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A Writer's Guide to Fiction: A Concise, Practical Guide for Novelists and Short-Story Writers
The second book in the Writer's Compass series from professional writing instructor Elizabeth Lyon offers both aspiring and established authors the fundamentals of writing and selling a great novel or short story. In addition to the basics of characterization, plot, pacing, and theme, A Writer's Guide to Fiction also features a plan for revising fiction, a guide to marketing, samples of cover and query letters, and methods of honing the writing craft.
288 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2004
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127 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
June 10, 2009
My copy of this guide, the second in Elizabeth’s Lyon’s Writer’s Compass books, is as marked up as Manuscript Makeover, the final in her five series.
I was in a workshop when a participant whose work I respect, a published writer, declared A Writer’s Guide to Fiction to be his writing bible. I quickly thanked him, and plunged down the stairs to buy it – the only copy left!
Compass-Point titles in this guide are North: Getting Your Bearings; South: Trouble Shooting and Problem-Solving; East: Your Rising Star; and West: Refining Your Vision.
Lyon also offers “Maps” throughout. Some examples: Map 1-1 – Sources of Story Ideas (9); Map 1-2 – Generating Ideas – Recommended Books (21); Map 12-1: Can Your Novel Pass This Test? (14 questions, with a rating guide); and Map 13-1 – Elements of Dynamic Synopsis.
North has the real meat of this guide: the basics of plot, characterization, pacing and theme. The other three sections offer tips, strategies and examples which will ultimately lead you to the other books in her series, most notably, The Sell Your Novel Tool Kit, and the final in the series: Manuscript Makeover: Revision Techniques No Fiction Writer Can Afford to Ignore.
On her website, http://www.elizabethlyon.com/ Elizabeth says: My two books in the skill-based Writer's Compass series continue to gain recognition for their comprehensive clear how-to instruction and my down-to-earth style (always the farm girl). Published by Perigee, an imprint of USA Penguin, they are A Writer's Guide to Nonfiction ('03) and A Writer's Guide to Fiction ('04).
A Writer’s Guide to Fiction contains material I haven’t read anywhere else, and it is valuable for the novel and short story writing – of any genre, including literary fiction. I highly recommend it for anyone who takes his/her writing seriously.
October 12, 2025
2.5* - I didn't find anything earth-shattering in this book. The info was pretty basic. I had moments where I didn't really care for the author's writing style - sometimes chapters felt more like college essays (with perfect summaries at the end to remind you what you learned).
May 17, 2012
For somebody like me who's trying to learn how to write fiction, this is a great book. It covers all the basics. It helped push me along my journey.
Understand while reading it that there are many ways to skin a cat. The advice here is straightforward and standard. It doesn't win any think outside the box awards. The advice is also broad. Entire books have been written about most of the chapters; which she refers. You don't find many books covering The Hero's Journey and even less The Heroine's Journey. I think even published authors will find refreshing perspectives on at least something in here.
It doesn't all work for me, but I'm not a proven writer. I read about characterization and yawned, but I read about narrative arc and realized there's a lot to be said about understanding the rules and why they exist before you break them. This book helps you with many rules, fundamentals, and understanding.
I highly recommend it as part of your writing journey.
Understand while reading it that there are many ways to skin a cat. The advice here is straightforward and standard. It doesn't win any think outside the box awards. The advice is also broad. Entire books have been written about most of the chapters; which she refers. You don't find many books covering The Hero's Journey and even less The Heroine's Journey. I think even published authors will find refreshing perspectives on at least something in here.
It doesn't all work for me, but I'm not a proven writer. I read about characterization and yawned, but I read about narrative arc and realized there's a lot to be said about understanding the rules and why they exist before you break them. This book helps you with many rules, fundamentals, and understanding.
I highly recommend it as part of your writing journey.
