFA at Northern Michigan University, the National Society of Newspaper Columnist’s annual Boston conference, and Riker’s Island Penitentiary. He earned his B.A. with High Honors in English and Creative Writing from Brandeis University, cum laude.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 131 reviews
March 1, 2017
The Plot Thickens is a quick and comprehensive read that makes simple suggestions for improving one's written work.
Stories are necessary. Like food or water, stories have always been of supreme importance to the human race. They speak to us on a primal level, and they fill a need. Life can seem aimless, structureless, unjust, without resolution. Stories are the antidote to life: they offer purpose, structure, justice, resolution- not to mention romance, suspense, conflict, adventure. They offer meaning. If our lives cannot always have it, our stories can.
The book is divided into eight chapters, and each chapter explores one of the following topics: the outer life of characters, the inner life of characters, characterization, the journey, suspense, conflict, context, and transcendency.
Each chapter briefly explains one of the aforementioned topics, then provides several examples that are easily understood and digested. The author then presents a rapid fire array of applicable questions to push writers toward examining their own work-in-progress to discover where improvements can be made. Chapters conclude with pertinent exercises.
The author sometimes relies on well-known books for his examples, but in many instances he makes reference to popular television or movies, making his examples accessible to a broader audience.
I [reference films] because my chief concern is illustrating (sometimes abstract) points, and by referencing films there is a greater chance that more readers will recognize the reference. I also reference films because film is a medium that has devoted itself to plot, and I would be remiss to ignore them.
The Plot Thickens earns its rightful place in the collection of books owned by any published or aspiring author.
Stories are necessary. Like food or water, stories have always been of supreme importance to the human race. They speak to us on a primal level, and they fill a need. Life can seem aimless, structureless, unjust, without resolution. Stories are the antidote to life: they offer purpose, structure, justice, resolution- not to mention romance, suspense, conflict, adventure. They offer meaning. If our lives cannot always have it, our stories can.
The book is divided into eight chapters, and each chapter explores one of the following topics: the outer life of characters, the inner life of characters, characterization, the journey, suspense, conflict, context, and transcendency.
Each chapter briefly explains one of the aforementioned topics, then provides several examples that are easily understood and digested. The author then presents a rapid fire array of applicable questions to push writers toward examining their own work-in-progress to discover where improvements can be made. Chapters conclude with pertinent exercises.
The author sometimes relies on well-known books for his examples, but in many instances he makes reference to popular television or movies, making his examples accessible to a broader audience.
I [reference films] because my chief concern is illustrating (sometimes abstract) points, and by referencing films there is a greater chance that more readers will recognize the reference. I also reference films because film is a medium that has devoted itself to plot, and I would be remiss to ignore them.
The Plot Thickens earns its rightful place in the collection of books owned by any published or aspiring author.
November 21, 2022
This book is a barrage of questions to think about when writing characters. Some are useful, but overall their point of view betrays a conventional and gender-biased approach to characters and plots.
For example, the author asks questions of female characters that he doesn’t ask of male characters.
From the beginning, the author focuses on female bodies: “Let’s say the murderer is a woman. Some other questions might arise: Does she have large or small breasts? Her waist? Hips? Legs?” He doesn’t also say, “Let’s say the murderer is a man. Does he have a large or small package? His chest? Hips? Legs?”
And when he asks, “Are her clothes revealing?” he doesn’t also ask, “Are his clothes revealing?” Or, for the non-binary, “Are their clothes revealing?”
Again and again, the centrality of straight, male characters is assumed. For example, “Let’s take a scene where a man and his wife are having lunch.” It’s implied that a straight man is the protagonist, just as a straight woman would be the assumed protagonist if he had also written, “Let’s take a scene where a woman and her husband are having lunch.”
He often describes women as “girls,” as in, “A poor girl marrying a rich man...” (No, he's not describing the custom of child brides.) “A poor woman marrying a rich man...” would’ve been more accurate.
Again and again, the author makes cultural assumptions—the main character is male, has a nine-to-five job, has a boss, is middle class, is straight, is married—that give the whole book an oppressive conventionality—not something I want in a book that’s supposed to be about creativity!
