Writing the Heart of Your Story: The Secret to Crafting an Unforgettable Novel

The Writer's Toolbox

by C.S. Lakin

Learn the secret of how to write the heart of your story! This writing skills book, full of fiction writing technique, is like no other.Some novelists write with the goal of becoming a best seller, hoping for wealth and fame. Some just want to write novels that earn them a steady income so they can feed their families and pay their bills. Some write to express their creativity and don

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Reference

202 pages, Paperback

First published June 23, 2014

Reviews

[K.M. Weiland · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read dozens of writing craft books every year. All too many of them are ho-hum, been-there-done-that. This one is absotively posolutely not. Lakin offers a refreshingly structured—and yet freeing—approach to not just creating a solidly entertaining story, but to crafting a tale of emotional resonance and resilience. Her useful writing exercises and spot-on story sense offers epiphany after epiphany. This is one I will read and re-read.

[The Lifelong Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have worked on a novel over the last nine months, off and on. I'm a novice writer but I don't believe anything can stop you if you are willing to put the time and effort in when you have a story to tell. I have read some excellent books on writing over the years but this one is a true lifesaver. It prompted me to look at my novel and realize I was allowing it to turn into a mess. I was falling into many first time traps and this advice is going to help me save face! I've accumulated pages of notes just during the reading that I can utilize to infuse my novel with a heart, which is my ultimate goal. As this may be my only book, I want to make it a story of a lifetime, and the advice here is exactly what I needed. The author helped me realize my pantser style was greatly hindering my progress and I now see myself doing some major planning before sitting down to actually write the novel again. As a side note, I almost didn't purchase this book. I thought, oh gee, another writing book...how many do I really need before all of the advice gets confusing? I'm so glad I ignored that impulse. I have older books and a few newer books on fiction writing. Something I love about the modern books is that most of them quote their favorite books or share experiences from the life changing workshops they have attended. This is invaluable to me. I can learn what C.S. Lakin has to teach me and also what Donald Maas taught her that really upped her game. Priceless!

[J. Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

C. S. Lakin has written a refreshing and thoughtful book. Her lessons helped me think deeply about my developing story. With her help, I've carefully re-crafted scenes to be more powerful and tighter. I've added additional layers to my characters and pulled out back story. l definitely think the lessons I learned in this book have made my writing stronger.

When I first picked up this book, I wasn't really sure what "Writing the Heart" meant, and I was somewhat skeptical as I read the first pages of the book and Lakin talked about opening up a vein into your story. I worried that the overall concept would be too "mushy," but Lakin quickly got down to business, providing concrete suggestions with examples from her own writing.

More than anything, I appreciated Lakin's focus on encouraging writers to really take their time and focus on their craft. Many of the writers in my circle are gobbling up books that scream at authors to write faster, publish more, and churn out as many books as possible without particular regard to quality. Lakin believes in quality over quantity, and I think the authors who read Writing the Heart of Your Story will be better writers if they take her advice "to heart."

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Why would I, a book reviewer, read a book about writing a novel? This book has helped me to differentiate between a good novel and a great one. I now know all of the elements that make up a captivating novel. I also now know why I rarely give a novel five stars in a review. I now know the exceptional work it takes to craft a great plot and develop characters that are memorable. Many authors just do not bother with all that work.

A particular aspect of this book I really appreciated was Lakin emphasizing the importance of the first paragraph. Authors need to capture readers immediately. So many times I have had to slog through pages of the introduction of characters and settings before a hint of the plot was evident. If I hadn't made a commitment to the publisher or author to review the book, I would have quit reading it. Nancy Pearl, with the Seattle Public Library, suggests giving a book the number of pages equal to 100 minus your age. The older I get, the more quickly an author has to capture my attention.

I do recommend this book to authors and readers alike.

I received a complimentary digital copy of this book from the author. My comments are an independent and honest review.

[Joanna Elm]

For so long as I have been writing fiction, I have also been studying the writing craft. Over several decades, I have read many books and guides and how-tos. Most recently I read Writing the Heart of Your Story, and was totally knocked out by it. It is a succinct, clearly written guide to writing a great novel rather than just a good one. In other words, it pushes a writer to explore his/her characters and plot just a little more deeply -- especially if you have an outline or first draft already completed.
As the author of two traditionally published novels now working on my third, I loved the suggestion (which C.S.Lakin acknowledges she borrowed from Elizabeth George) of "free-writing" your characters. Also invaluable is the "First Page Checklist" -- a short list of what to include in your opening paragraphs to make your novel an instant attention-grabber.

[Sarah Buchmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

That I was hooked from page one was proof to me that the author of this book knows what she's doing. The content's very helpful and clear to me. I'd wish for a book like this to get a cover, layout, paper, etc. that matches the care that went into writing it.
Each chapter has been most inspiring; sometimes in unexpected ways.The reason it took me so long to get through the whole book is that it actually made me work on my project. I'd like to thank C.S. Lakin for this book full of treasures. My first novel has gained shape and depth. This book did wonders fo me.