January 25, 2015
1 – The Lay of the Land
p.5 – A situation can become a plot once you have someone with a problem or conflict who seeks an outcome to resolve it.
p.6 – You have, at least partly, suspended disbelief in the fictitious world and through curiosity, have shown your willingness to pretend my story is real. Why have you done this? I would bet that you, too, have experienced times of loneliness, the need for human companionship, and the comfort of belonging through friendship. These are universal human needs. You can relate vicariously because my story is your story.
The end of the story would determine what the main character learned. Told artfully, a story can move you and alter your brain chemistry. You might make different choices in your life as a result. By my story, not by my plot, you might be transformed.
Characterization, not plot, is the core of successful fiction.
p. 9 – While your readers may be entertained by all of the external trappings (i.e. the plot) of your short story or novel, they can be emotionally and alchemically transformed only if you develop the inner story that is at the heart of any writing and that is the source of your writer magic. Nothing motivates a protagonist as strongly as an unquenchable need noted in suffering that originates in the past. The inner story is the protagonist’s psychological or spiritual struggle to fulfill the need.
p.11 – No matter where you begin, you will have to fill in all the blanks. In other words, if you begin with plot, you still have to create characters, a story arc, and story promise.
2 – Finding the Characters for Your Story
p.17 – Characterization is the bedrock of fiction and the reason most people read it. What endures in our hearts and minds over time is the heroes, heroines, and villains. Less often do we recall their plots.
p.18 – What makes a character:
• Characters are larger than life and live outside social norms and conformity in some way
• They evoke reactions in others, often creating empathy
• They have strong personalities that attract and inspire others
• They often have a passion and depth of feeling
• They seem to have more courage of self-expression to pursue their passions
4 – Heroes and Heroines
p.51 – Both the Hero’s and Heroine’s journeys describe the human quest for knowledge and growth. Both journeys add sophistication and detail to the classical three-part, or five-part, story structure.
p.56 – Refusal of the Call to Adventure serves another function besides raising tension and suspense. This step corresponds to human nature. Few people will instantly or easily leave their ordinary lives to respond to change. Most people resist change. Some of us require a boot in the backside before we accept the challenges that we must face.
First, the Mentor gives the final push to the reluctant protagonist so that he overcomes his refusal of the call. Now he will commit to the journey. He will accept the challenge and pursue the story goal, and he will resolve the external problem introduced by the inciting incident.
p.58 – The Ultimate Test – Resurrection refers to a test of inner character change. Most stories introduce one final challenge. This test determines whether the protagonist will act in the same way he did at the beginning of the story beginning, still afflicted with his weakness and/or fear. Or, this test allows the protagonist to demonstrate, for the first time, that he has fully overcome his weakness and thereby reconciled the past trauma that created it.
When the protagonist passes the Ultimate Test and is resurrected into a new self that is freed of the traumatic past and his weakness or fear, that character is said to be Master of Two Worlds. The two worlds are the former, psychologically wounded self and the new, healed and integrated self. Also, the protagonist is no longer a fish out of water. The Special World has become as comfortable as the Ordinary World and he can enjoy being a master of the new and old domain.
p.60 – The descent is characterized as a journey to the underworld. It is usually precipitated by a life-changing loss.
When a woman makes her descent, she may feel stripped bare, dismembered, or devoured by rage. She experienced a loss of identity, a falling away of the perimeters of a known role, and the fear that accompanies loss.
p.61 – women often pursue personal growth in different ways from men. For one thing, women may seek help and support of other women – and men – to resolve their problems.
5 – First Steps
p.71 – Most short stories and a majority of the novels begin in the viewpoint of the protagonist. Not only are readers working to gain orientation in the story time and location, they are most likely to “bond” with a story’s first point-of-view character.
p.77 – Everything at the beginning of a story, especially a novel and especially paragraph one and page one, should be considered as if under a magnifying glass. It takes on extra significance in symbolizing and foreshadowing the entire story. Nothing can be tossed in unconsciously. You should select your setting to build characterization and to represent the type of novel or the theme.