For example, the author asks questions of female characters that he doesn’t ask of male characters.
From the beginning, the author focuses on female bodies: “Let’s say the murderer is a woman. Some other questions might arise: Does she have large or small breasts? Her waist? Hips? Legs?” He doesn’t also say, “Let’s say the murderer is a man. Does he have a large or small package? His chest? Hips? Legs?”
And when he asks, “Are her clothes revealing?” he doesn’t also ask, “Are his clothes revealing?” Or, for the non-binary, “Are their clothes revealing?”
Again and again, the centrality of straight, male characters is assumed. For example, “Let’s take a scene where a man and his wife are having lunch.” It’s implied that a straight man is the protagonist, just as a straight woman would be the assumed protagonist if he had also written, “Let’s take a scene where a woman and her husband are having lunch.”
He often describes women as “girls,” as in, “A poor girl marrying a rich man...” (No, he's not describing the custom of child brides.) “A poor woman marrying a rich man...” would’ve been more accurate.
Again and again, the author makes cultural assumptions—the main character is male, has a nine-to-five job, has a boss, is middle class, is straight, is married—that give the whole book an oppressive conventionality—not something I want in a book that’s supposed to be about creativity!
April 18, 2017
Some good insights, some bits that I found rather dull and obvious. I might have rated it higher had the extensive questionnaire on character development not been gendered in such a frustrating way. The author defaulted to the male pronoun except for questions that he believed focused primarily on female characters, leading to the strange discovery that male characters don't have waists, hips, legs, fingernails, or the potential to be naturally beautiful.
Direct quote:
"Let's say the murderer is a woman. Some other questions might arise: Does she have large or small breasts?"
Naturally. I know that's always my first question when I come across a murderer who happens to be female.
Direct quote:
"Let's say the murderer is a woman. Some other questions might arise: Does she have large or small breasts?"
Naturally. I know that's always my first question when I come across a murderer who happens to be female.
May 3, 2020
I'd heard good things about this book, but I preferred "The First Five Pages."
(Updated, because my former review seemed awfully harsh and unnecessary.)
(Updated, because my former review seemed awfully harsh and unnecessary.)
September 8, 2013
With an unusual approach to plotting, Lukeman uses a holistic, rather than a didactic, method. There is plenty of instruction and practical examples, as well as exercises, in the book, so it is a "teaching" book, but what Lukeman achieves is more than just teaching a reader "how to plot."
Although this book is mainly about plot, it's doesn't take a step-by-step approach to plotting. Rather, one gains a sense of how the elements of a novel are all connected and multi-layered. Characterisation drives plot; but plot deepens character.
Each chapter does deal with a specific element to strengthen plot, but ultimately what Lukeman conveys is that to achieve a work that goes beyond the norm - to write a transcendent book - one needs to understand that writing a novel is more than just technique.
The final chapter "Transcendency" reflects on what differentiates a great book from a good book and is a salutary lesson writing, not from the intellect, but from the soul. Lukeman says:"... it will entail putting yourself on the line ... passion is magnetic. Writing from a place of truth and love, you can never go wrong ...[there is] a difference between a writer who writes because he wants to and one who writes because he has to... the transcendent work is the work you know is the best you can offer."
As inspiring as Lukeman's The First Five Pages: A Writer's Guide To Staying Out of the Rejection Pile
Although this book is mainly about plot, it's doesn't take a step-by-step approach to plotting. Rather, one gains a sense of how the elements of a novel are all connected and multi-layered. Characterisation drives plot; but plot deepens character.
Each chapter does deal with a specific element to strengthen plot, but ultimately what Lukeman conveys is that to achieve a work that goes beyond the norm - to write a transcendent book - one needs to understand that writing a novel is more than just technique.
The final chapter "Transcendency" reflects on what differentiates a great book from a good book and is a salutary lesson writing, not from the intellect, but from the soul. Lukeman says:"... it will entail putting yourself on the line ... passion is magnetic. Writing from a place of truth and love, you can never go wrong ...[there is] a difference between a writer who writes because he wants to and one who writes because he has to... the transcendent work is the work you know is the best you can offer."