[David Crow · Rating 5 out of 5]

What makes a novel great

This is the first book I've read on the process of writing a novel that has truly helped me. Like an outstanding novel, the examples used will stay with me for a long time. I will read Lakin's other books because of the fabulous advice and wonderful examples she provides.

[Phyllis A. Still · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite craft books by C.S. Lakin! I learned the importance of allowing readers to emotionally connect with my characters and the purpose of the story in every scene. I highly recommend this book to fiction writers.

[Florence Osmund · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you write fiction, there's a high likelihood you'll benefit from reading this book. Lakin does an exemplary job not only talking about, but providing excellent tools for, hooking the reader with the first page of your book, use of back story, developing effective scenes, plot development, creating fully flushed out characters, use of themes, the importance of setting, and so much more. Her advice is detailed and supported with rationale and reasoning. I think I may have to re-read this one before I start writing every book from now on. The sections that involve doing the work upfront, before you start writing, is worth it alone. I've read numerous books on how to write compelling fiction--this one is now at the top of my list.

[Kevin Potter · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm sorry for the low rating, the book does have a few useful bits. My problem with C. S. Lakin is her utter refusal to accept discovery writing as a viable method. Some of the most successful books ever written came from discovery writers.

Yes, most authors who believe they are discovery writers would benefit greatly from some lessons on outlining, but not all. Some of us are natural discovery writers and telling us we HAVE TO outline to be successful is like telling a fish it must learn to breath air to live. Not only is it a waste of your time (and ours), it can actually be detrimental to our process.

Ms. Lakin, I sincerely hope you read this and take it to heart.

[Joy Pixley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was expecting something different, from the title. Something more about the heart of the novel, the heart of the characters, a deeper exploration of theme and emotions. This book does deal more with those deeper issues than most standard writing craft books (the ones that focus on structure and "rules"), which I appreciated. For instance, I really liked how she talked about setting as a way to reveal character: that chapter was worth buying the book, for me. Her advice is good, but having read many craft books already, I wasn't wowed by a lot of new insights. I wanted more depth and especially more examples of the concepts she discussed.

[Evie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found CS Lakin's Writing the Heart of the Your Story by chance and it's now something I do before I begin Draft Zero. It is now in, and will remain in my re-reading bookshelf.
As an aspiring author, these are invaluable tools for me.
I used CS Lakin’s technique to take an new idea and develop a strong story quickly and also, rewriting and strengthening stories I have started and slumped. If you like me, are an aspiring unpublished writer I can highly recommend this workbook.

[Tracey Jaffart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent!

[R.J. Thesman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am constantly recommending "Writing the Heart of Your Story" by CS Lakin to my writing clients. It covers all the basics of crafting a compelling novel.

[Debbie Lukas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic information and helpful if writing a book the best you can.

[Peggy Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

My heart sings!

Getting to the heart of every story is the real reason we write to tell our stories. Susanne is a master at guiding us to a great work we will be proud of. All her books teach the deep down knowledge we have to know to be good writers. I 'be some of courses they even better. This is another must have tool.

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

Thank you, C.S. Lakin. I will probably reference this book again and again. This was exactly what I needed at exactly the right time.

[Marcy Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book does a great job of giving an overview of some of the most important aspects of writing a book. I found a lot of takeaways and made quite a few notes. The strongest portion of this book is the discussion of the first page/first scene. Her discussion of how to use secondary characters to both support theme and create conflict is also one of the best I've read.

My major critique/complaint about this book is that it lacked enough examples to make some of the concepts as clear as they could have been. Some of her coverage felt surface level. For example, I didn't think she differentiated symbols and motifs enough and more examples would have really helped. For a book with such good points, it just felt like the author didn't always dig deep enough into deconstructing how to do it. It's one thing for a writer to know they need to do something, and an entirely different thing for them to fully understand how to do that thing. I felt this book was better at giving the former than the latter. I realize that you don't want to create a brick of a book, but then you have to ask about what maybe could have been saved for a different book so that things could have been expanded more in this one. That's just my opinion of course. This is the whole reason I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5 stars.

Also, a lot of the examples were pretty obscure literary fiction or movies. I can see sometimes using movies as examples, but honestly, writing and producing a movie isn't the same thing as writing a novel. Movie-makers have actors and we don't. Using movies is fine if you also support your points with books.

Some of the critiques I read about this book fault C.S. Lakin for encouraging authors to plan a bit before they write. Process in the author world can become a hot-button issue very quickly, but she's right in what she says. If you want to write a clean/almost ready first draft, you need to plan first. If you're happy making revision after revision as you try to figure out your story as you go, then writing by the seat of your pants is fine. However, most of the authors who put out multiple books a year and make a living from their writing (who aren't Stephen King - who, by the way, is notorious for flubbing his endings), plan their stories in advance because it's more efficient. How you write is a personal choice, but Lakin's point that, for the sake of efficiency you should at least consider planning ahead, is valid and important.