6 – Deepening Your Characters
p.87 – Until you know a person’s past, you cannot understand him or know what he cares about or what motivates him. Until you give your characters a past, the same thing is true. They will remain a mystery to the reader. In most cases, they come across as superficial and two-dimensional. In real life, we have a host of meaningful events that have shaped who we are. In fiction, each character should have only one primary event that underlies character yearning, what choices are made under stress, and the story theme.
p.105 – crafting a meaningful past that explains your character’s need and its origin in a traumatic event. Your character must have a weakness and a strength. Your characters are now assured of being three-dimensional.
10 – Finding Your Gait
p.163 – You may have heard the axiom of effective fiction writing, “Show don’t tell.” This rule is only partially true. Every fiction writer needs to learn how to tell well.
Narration means “what is told,” it includes telling about characters, including their emotions; the locations, settings, and the environment; events, including the past, present, and future; and ideas of the author or the viewpoint character.
p.172 – Effective dialogue:
• Make clear who is speaking by using attributions: he said, she said
• Don’t use attributions where the identity of the speaker is clear
• Don’t include introductions and small talk
• Keep dialogue non-repetitive
• Don’t describe speech, such as “she snorted”
• Lace dialogue with emotional tension and subtext
14 – New Horizons
p.243 – Cultivate the fine art of daydreaming to find your next worthy story. Stop your activity, notice what you’re imagining, and reflect on possibilities.
If you don’t already, carry a notepad to write down the odd fragments of ideas that you net. Don’t let your analytical and critical self decide their worth. Simply capture them for later reflection.
p.244 – In the words of T.S. Eliot, “At the end of all our explorations, we shall arrive at where we started and know that place for the first time.” It’s time to prepare for the next story, your next writer’s journey. It’s time to make magic and prepare yourself for transformation and for being the agent of transformation in the lives of your readers.
p.5 – A situation can become a plot once you have someone with a problem or conflict who seeks an outcome to resolve it.
p.6 – You have, at least partly, suspended disbelief in the fictitious world and through curiosity, have shown your willingness to pretend my story is real. Why have you done this? I would bet that you, too, have experienced times of loneliness, the need for human companionship, and the comfort of belonging through friendship. These are universal human needs. You can relate vicariously because my story is your story.
The end of the story would determine what the main character learned. Told artfully, a story can move you and alter your brain chemistry. You might make different choices in your life as a result. By my story, not by my plot, you might be transformed.
Characterization, not plot, is the core of successful fiction.
p. 9 – While your readers may be entertained by all of the external trappings (i.e. the plot) of your short story or novel, they can be emotionally and alchemically transformed only if you develop the inner story that is at the heart of any writing and that is the source of your writer magic. Nothing motivates a protagonist as strongly as an unquenchable need noted in suffering that originates in the past. The inner story is the protagonist’s psychological or spiritual struggle to fulfill the need.
p.11 – No matter where you begin, you will have to fill in all the blanks. In other words, if you begin with plot, you still have to create characters, a story arc, and story promise.
2 – Finding the Characters for Your Story
p.17 – Characterization is the bedrock of fiction and the reason most people read it. What endures in our hearts and minds over time is the heroes, heroines, and villains. Less often do we recall their plots.
p.18 – What makes a character:
• Characters are larger than life and live outside social norms and conformity in some way
• They evoke reactions in others, often creating empathy
• They have strong personalities that attract and inspire others
• They often have a passion and depth of feeling
• They seem to have more courage of self-expression to pursue their passions
4 – Heroes and Heroines
p.51 – Both the Hero’s and Heroine’s journeys describe the human quest for knowledge and growth. Both journeys add sophistication and detail to the classical three-part, or five-part, story structure.
p.56 – Refusal of the Call to Adventure serves another function besides raising tension and suspense. This step corresponds to human nature. Few people will instantly or easily leave their ordinary lives to respond to change. Most people resist change. Some of us require a boot in the backside before we accept the challenges that we must face.
