A review by djinn_n_juice
Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass

3.0

This book, unlike a lot of books about writing out there, addresses how to write books that are sellable. As such, it has some good advice about how to start with a strong premise, how to make sure your book "says" what you wanted it to, and some other stuff. But, it has some advice that I took with a grain of salt. Most of this stemmed from the fact that my end goal isn't to sell books as much as it's to satisfy my inner muse. So, his suggestion to write books that would all go on the same shelf at Borders (all "literature," or all "mysteries," for instance) is...umm... kind of sell-outy. Ray Bradbury wrote in a plethora of different styles. Orson Scott Card is writing a whole series of historical fiction books right now. This is advice that takes all the fun out of writing, in my opinion.

However, there were enough useful nuggets in here for me to still be glad I read it.