[Janet Sketchley · Rating 5 out of 5]

What transforms a novel from a good read to one that lingers in readers' imaginations? C.S. Lakin suggests the key is finding—and writing—the story's heart. Finding it, she says, requires seeing the big picture, or some level of pre-writing discovery. Once a writer has found this connection point, he/she is in a strong position to weave it through the whole story.

Sections of the book focus on the heart of the story, of the characters, and of the plot, with extra sections on scenes and settings. Each chapter ends with a "think about" assignment, which turns this already-helpful book into a personalized writing course. Most assignments send writers back to their own favourite books to observe how those authors succeeded, and then challenge us to re-evaluate our own work.

If you're a die-hard seat-of-the-pants writer, you may not value the book as much as I do, but you'll likely find some things to help in your revision stages. C.S. Lakin is an unapologetic advocate of pre-planning, using the analogy of a mine: if you're digging for the heart of your story, it makes sense to stabilize the tunnel so it won't collapse.

I've done a prodigious amount of highlighting in this book, and it's one I'll go back to again and again to deepen my understanding. My first reading taught me things I've been able to apply immediately, and taking time to do the homework will build on that.

C.S. Lakin is a novelist and writing coach. Writing the Heart of your Story is one of her Writers' Toolbox books, compiling a year's worth of teaching on her Live Write Thrive blog. It's available in multiple ebook formats as well as in print.

[Review copy from my personal library.]

[Debra Benson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Susanne Lankin book Writing The Heart Of Your Story is one of the best books I've read that have answered many of my writing questions. It gives direct information on how to create characters with depth and how to write a memorable story. In the beginning, you must have at least a couple of novels you have read and or planning to read in order to perform tasks asked of you. With these tools in hand, this book has a hands-on approach to suggested exercises that will broaden the understanding to develop a strong story that readers would enjoy. This approach dwells of the essence of why you should tell the story and how to write it in a memorable way.

I will use the book as a reference for my writing. The explanations on how to get into the mind of your character the protagonist and also the secondary characters were amazing. Susanne gave simple directions and showed me how to write a complete novel and one that will leave readers remembering the characters. This book showed me that yes; more than one character can have a story in the plot. This book showed me how to pretty much not have writers block. This book let me know that preparing upfront will keep the story structure and balance the theme. This book will be useful for any writer. There are many writing books on plot and character development out there. I have read a lot of them. This one has summed up my last questions on writing well.

[Ronel Janse van Vuuren · Rating 1 out of 5]

The author asserts that every art form – except novel writing – can produce masterpieces without planning. This is the type of opinion that stifles the creativity of many. Personally, I like the skeleton draft method – writing the first draft of my novel with only a whisper of who the characters are and where they are, creating a proper plot afterwards and then fleshing out the story. I know many successful authors who do it this way.

As exercises, the author wants you to use an actual highlighter in your favourite print books to highlight stuff relevant to what’s being taught. I nearly popped a vein. What’s wrong with just using a notebook and some short hand?

The author goes on-and-on about how you should keep rewriting that opening scene and know how the book should end, throwing in everything from Lord of the Rings to their own books as examples. The first scene checklist is useful. But I started skimming as they continued to rehash the same information – instead of getting to the heart of the story (which is the point of this book, right?).

After skimming so much – I’ve read other craft books that deal in-depth with setting, hook, character, etc. – I decided to just stop. Clearly this book and I aren’t compatible.

DNF.

[Ramzy Hamdy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful book on craft, its different from the usual writing book. While speaking on scenes, character, and outlining, it centers on two points: The proper execution of the first page and themes. The theme echoes from the first page and reinforced in every chapter through symbols, motifs, and character which will take you to the motherlode that is the heart of the story.

The author has great contemporary diction and short gripping chapters that keeps the pace going.

[Mary Hamilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

C.S. Lakin is a great teacher of writing skills. And I intend to read this one over and over, whenever I start a new book, because it helps me get to the purpose, the theme of the book. I tend to think of just the story, the action, but Lakin challenges me to dig deeper and when I do, the book takes on a meaning that makes it more interesting.

[Deanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m a “pantser” struggling with a first novel, and this book has opened my eyes to a long list of tools I can use to help move through the process and evaluate the cohesiveness of my output. Very readable, and the section on character has already lead to some huge A-ha’s about a character I was struggling to understand. Recommended!

[Jill Johnston · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love when a book inspires me to dig deeper into my work in progress and make it better. Lakin touches on the essential elements of novel writing and provides numerous examples from great novels and movies. A great resource to add to a writer's toolbox.

[Skye Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent resource for authors at all levels.

[Kenneth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this free book because it talks about the emotional aspect of your novel and characters.

[Ann Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant book. I went through it again and made notes so I can refer to it when editing my latest book. Highly recommended.