Book Review - The Art of War for Writers: Fiction Writing Strategies, Tactics, and Exercises by James Scott Bell
Category Book Review James Scott Bell The Art of War for Writers: Fiction Writing Strategies Tactics and Exercises
Because I do a few (HA!) book reviews, I generally don't end up buying too many books as I'm often overwhelmed with reading material. But this book is one that I couldn't NOT purchase, as I start to think about moving into some fiction writing... The Art of War for Writers: Fiction Writing Strategies, Tactics, and Exercises by James Scott Bell. Modeled after the Sun Tzu book The Art of War, Bell offers up a wealth of tips and techniques to improve the quality of your writing, as well as increasing the chances of actually seeing your work make it to print. In short, I love this book.
Contents:
Part 1 - Reconnaissance; Part 2 - Tactics; Part 3 - Strategy; A Final Word from Sun Tzu and me; Index
Art has 77 tips (you might even call them "chapters") that cover the gamut of fiction writing. Part 1, Reconnaissance, goes into the mental makeup of the fiction writer/novelist. These mental frameworks are essential if you expect to be able to endure long-term. Topics such as "A foundation in discipline is always the first step towards victory" and "The career novelist will develop a writing improvement program, beginning with a notebook" may sound lofty, but Bell packs a ton of practical, down-to-earth advice into each two to five page topic. Part 2, Tactics, moves into the structure of the story. Just because you have a good idea doesn't mean the story will write itself. Here you get topics such as "Test your premise to prove it worthy" and "The key to reader bonding is to fall in love with the Lead" help you to step away from the action and look at how and why a good story "works."
Continuing on to Part 3, Strategy looks at the fiction writing process from the business side. People are not just sitting around waiting for your Great American Novel to show up on their doorstep. You have to know how to sell your story to an agent... how to make them want to read it so they can turn around and sell your story to a publisher. "You are a business, and your books are the product" and "Approach agents intelligently by knowing what they do and don't want" may sound like you're selling out your creative side to the emotionless cogs of business, but it's the reality of how publishing works. And if you don't (or can't) sell your work effectively to others, then you probably won't go very far (and definitely won't reach the levels of accomplishment that you dream of).
For me, this book clarified a number of ideas and exposed me to other areas that I didn't know existed. While still far from diving into my first fiction work, I came away from The Art of War for Writers with a much better idea of what I need to do, and more importantly, who and what I need to be to make this all happen. I'd consider this a high-priority read for anyone venturing into writing as a business. It might well be the difference between seeing your work on the shelf versus only seeing it as a document on your computer...
Disclosure:
Obtained From: Bookstore
Payment: Purchased
Because I do a few (HA!) book reviews, I generally don't end up buying too many books as I'm often overwhelmed with reading material. But this book is one that I couldn't NOT purchase, as I start to think about moving into some fiction writing... The Art of War for Writers: Fiction Writing Strategies, Tactics, and Exercises by James Scott Bell. Modeled after the Sun Tzu book The Art of War, Bell offers up a wealth of tips and techniques to improve the quality of your writing, as well as increasing the chances of actually seeing your work make it to print. In short, I love this book.
Contents:
Part 1 - Reconnaissance; Part 2 - Tactics; Part 3 - Strategy; A Final Word from Sun Tzu and me; Index
Art has 77 tips (you might even call them "chapters") that cover the gamut of fiction writing. Part 1, Reconnaissance, goes into the mental makeup of the fiction writer/novelist. These mental frameworks are essential if you expect to be able to endure long-term. Topics such as "A foundation in discipline is always the first step towards victory" and "The career novelist will develop a writing improvement program, beginning with a notebook" may sound lofty, but Bell packs a ton of practical, down-to-earth advice into each two to five page topic. Part 2, Tactics, moves into the structure of the story. Just because you have a good idea doesn't mean the story will write itself. Here you get topics such as "Test your premise to prove it worthy" and "The key to reader bonding is to fall in love with the Lead" help you to step away from the action and look at how and why a good story "works."
Continuing on to Part 3, Strategy looks at the fiction writing process from the business side. People are not just sitting around waiting for your Great American Novel to show up on their doorstep. You have to know how to sell your story to an agent... how to make them want to read it so they can turn around and sell your story to a publisher. "You are a business, and your books are the product" and "Approach agents intelligently by knowing what they do and don't want" may sound like you're selling out your creative side to the emotionless cogs of business, but it's the reality of how publishing works. And if you don't (or can't) sell your work effectively to others, then you probably won't go very far (and definitely won't reach the levels of accomplishment that you dream of).
For me, this book clarified a number of ideas and exposed me to other areas that I didn't know existed. While still far from diving into my first fiction work, I came away from The Art of War for Writers with a much better idea of what I need to do, and more importantly, who and what I need to be to make this all happen. I'd consider this a high-priority read for anyone venturing into writing as a business. It might well be the difference between seeing your work on the shelf versus only seeing it as a document on your computer...
Disclosure:
Obtained From: Bookstore
Payment: Purchased
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