First, the Mentor gives the final push to the reluctant protagonist so that he overcomes his refusal of the call. Now he will commit to the journey. He will accept the challenge and pursue the story goal, and he will resolve the external problem introduced by the inciting incident.
p.58 – The Ultimate Test – Resurrection refers to a test of inner character change. Most stories introduce one final challenge. This test determines whether the protagonist will act in the same way he did at the beginning of the story beginning, still afflicted with his weakness and/or fear. Or, this test allows the protagonist to demonstrate, for the first time, that he has fully overcome his weakness and thereby reconciled the past trauma that created it.
When the protagonist passes the Ultimate Test and is resurrected into a new self that is freed of the traumatic past and his weakness or fear, that character is said to be Master of Two Worlds. The two worlds are the former, psychologically wounded self and the new, healed and integrated self. Also, the protagonist is no longer a fish out of water. The Special World has become as comfortable as the Ordinary World and he can enjoy being a master of the new and old domain.
p.60 – The descent is characterized as a journey to the underworld. It is usually precipitated by a life-changing loss.
When a woman makes her descent, she may feel stripped bare, dismembered, or devoured by rage. She experienced a loss of identity, a falling away of the perimeters of a known role, and the fear that accompanies loss.
p.61 – women often pursue personal growth in different ways from men. For one thing, women may seek help and support of other women – and men – to resolve their problems.
5 – First Steps
p.71 – Most short stories and a majority of the novels begin in the viewpoint of the protagonist. Not only are readers working to gain orientation in the story time and location, they are most likely to “bond” with a story’s first point-of-view character.
p.77 – Everything at the beginning of a story, especially a novel and especially paragraph one and page one, should be considered as if under a magnifying glass. It takes on extra significance in symbolizing and foreshadowing the entire story. Nothing can be tossed in unconsciously. You should select your setting to build characterization and to represent the type of novel or the theme.
6 – Deepening Your Characters
p.87 – Until you know a person’s past, you cannot understand him or know what he cares about or what motivates him. Until you give your characters a past, the same thing is true. They will remain a mystery to the reader. In most cases, they come across as superficial and two-dimensional. In real life, we have a host of meaningful events that have shaped who we are. In fiction, each character should have only one primary event that underlies character yearning, what choices are made under stress, and the story theme.
p.105 – crafting a meaningful past that explains your character’s need and its origin in a traumatic event. Your character must have a weakness and a strength. Your characters are now assured of being three-dimensional.
10 – Finding Your Gait
p.163 – You may have heard the axiom of effective fiction writing, “Show don’t tell.” This rule is only partially true. Every fiction writer needs to learn how to tell well.
Narration means “what is told,” it includes telling about characters, including their emotions; the locations, settings, and the environment; events, including the past, present, and future; and ideas of the author or the viewpoint character.
p.172 – Effective dialogue:
• Make clear who is speaking by using attributions: he said, she said
• Don’t use attributions where the identity of the speaker is clear
• Don’t include introductions and small talk
• Keep dialogue non-repetitive
• Don’t describe speech, such as “she snorted”
• Lace dialogue with emotional tension and subtext
14 – New Horizons
p.243 – Cultivate the fine art of daydreaming to find your next worthy story. Stop your activity, notice what you’re imagining, and reflect on possibilities.
If you don’t already, carry a notepad to write down the odd fragments of ideas that you net. Don’t let your analytical and critical self decide their worth. Simply capture them for later reflection.
p.244 – In the words of T.S. Eliot, “At the end of all our explorations, we shall arrive at where we started and know that place for the first time.” It’s time to prepare for the next story, your next writer’s journey. It’s time to make magic and prepare yourself for transformation and for being the agent of transformation in the lives of your readers.