As inspiring as Lukeman's The First Five Pages: A Writer's Guide To Staying Out of the Rejection Pile
May 6, 2012
I gave this book 3 stars because it's thought-provoking in a lot of ways & provides some comprehensive lists for working through your characters. But I also found it irritating, & toyed with giving it 2 stars. I think because a) the tone is aggressive, b) the examples are incomplete & feel kinda random (& are often examples of movies rather than books). I figure the best thing we could've asked Lukeman to do for this book would've been to provide an example for EVERY point he made ;), c) I hated the use of masculine pronouns except for 'feminine-specific' examples, like when a character goes into a shoe store or, in a police line-up, when you apparently want to know her breast & waist size. Also, d) I often felt like the advice was good - like, 'ramp up the suspense' - but the exercises didn't give a lot of particularities on HOW.
For example, page 144: " go through your list of suspenseful scenes, and ask yourself how you can prolong each of these. As an exercise, take a suspenseful scene and make it twice the length, stretching out the suspenseful moment."
Still, like I said, it made me think harder about my characters and the implications of my characters.
For example, page 144: " go through your list of suspenseful scenes, and ask yourself how you can prolong each of these. As an exercise, take a suspenseful scene and make it twice the length, stretching out the suspenseful moment."
Still, like I said, it made me think harder about my characters and the implications of my characters.
May 9, 2021
This book is very helpful for expanding your big picture thinking about your characters, your meanings and your plot. The exercises help see more details and things you might have missed or lead to new ideas. It can be overwhelming everything that needs to be considered when creating characters then creating suspense, conflict, context and then how to amp it up. The book is a lot of food for thought but it's organized my planning, given me structure and respect for the process.
January 11, 2015
Useful more as a practical guide to constructing a plot, rather than a literary analysis of what makes a good/popular plot.
I rather disliked Lukeman's marginalization of "fairy tales, children's stories, and bible lessons" as being formulaic agendas and therefore worthless in the realm of "creative writing." What does he think the fantasy genre really is? But perhaps that was simply a poorly written little paragraph.
Great for writers who are brainstorming, stuck in writer's block, or re-thinking their plot structure, but rather useless otherwise.
I rather disliked Lukeman's marginalization of "fairy tales, children's stories, and bible lessons" as being formulaic agendas and therefore worthless in the realm of "creative writing." What does he think the fantasy genre really is? But perhaps that was simply a poorly written little paragraph.
Great for writers who are brainstorming, stuck in writer's block, or re-thinking their plot structure, but rather useless otherwise.
did-not-finish
April 23, 2020DNF: I often read books about how to write/ analyze fiction because I find them fascinating. I’m not a writer nor I want to become one, I just really enjoy reading about the inner workings of writing. This book was way too much for me in that sense. The author, a literary agent himself, gives tips for aspiring writers on how to explore and enhance the development of their plots and characters, such as knowing the exact length of the nail on their right hand’s pinky. LOL. It was too detailed to be a enjoyable read -per moi-, as I’m not looking for ways to know the medical history and/ or type of the dog my non-existing characters from my already dead novel would have. Lol.
January 11, 2023
Excellent!
This book should be of help to anyone. I have written four novels now, and I love this book. It has tons of questions that he asks you to answer about your questions.
Most will not fit you exactly or a character, but there are so many good things to think about.
If you are an author, you will not regret reading this book. For me, not that I have read it; it's more of a reference book for me. I read it on Kindle, but I have ordered a paper copy of the book. If you are not in the process of writing, it may not be much help, but if you are writing something now, it could be a great help.
I'm between novels, so I am in the get a draft done as quickly as I can without looking g right or left. Once I finish that draft, I plan to reread my highlights in The Plot Thickens and see how it can help me.
Strongly recommend.
This book should be of help to anyone. I have written four novels now, and I love this book. It has tons of questions that he asks you to answer about your questions.
