How to
Write a Breakout Novel Workbook
by Donald Maass
Reviewed by Sandra Orchard
If you're unwilling
to work hard to make your novel the best it can be, don't buy this
book. This sequel to the highly acclaimed, How to Write
a Breakout Novel By Donald Maass, will equip and motivate
you to incorporate into your manuscript the elements essential to
a best seller. But you'll have to roll up your sleeves and write,
revise, then write some more.
Each chapter
presents a concept, explains its importance, illustrates its use
with examples, and follows up with exercises you can apply to your
WIP. If you complete each exercise and take the time to make your
writing fresh and evocative, your novel will be transformed.
I write inspirational
romance and purchased this book to learn how to infuse my stories
with tension. I expected to breeze through Part 1 (twelve chapters
on Character Development) and concentrate on Plot Development in
Part 2.
Wrong.
Creating conflict
begins with the characters. The changes I made in my novel, based
on these early exercises, yielded noticeable improvements. By the
time I reached the last chapter in Part 2: 'Adding Tension to Every
Page,' my manuscript was already significantly closer to this goal.
Maass introduces
the chapter with these words: "Tension on every page is the
secret of great storytelling. Everyone knows that. Practically no
one does it."
Yup, I'm stuck
at chapter 24, determined to instill more tension in my story, even
if it kills me. And some days I think it might. I have yet to explore
the final twelve chapters on General Story Techniques which cover
everything from first and last lines to the pitch.
Whatever you
write, applying the exercises in this workbook will improve your
work.
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