October 11, 2017
Meh. I don't know if I'm really the intended audience. I had mild interest in maybe writing a short story, but this book is mostly focused on novels. The Hero's Journey kind of made sense. The Heroine's Journey made no sense whatsoever. I don't know what the Jungian archetypes of Masculine and Feminine are, and they aren't explained in this book. And what on earth is "The Initiation and Descent to the Goddess" supposed to be? I also thought the "Archetypes of Characterization" were weird - why would somebody change their personality type depending on what phase of the story they were in? I am also predisposed to be critical because I thought the whole North, South, East, West sections, and calling lists "Maps", were just gimmicky.
This book did teach me that it is the characters that make the story. At first I disagreed with this assertion, because I like plenty of stories with complex and surprising plots. But then I reflected that I was also drawn to the characters in the plots, and if I didn't care about the characters I would not have been very interested to find out what happened to them. And in fact, we do tend to remember the characters better than the plot intricacies later on. I also learned that writers can hire professional editors to work on their manuscripts before sending them in for publishing.
The most interesting section was the one on troubleshooting. If I ever did end up writing a novel, I would check it over with this section when revising. One interesting possible problem was POV - including something a character would not have known, when writing from the point of view of that character. I saw this a couple of times in a Tom Clancy novel I was reading and it was extremely confusing.
This book did teach me that it is the characters that make the story. At first I disagreed with this assertion, because I like plenty of stories with complex and surprising plots. But then I reflected that I was also drawn to the characters in the plots, and if I didn't care about the characters I would not have been very interested to find out what happened to them. And in fact, we do tend to remember the characters better than the plot intricacies later on. I also learned that writers can hire professional editors to work on their manuscripts before sending them in for publishing.
The most interesting section was the one on troubleshooting. If I ever did end up writing a novel, I would check it over with this section when revising. One interesting possible problem was POV - including something a character would not have known, when writing from the point of view of that character. I saw this a couple of times in a Tom Clancy novel I was reading and it was extremely confusing.
December 15, 2017
This is a very helpful guide.
I found so many useful tips and advice.
I found so many useful tips and advice.
April 25, 2021
Elizabeth Lyon guides the budding writer through the art of fiction. Much like her guide to nonfiction, this book takes a step-by-step approach to construct a piece.
December 10, 2014
3.5 Stars Ten Years Later
This book has... an interesting place in my heart. It's the first book on writing I ever read. I remember walking into Barnes and Nobles (or was it Borders?) with my mom, and she bought a copy for me. She must have bought it when it was first published in 2004, or sometime after that. Which makes sense. Ten years ago, I was ten years old, and by that time, I had declared to the world in some shape or another, that I wanted to be a writer.
I remember reading bits and pieces, but I don't remember reading all of it. I remember liking it, but when I joined Goodreads and placed a review on it for 3 stars, I was hesitant. It had been ten years since I read the book. A lot has happened in those ten years. I know way more about writing. I'm actively reading books on writing now. I had to give it another chance.
Though... now I kind of see why I might have put it down when I was ten.
From what I've observed. There are two types of writing books out there in the market: those that specialize on one particular topic such as characterization, plot, dialogue, etc., and those that try to cram every aspect of fiction in into short, readable chapters. Elizabeth Lyon's A Writer's Guide to Fiction falls into the latter, and it is exactly what it says it is---"A Guide." It's not your ticket to publishing stardom, and not the end-all of writing books. It has some good explanations and tips.
However, in writing books of this kind, there is always a danger of leaving points of guidance out that would confuse a beginning writer, or even an intermediate writer, due to their omission. One of the examples, is a tip that Lyon gives on dialogue: "Do limit dialogue to three interchanges, thoughts, or as they say in screenplay terminology, 'beats'"(172). I understand why the tip is there: so writers can prevent the phenomenon of talking heads, and lose reader interest. But... why only three interchanges? Does that mean each character can only speak three times in one scene?