Most will not fit you exactly or a character, but there are so many good things to think about.
If you are an author, you will not regret reading this book. For me, not that I have read it; it's more of a reference book for me. I read it on Kindle, but I have ordered a paper copy of the book. If you are not in the process of writing, it may not be much help, but if you are writing something now, it could be a great help.
I'm between novels, so I am in the get a draft done as quickly as I can without looking g right or left. Once I finish that draft, I plan to reread my highlights in The Plot Thickens and see how it can help me.
Strongly recommend.
July 16, 2022
This book was interesting. I did my best to arrange my takeaway thoughts into a haiku, as is my habit:
"The two tend to blur,
With examples as advice,
But hold no less worth."
"The two tend to blur,
With examples as advice,
But hold no less worth."
December 14, 2011
I found little of this book of use. It was mostly about building characters. From Aristole, character is plot and plot is character, yet I don't think he proved that point.
Finally, another book about writing fiction where many of the examples cited come from films and not novels, not written narratives.
Finally, another book about writing fiction where many of the examples cited come from films and not novels, not written narratives.
April 21, 2020
As others have said, the first few chapters are a bit too "list-ee" to be useful. And not all writers agree you need to know your characters to the degree he's suggesting. And given his talent is as an agent, not as a writer, I had trouble seeing him as an authority on that end of things (the stuff that doesn't make it to the page.)
But after that he has lots of useful ideas. If you're looking to generate ideas for increasing suspense, conflict, etc., then you'll probably get something out of it.
I found sometimes he lacked examples, though. For example in describing multidimensional characters, he talked about how difficult it is to achieve and gave examples of successful one-dimentional characters, without giving successful examples of multi. (He gave one example, Serpico, but didn't say why/how.) As I took notes I was often just taking a moment to come up with my own.
But after that he has lots of useful ideas. If you're looking to generate ideas for increasing suspense, conflict, etc., then you'll probably get something out of it.
I found sometimes he lacked examples, though. For example in describing multidimensional characters, he talked about how difficult it is to achieve and gave examples of successful one-dimentional characters, without giving successful examples of multi. (He gave one example, Serpico, but didn't say why/how.) As I took notes I was often just taking a moment to come up with my own.
January 9, 2023
This book is great for beginning writers struggling to create those unforgettable characters. If you're an advanced writer, I'd suggest you compare his advice with your current writing and check to see if you're hitting the mark. Noah Lukeman has a wonderful book called The First Five Pages: A Writer's Guide to Staying Out of the Rejection Pile that I believe helped me land my first contract.
March 18, 2020
There are some helpful ideas within this volume about writing. Most of the writing has been found in other sources in more valuable descriptions. If you love having and obtaining works about writing (like I do) this is worth owning. The first three chapters are primarily a series of questions that might be valuable for reference. I'd recommend a solid readthrough and annotation to take notes from the helpful ideas that can be gleaned from the work so five years later you don't have to read again because ultimately the work is boring and top-layer of information.
December 28, 2022
This short book written by a former literary agent had some useful sections. I found the chapter on context most value added, but others I skimmed because they weren't as substantive. Also, the book contained a surprising number of typos and grammatical errors, which was distracting.
August 16, 2017
Review to come!
August 9, 2016
Another reader wrote a fantastic review of this book that accurately sums up all of my thoughts here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
But, I do want to add my own comments to reiterate and highlight exactly how I feel.
The author, at the beginning, and at least one other time within the text, warns his readers that he will be only using masculine pronouns for the sake of simplicity. Which, fine. Whatever. Not a big deal. But the multiple disclaimers about only using masculine pronouns felt subtly sexist when he switched to feminine pronouns for things, as the other reviewer pointed out, breast and waist size. Why make such a disclaimer if you are going to break it? And, if you're going to break it, why be so focused on womens' bodies? Completely unnecessary.
I also took umbrage with his statement at the end that fiction cannot be both "emotional" AND "transcendent." Some of English literature's greatest works were both, and in fact an entire genre ("sentimental literature") employed both emotional tension and depth of theme. So, yes--useful advice, but needlessly bogged down by condescension.
