A review by amandagstevens
The Art of War for Writers: Fiction Writing Strategies, Tactics, and Exercises by James Scott Bell
3.0
The usefulness of this book depends on how many craft books one has read before. Some of these tips are nothing new (backstory and how not to use it, character inner conflict, foreshadowing the plot), and many of them aren't too deep. They can't be, since each "chapter" is more of a blog-post-length quick tip. But just as I started thinking thus, I would read something like the chapter on story and redemption and simply have to share it with writer friends.
One small issue--learn point of view elsewhere. Some of this book's POV tips (as well as the rewritten "better" example from the Warm Up Third Person chapter) would make Browne and King cringe ([b:Self-Editing for Fiction Writers|180467|Self-Editing for Fiction Writers How to Edit Yourself Into Print|Renni Browne|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1356023889s/180467.jpg|1283228]).
Most of the third section, Strategy (i.e. writing as a business) contains advice easily Googled: how to write a query letter, how to write a synopsis, how to behave like a professional so agents at conferences don't avoid you. However, for those to whom query letters are still a terrifying wilderness, this overview will be helpful and hopefully fortifying.
The points with the greatest use for me personally were several writing method innovations (especially the writer's notebook), the encouragement sections, and the quotes/stories of respected writers, from Faulkner to King.
Three-and-a-half stars. These and other gems are now highlighted in my copy: "Redemption is bound up in choice," "[Readers] read to worry," "speed in the opening is a matter of disturbance, not high levels of action." Good stuff.
One small issue--learn point of view elsewhere. Some of this book's POV tips (as well as the rewritten "better" example from the Warm Up Third Person chapter) would make Browne and King cringe ([b:Self-Editing for Fiction Writers|180467|Self-Editing for Fiction Writers How to Edit Yourself Into Print|Renni Browne|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1356023889s/180467.jpg|1283228]).
Most of the third section, Strategy (i.e. writing as a business) contains advice easily Googled: how to write a query letter, how to write a synopsis, how to behave like a professional so agents at conferences don't avoid you. However, for those to whom query letters are still a terrifying wilderness, this overview will be helpful and hopefully fortifying.
The points with the greatest use for me personally were several writing method innovations (especially the writer's notebook), the encouragement sections, and the quotes/stories of respected writers, from Faulkner to King.
Three-and-a-half stars. These and other gems are now highlighted in my copy: "Redemption is bound up in choice," "[Readers] read to worry," "speed in the opening is a matter of disturbance, not high levels of action." Good stuff.