One of Writer's Digest Books' most popular series is now available on one searchable CD! Readers will learn the ins and outs of fiction writing with this comprehensive five-book series covering Plot & Structure; Dialogue; Characters, Emotion & Viewpoint; Revision & Self-Editing; and Description & Setting! The Write Great Fiction series covers all the essential elements of fiction, from learning how to write believable characters, to utilizing various story structure models, to revising an earlier draft. CDs feature entire book contents in PDF format, so they'll work on almost any computer (PC or Macintosh) and can be viewed with Acrobat Reader (a free program anyone can download online). Plus, each searchable PDF features individualized bookmarks to help with navigation! Also available as a download!
Jim is a former trial lawyer who now writes and speaks full time. He is the bestselling author of Try Dying, No Legal Grounds, Presumed Guilty, Glimpses of Paradise, Breach of Promise and several other thrillers. He is a winner of the Christy Award for Excellence in Inspirational Fiction, and was a fiction columnist for Writers Digest magazine. He has written two books in the Writers' Digest series, Write Great Fiction: Plot & Structure and Revision & Self-Editing.
Jim has taught writing at Pepperdine University and numerous writers conferences. He attended the University of California, Santa Barbara where he studied writing with Raymond Carver.
Just finished the last book of this series and can give a solid 4.5 stars for the series. Each book is written by a different author. I found the James Scott Bell ones were the most fun to get through. He seems to have a knack for writing instruction, as he puts my worries to rest, and offers advice to build confidence for new writers. They were a fast read and not boring at all. I recommend reading more than once to study all of the knowledge dripping from these books.
I'm a short story writer who wanted to write a novel. So I read Plot and Structure hoping to alleviate some of the fears I had. Am I patient enough to write a novel? Can't any novel be reduced to a great short story; why take 300 pages when 30 will do? Novel writers are people who can't write short stories? If I tried to write a novel, I would get bored, or bogged down, or disinterested. Who wants to spend a year or more of their life writing then find out whether your efforts are worth publishing?
I admit this attitude was my way of justifying my work and hoped that someday my short stories would make me famous and I wouldn't have to write a novel. I liked the feeling of writing a short story and getting it accepted the next day. My impatient nature demanded it.
But all those concerns melted when I read this book. It accurately and methodically lays out all of the ways to use structure and particularly plot, to build a successful novel, one that is not only publishable, but popular. As I read, I imagined my own novel, the characters, the scenes, the plot and how it would unfold. I thought "I can do this" something I had not been able to do before. If a book can make that change in my writing, then it must be very good.
I would recommend this book as required reading for anyone wanting to write a novel and a great medical kit for struggling writers whose novels aren't quite right.
Jerry Guarino Author of "Trilogies: 18 sets of short fiction"
I have all the books in this series and absolutely love them. I turn to them every time I sit down to write. The newest one on revision and self-editing has been really helpful.
Mr. Bell knows what he is talking about and is able to put it in written form that is easily understood. Have enjoyed learning about plot structure from this book.