But, I do want to add my own comments to reiterate and highlight exactly how I feel.
The author, at the beginning, and at least one other time within the text, warns his readers that he will be only using masculine pronouns for the sake of simplicity. Which, fine. Whatever. Not a big deal. But the multiple disclaimers about only using masculine pronouns felt subtly sexist when he switched to feminine pronouns for things, as the other reviewer pointed out, breast and waist size. Why make such a disclaimer if you are going to break it? And, if you're going to break it, why be so focused on womens' bodies? Completely unnecessary.
I also took umbrage with his statement at the end that fiction cannot be both "emotional" AND "transcendent." Some of English literature's greatest works were both, and in fact an entire genre ("sentimental literature") employed both emotional tension and depth of theme. So, yes--useful advice, but needlessly bogged down by condescension.
March 13, 2016
Some good ideas, a few good exercises, but much longer than it needed to be. Also a tendency to ramble. A lot of the ideas/points feel like he's stating the obvious - but then sometimes that's useful. Some were actually very useful and made me stop and think. If it were cut to the size of Strunk & White's Elements of Style, and written in more bulleted list form - instead of rambling all over the place with overly long examples - it would be more compelling / useful.
UPDATE: after re-reading my notes, I am forced to conclude that I was a bit harsh. Upgrading to 4 stars, on merits of there being a lot more useful information than I realized at first. It could still be condensed - my original opinion was lower at least in part because of the necessity of slogging through the overly wordy and lengthy examples to get at the good bits.
UPDATE: after re-reading my notes, I am forced to conclude that I was a bit harsh. Upgrading to 4 stars, on merits of there being a lot more useful information than I realized at first. It could still be condensed - my original opinion was lower at least in part because of the necessity of slogging through the overly wordy and lengthy examples to get at the good bits.
February 7, 2014
An outstanding idea-maker! I liked all his characterization processes, and I will be keeping it by my desk for a long time to come. I didn't really like a lot of his references to movies, partly because I hadn't seen a lot of them, but also because, although it's a good way to illustrate a concept, writing a book and making a movie are totally different. I know from experience! However, that was the only thing I didn't like about this book, and already, as it says in the introduction, I've " come away armed with a host of new ideas" !
August 16, 2017
I came away from this book feeling confident enough to try writing a novel, and this is the highest praise I can give. With this book as a reference, I feel comfortable plotting out the arc of events and the journeys of my characters. (Lukeman's treatment of the concept of "character" is invaluable, even if it seems apart from "plot." Turns out it's not...) This book is full of tools, and it generates so many specific ideas for one's own writing!
Noah Lukeman strikes an inspirational balance between the cheerleader and the hardass. Implicit throughout book is the idea that writers can improve their craft, and even that anyone can write well, given proper support, instruction, and practice. At the same time, he makes demands on his writer-reader: He insists on guidelines and structure, although within these there is infinite room for creative expression and improvisation. By providing structured ideas and guidelines, he inspires the writer to work within them.
This balance between "you can do it" and "here is a huge list of things to consider" makes for an exciting read, if you want to write fiction, or if you need good fuel to continue. As much as Lukeman exhaustively explains the elements of plot, and how to employ them, he also inspires ideas in the writer as he goes. As I read, I scribbled down pages of new ideas for my own work, and now I've got half-a-notebook's worth as fuel to get started. The ideas that came to me as I read were the best part of the experience.
Part of his brilliance is illustrating his points with examples from everyday life, using his ideas to turn mundane situations into exciting stories. Almost every point is also illustrated with an example from the world of film, and if you are a film buff, you'll get all the more from this book.
All I really need to say is: If you want inspiration and direction as a writer of short stories, novels, or film--especially where the arc and movement of plot and events is concerned--you should buy this book, read it, and keep it around as reference. It's written by a successful career agent and editor who appreciates and respects the ambition and passion of writers at all levels of experience.