Also, why does second person get love, but not first or third? As Lyon tells the reader about second-person point of view, she encourages them to "craft a short story that uses this viewpoint exclusively," and add it to their "repertoire for limited, but powerful use, in other pieces." This statement is a clear, direct, "Try this!"-sort of encouragement statement. But first- and third-person just get commentary. Lyon remarks that while first-person to be the "easiest," it requires "a lot of finesse." Similarly, in regards to the omniscient third-person, Lyon says that it may take a near "Pulitzer level of skill to write superbly in this viewpoint choice."
Well... great. I don't have a Pulitzer level of skill at the moment. I know that Lyon has given me a nudge in the direction with the example she provides of the omniscient third-person point of view, but it's not as big of a nudge as telling someone to craft an entire short story in second-person. Perhaps she assumed her readers were familiar with first- and third-person point of view already, and just left it alone. Or perhaps I'm taking it far too seriously, and Lyon is just saying that with writing well in any point of view, you need a lot of practice---practice to get to the "Pulizter level". Which is fine, I suppose, but... I don't think it was the best way to phrase that.
Anyway, my point is that this guide, in general, is fine as a guide. You will learn about scene structure, the Hero's Journey, character development, tips, and all the other bases a beginner should be aware of. Lyon also recommends excellent writing books, and hails their equally important authors, throughout the book itself for you to get excited and move on to the next step of your writing journey. But it's not a Bible, nor is it the perfect guide, because I find that it does not cover bases as equally as I would have liked. It will not provide you exercises to help you solidify the techniques. If you decide to get a copy, read it with a few grains of salt.
I recommend it to beginning fiction writers, but I want to spare future ten-year-olds the possible confusion that I may have encountered reading the book ten years ago. Just use it as a jumping point, and don't take every word to heart.
P.S. In the example she gave of a query letter, I could swear that the protagonist is Angie and not Tahara, as Lyon writes from 221-225. If you happen to pick up a copy, let me know.
This book has... an interesting place in my heart. It's the first book on writing I ever read. I remember walking into Barnes and Nobles (or was it Borders?) with my mom, and she bought a copy for me. She must have bought it when it was first published in 2004, or sometime after that. Which makes sense. Ten years ago, I was ten years old, and by that time, I had declared to the world in some shape or another, that I wanted to be a writer.
I remember reading bits and pieces, but I don't remember reading all of it. I remember liking it, but when I joined Goodreads and placed a review on it for 3 stars, I was hesitant. It had been ten years since I read the book. A lot has happened in those ten years. I know way more about writing. I'm actively reading books on writing now. I had to give it another chance.
Though... now I kind of see why I might have put it down when I was ten.
From what I've observed. There are two types of writing books out there in the market: those that specialize on one particular topic such as characterization, plot, dialogue, etc., and those that try to cram every aspect of fiction in into short, readable chapters. Elizabeth Lyon's A Writer's Guide to Fiction falls into the latter, and it is exactly what it says it is---"A Guide." It's not your ticket to publishing stardom, and not the end-all of writing books. It has some good explanations and tips.
However, in writing books of this kind, there is always a danger of leaving points of guidance out that would confuse a beginning writer, or even an intermediate writer, due to their omission. One of the examples, is a tip that Lyon gives on dialogue: "Do limit dialogue to three interchanges, thoughts, or as they say in screenplay terminology, 'beats'"(172). I understand why the tip is there: so writers can prevent the phenomenon of talking heads, and lose reader interest. But... why only three interchanges? Does that mean each character can only speak three times in one scene?
Also, why does second person get love, but not first or third? As Lyon tells the reader about second-person point of view, she encourages them to "craft a short story that uses this viewpoint exclusively," and add it to their "repertoire for limited, but powerful use, in other pieces." This statement is a clear, direct, "Try this!"-sort of encouragement statement. But first- and third-person just get commentary. Lyon remarks that while first-person to be the "easiest," it requires "a lot of finesse." Similarly, in regards to the omniscient third-person, Lyon says that it may take a near "Pulitzer level of skill to write superbly in this viewpoint choice."