Noah Lukeman strikes an inspirational balance between the cheerleader and the hardass. Implicit throughout book is the idea that writers can improve their craft, and even that anyone can write well, given proper support, instruction, and practice. At the same time, he makes demands on his writer-reader: He insists on guidelines and structure, although within these there is infinite room for creative expression and improvisation. By providing structured ideas and guidelines, he inspires the writer to work within them.
This balance between "you can do it" and "here is a huge list of things to consider" makes for an exciting read, if you want to write fiction, or if you need good fuel to continue. As much as Lukeman exhaustively explains the elements of plot, and how to employ them, he also inspires ideas in the writer as he goes. As I read, I scribbled down pages of new ideas for my own work, and now I've got half-a-notebook's worth as fuel to get started. The ideas that came to me as I read were the best part of the experience.
Part of his brilliance is illustrating his points with examples from everyday life, using his ideas to turn mundane situations into exciting stories. Almost every point is also illustrated with an example from the world of film, and if you are a film buff, you'll get all the more from this book.
All I really need to say is: If you want inspiration and direction as a writer of short stories, novels, or film--especially where the arc and movement of plot and events is concerned--you should buy this book, read it, and keep it around as reference. It's written by a successful career agent and editor who appreciates and respects the ambition and passion of writers at all levels of experience.
June 30, 2023
As a whole The Plot Thickens: 8 Ways to Bring Fiction to Life focuses on two things, number one being character and number two being the importance of asking questions. Lukeman states that the first three chapters are about characterization, which they are, but nearly the whole book is about character. In almost every chapter he explained the role of character and character's impact on each of those 8 ways. Also he touches on, especially in those first three chapters, the importance of the writer to ask questions, such as "why does character A like painting?" "Why are you writing the book?" "What do you want the reader to get from it?" "Why did you create that conflict and what will it lead to and, again, why?" Asking questions and thus finding the answers is one of the most important things to do. That and he showed, in this book, just how important character and every aspect of character is important.
I only gave it a three because it did feel very basic as far as what it covered and felt repetitive at times. For example the chapter on Context, if I'm remembering right, was covered quite well in his book The First Five Pages: A Writer's Guide To Staying Out of the Rejection Pile.
Lukeman does have a great eye, ear, know how and heart for the art of writing, so I will continue to read his book and will check out his "Suggested Reading and Viewing" section.
I only gave it a three because it did feel very basic as far as what it covered and felt repetitive at times. For example the chapter on Context, if I'm remembering right, was covered quite well in his book The First Five Pages: A Writer's Guide To Staying Out of the Rejection Pile.
Lukeman does have a great eye, ear, know how and heart for the art of writing, so I will continue to read his book and will check out his "Suggested Reading and Viewing" section.
July 17, 2022
Contrary to what many popular books would like you to believe, there is no formula to assure a great or “classic” plot. There are no steps, paths, no things you must do, and no things you cannot do. This is not a book of rules and mandates. I would be wary of any such book. On the contrary, this book grapples, philosophically and practically, with age-old principles of story. If you glance at the table of contents you will not find catchy, gimmicky topics; on the contrary, it deliberately covers familiar ground—characterization, suspense, conflict. These principles have sustained works for thousands of years and can be found at the core of all great writing. This book differs in that it attempts to cover new ground within these topics, offer examples you will not have seen, and offer exercises you will not have previously considered.
from the intro. And he is as true as his word.
In my mind I carry a sort of graveyard of writing that never made it into print. In my role as editor, I’ve sometimes had to cut some of the best writing I’d seen anywhere, because it detracted from the rest of the work. This is the most painful type of editing, but the great writers know that context is everything. (p. 168).
There is a LOT of very good advice in here.
4 stars.
July 17, 2019
The first half of this book is boring. It's mostly lists of things to think about when building characters, from background to physical appearance and mannerisms. If you need that type of help fleshing out a character, ok, but it was a damn slow beginning to a book titled "ways to bring fiction to life".
And then one of the few times the author switches from a generic-character-"he" to contemplation of a woman as a character, and the very first thing he suggests you think about is "are her breasts large or small?". I rolled my eyes so hard I hurt something and dropped the book literally on the floor right then and there.
I picked it up later, skipped through the rest of the stuff on character design, and it got good enough to finish. Particularly the chapters on plotting, context, and suspense had some useful reminders and tips. But really this book didn't earn a spot on my shelf: I took less than a page of notes and tossed it on the donate pile.
And then one of the few times the author switches from a generic-character-"he" to contemplation of a woman as a character, and the very first thing he suggests you think about is "are her breasts large or small?". I rolled my eyes so hard I hurt something and dropped the book literally on the floor right then and there.
I picked it up later, skipped through the rest of the stuff on character design, and it got good enough to finish. Particularly the chapters on plotting, context, and suspense had some useful reminders and tips. But really this book didn't earn a spot on my shelf: I took less than a page of notes and tossed it on the donate pile.
July 7, 2018
I chose to read my third Lukeman book of the semester because the other two were incredibly helpful, really two of the best books on writing I’ve encountered. This one was not so great. It read like a grocery list of plot questions, and most of the information seemed hackneyed. Toward the end, however, he did discuss how detrimental it is to write with an agenda, something I’ve been considering for my graduate presentation. “When someone writes with an agenda . . . the work will be stale, flat, the characters won’t come alive. This is because the writer . . . is imposing his vision on the work, instead of letting the vision grow organically from it . . . [he] is doing little more than proving a point” (197).
June 5, 2024
The Plot Thickens is a guide or reference for writing better fiction and how to bring dull characters and ideas some life.
The first part of this book reads like a checklist of considerations for how to develop realistic characters. It's a rather tedious list of details that a writer should consider, and is not itself a helpful read. The later part of the book hones in on plot elements, like how to build suspense, ways to make character interaction more believable, and how to make use of conflict in a plot.
For the most part - all of the ideas and sections that Lukeman mentions are obvious, but he's gathered them here all in one place. So as a read, it's rather dull, but I think that for a writers-block addled writer, referencing this for some ideas might have some value.
The first part of this book reads like a checklist of considerations for how to develop realistic characters. It's a rather tedious list of details that a writer should consider, and is not itself a helpful read. The later part of the book hones in on plot elements, like how to build suspense, ways to make character interaction more believable, and how to make use of conflict in a plot.
For the most part - all of the ideas and sections that Lukeman mentions are obvious, but he's gathered them here all in one place. So as a read, it's rather dull, but I think that for a writers-block addled writer, referencing this for some ideas might have some value.
February 1, 2018
A great book about plot that's all about how to create dynamic characters and conflict and suspense through their interactions. This definitely reaffirmed so many of my beliefs about character being key and wanting my writing to character driven rather than plot driven. The exercises aren't really something I would envision anyone actually doing, but they illuminate essential things to keep in mind when writing.
October 1, 2020
Despite the clever title, this book isn't solely about plot, because everything in fiction is related. Plot, or story, derives from characterization, so the book spends three chapters on character alone. A lot of genre writers would do well to study those chapters to find more depth for their characters. The rest of the book describes tips for building suspense, understanding conflict (without which plots are weak tea), etc. It's a pretty good summary of how to "bring fiction to life."
July 3, 2021
I really enjoyed this book. I listened to the audiobook and half way through went out and bought the book to highlight those diamond-in-the-rough parts.
If you have a hard time with characterization, never feeling like you know your character well enough, I think this book will help; it’s helped me so much and I’ve only done two of the exercises (so far) and already think I know my MC better.
A must read :)
If you have a hard time with characterization, never feeling like you know your character well enough, I think this book will help; it’s helped me so much and I’ve only done two of the exercises (so far) and already think I know my MC better.
A must read :)
June 25, 2020
There is no doubt that Noah Lukeman knows his Writing. I wish I would have a photographic memory to remember all the goodies given in this book. It is an interesting read even if you are not a writer; it tells you what what makes a book enjoyable, readable, memorable. But of course, it's a treasure chest for someone who is trying his hand (mind) on writing.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 131 reviews