Well... great. I don't have a Pulitzer level of skill at the moment. I know that Lyon has given me a nudge in the direction with the example she provides of the omniscient third-person point of view, but it's not as big of a nudge as telling someone to craft an entire short story in second-person. Perhaps she assumed her readers were familiar with first- and third-person point of view already, and just left it alone. Or perhaps I'm taking it far too seriously, and Lyon is just saying that with writing well in any point of view, you need a lot of practice---practice to get to the "Pulizter level". Which is fine, I suppose, but... I don't think it was the best way to phrase that.
Anyway, my point is that this guide, in general, is fine as a guide. You will learn about scene structure, the Hero's Journey, character development, tips, and all the other bases a beginner should be aware of. Lyon also recommends excellent writing books, and hails their equally important authors, throughout the book itself for you to get excited and move on to the next step of your writing journey. But it's not a Bible, nor is it the perfect guide, because I find that it does not cover bases as equally as I would have liked. It will not provide you exercises to help you solidify the techniques. If you decide to get a copy, read it with a few grains of salt.
I recommend it to beginning fiction writers, but I want to spare future ten-year-olds the possible confusion that I may have encountered reading the book ten years ago. Just use it as a jumping point, and don't take every word to heart.
P.S. In the example she gave of a query letter, I could swear that the protagonist is Angie and not Tahara, as Lyon writes from 221-225. If you happen to pick up a copy, let me know.
June 29, 2014
Before I read this book, I assumed that there wasn't much to writing a novel beyond simply sitting down and writing it. This book opened my eyes to the extremely complicated and structured path that a writer actually takes to write a successful novel. It described the process of structuring scenes, ordering conflicts, describing characters, and so much more - I took so many notes on this book. It also described the basics of marketing and publishing a novel, which was another thing to which I hadn't given much thought. Overall this book gave me a solid path to take when I write, and I know that I will refer back to it in the future to review everything that it taught me!
August 3, 2013
I found this book hard to get into. It was chock full of information but I found it harder to get through than some other books I've read about the art of writing. I also didn't like the charts and lists in the middle of chapters. I felt like they slowed me down and I didn't read many of them. I often had to turn the page to keep reading a paragraph and I never went back to read lists/charts. Even though I didn't particularly like this book, I will still take some things away from it to use in my own writing.
November 12, 2020
Great advice for developing the art and craft of writing. Leans heavily on the hero's or heroine's journey as a basis for plotting the story. Also a lot of emphasis on mapping your story, and analyzing it for certain characteristics and character growth, which I personally find confusing. But there are so many great tips, and wonderful support for getting the job done, it was an enjoyable second read for me, and I came away with some things I'd like to try to improve my own writing.
Read
August 6, 2011This book reads a lot like an English class. In fact, the book sounds exactly like my high school AP English classes, down to the type of books they describe. If you want to know specific terms and exact how-tos, this book is for you.
It is informative, but not overly helpful to me. Borrow, don't buy.
It is informative, but not overly helpful to me. Borrow, don't buy.
January 5, 2009
For what I want to use it for--a commercial balance to the experimental fiction my students will also read--it'll be fine. But there's only a smattering of good advice in here, and it's sloppily proofread (no one caught "Wally Lamb's This Much I Know Is True"??).
June 11, 2009
Elizabeth is a friend, reading her books are like listening to her speak, which is very enjoyable.
August 28, 2010
Out of step with the current industry and marketing. Needs revision to be applicable to today's author.
March 10, 2012
Elizabeth Lyon writes very informative and helpful books. These are most definitely helping me on my journey of writing a fiction novel.
March 10, 2012
Good practical information, lots of help on developing characters. No nonsense stuff!
July 31, 2014
This is a good book with clear advice in places, but was a bit too "philosophical" for me in others.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews