but I've never seen the craft and mechanics of fiction writing explained better. When I started reading Brooks
933196
Story Fix is Larry Brooks' third in the series, Story Engineering and Story Physics being the first two. They form a masters class in how to write fiction that sells. I've read a lot of books on writing, but I've never seen the craft and mechanics of fiction writing explained better. When I started reading Brooks, the fog lifted.
3529761
I'm starting this off with saying I'm pretty dubious of self-published works.  I've been writing and teaching writing for 20 + years, an am particular about what I read.  I want it to be well written on a sentence level.  I want it to be aware of the conventions of good writing and of the genre.  I have no tolerance for sloppy writing (and really, if there are spelling and punctuation errors, it shouldn't even be out in the world yet!)  I read a lot of literary fiction, and I also read a lot of fantasy, and I want to see that a writer can tell a good story and write well.  Unfortunately, that's not been the case in the self-published/indie works I've tried to read in the past, so most of the time, if something comes up on Amazon and it's not through a regular publisher, I give it a miss.  I'm saying all this because I'm aiming this review at readers like me, who may not immediately want to take a chance on this book for the same reasons.  (if you read Indie stuff all the time, and you disagree with me, great.  I'm not interested in debating that). I am interested though, in telling others who may be like me that this book is absolutely worth a read.

But this book sounded so intriguing, I had to try it.  I read the sample, and was immediately hooked:  here is a writer who can write beautiful sentences:  imagistic and evocative.  The characters and situation immediately intrigued me.  and hey, the book was only a buck at that time.  So I decided to take a chance.  And I am so glad I did!

This books is as well written and well conceived as anything out there by the big publishers.  We have an intriguing cast of characters, a well-developed world in which an all powerful church controls people's lives and talents.  And yet, something has happened.  Beyond the obvious intriguing oddness of the world:  sun rising in the wrong direction, multi-colored, lightning, etc, there is the suspense of a wrongly accused young man on the run from "Justicars" who are like enforcers of an Inquisition.  I read this book quite quickly, taken in by the suspense in the plot, but it also very much would reward rereading, or slower reading, because the writer's sentences are so well-crafted.

There are some flaws, as there are in most books.  I thought that the sections from earlier in the character's childhood could have been much shorter, and the writer would have benefitted from using some exposition and summary in places rather than all scene.  I didn't need to get pages of scene of the kids walking through the woods on their way to a treehouse battle, for example.  I also wonder if the cast of characters might be a bit large:  there are 6 on the run, and we get into most of their heads, and I'm not sure we need all of them.  Finally, I do wish more had happened in this first book.  Though it was tense in places, in terms of the overall plot of what is to be a series, we are very very much in the beginning, and I think there could have, again, been more summary so we can be moved further more quickly.  Really, the book ended at what I thought should be a more middle part, and I was a bit disappointed with that end, but mostly because it seemed to end too soon.

That said, if the next book was out, I'd buy it right now, and I certainly will when it is available.  I will probably also check out this writer's early (different genre) works as well.  This is book is a great deal, even at it's full price, and I will be eager to read the next book in the series, and will be following this author's work.
3588621
Lets get this out of the way up front: I know Duncan Ralston. We became acquainted via Facebook, and he ended up beta reading my debut novel. The reason I asked him to do this is because I read his short story collection Gristle and Bone and was mightily impressed with his abilities as a writer. So, yes, I consider him a friend, but to be clear, Im also a fan. Also, my standard reviewing policy applies, in that I only review books I a) finish and b) enjoy, regardless of who wrote it. I was given a free e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This is that review.

Salvage is a ghost story, but its also much more than that. Owen Saddler, the protagonist, is a forty year old man with depression and a blank memory where his early childhood should be. When his sister dies, he finds himself drawn back to the town he grew up in and can no longer remember, and in particular that part of the town since flooded to make way for a giant hydroelectric dam in the area.

I mentioned enjoying Mr. Ralstons short fiction, but of course a novel is a different beast, and I admit to some concerns as to if hed be able to sustain his excellent storytelling in a longer form. I neednt have worried. All the Ralston stock-in-trade elements are present and correct - superlative character work, a strong presence, and a confident, clear prose style. What I don't think Id really appreciated before was his astonishing ability to deliver a sense of place. I found myself picturing the locations in the story - especially the house that Owen rents upon the lake and the submerged town - with incredible clarity, which is all the more impressive as this is conveyed without huge slabs of description. Ralston knows how to do a lot with a little, and its a talent I am both impressed by and a little jealous of.

His unwrapping of the premise is similarly skillfully handled, progressing down the rabbit hole step by step, each progression feeling logical, building a sense of dread long before any overt events come crashing in. Owen is a brilliantly realised protagonist, and Ralston manages to convey the depressive mindset without the book itself becoming maudlin. It helps that Owen himself is only dimly aware of his own condition, which again tracks with how the illness often manifests itself.

Theres a lot of big themes here - loss, religion, and of course mortality - and Ralston navigates them with skill and deftness, weaving them together seamlessly to create a rich tapestry that manages to be powerful without ever becoming overwhelming or confused. This is confident and skilled storytelling from a writer who seems to have an instinctive grasp of character, location, and narrative building, and the result is a powerful, thoughtful and intelligent first novel that is also deliciously readable.

If horror that hangs at the boundaries of the psychological and supernatural is your bag, Id say this is essential reading. But to be honest, if you like strong, character driven narratives in general, you probably want to add Salvage to your shelf. Superb stuff.
3694953
What really sets this book apart is the believability of it.  Once you get past the odd premise of the dead rising to consume the living, it seems like a perfectly plausible history.  Brooks captures how the modern world would respond to the catastrophe.  The stories range from wrenching tales of refugees trying to survive in desperate conditions to the military, and governments, to the soldiers on the front lines.  The book follows a loose chronology starting with the first outbreak, to the initial panic to the final turning of the tide.  Some of the stories are a bit weak, but over all it's a very compelling and addictive read.  Of course he has a lot of great material to borrow from in the Romero zombie movies, but he really takes it to a new and amazing level.  And in the tradition of Romero, Brooks uses the zombie motiff to take jabs at modern society, especially  the immobility of our corrupt political system, and the press.  Anyone who is a fan of zombie movies, horror, or science fiction should read it.
3954989
My 13-year-old & I both flew through the pages of this story, and walked away from it thinking it was okay.
That's a shocking thing for me to say about anything Harry Potter by JK Rowling. Because both she and her series are historically exquisite and worthy of all the gushing praise we willingly gush.
Her writing (sorry for the cliche) transports me every time; the nuances of her storylines, the flaws and frustrations of her characters, the ultimate triumph of good over evil - all of that typically registers deeply with me.
Not this time. The notion written here (no spoilers) raises thoughtful "what if" questions, and the cast presents interesting relationships and conflicts - but it just doesn't ever successfully tap into my own imagination, failing to stick with me during my daily routine, as I've come to expect from Rowling.  To be fair, I haven't read many screenplays, but I don't believe the format detracted from the tale's appeal; I just needed about 300 more pages of tale to be told with the exceptional richness Rowling does so well.
Plays do expect the audience to garner a lot from what is often very sparsely written dialog, I get that.
And I get that Rowling set the bar unusually high with one of the most compelling book series I've ever read.  There's a reason there are 500 million copies in print...
But I also get that this is not that, so I'm left hoping Rowling's got another series growing within her.
23215
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review.

I saw the blurb on this book and thought it would be good. And then I read the book. Holy crap is all I can say. This is now one of my favorite books. The author had a way of writing that makes you feel like you're talking to a friend at your kitchen table, or how an old, holey shirt feels: completely at ease. I spent the entire book going back and forth in my head about whodunit and every time I thought I figured it; a twist happened. I will be looking for all of this wonderful writers books.
3218743
At my writing group a couple of months ago, my friend Nadine launched into a list of all the things going on in her life that keep her from writing: full-time work, single-parenting, a new-ish relationship, a long commute, and the fact that all these things leave her exhausted and without a moment to spare. And besides,  writing fiction can seem so frivolous when there is all that real life stuff which needs doing!

Discussion ensued, during which I made an impassioned defense of taking time for the writing craft - stories are a profound shaper of the world we live in, and at their best are the engine which moves us forward to a new perspective, attitude, or even social organization. In fact, I argued, almost everything our current civilization is based on is a story, told repeatedly, until it is "truth". (Example: Tell me how it is that banks can lend more money than they have in reserve. The fact that there is no rational answer for that gives us a pretty strong clue that the economy as we know it is basically a fiction, tied to nothing except believe in the story we have concocted for it). Ergo, time for writing is not frivilous - it is some of the most important work we can do.

Turns out, according to a new book by Jonathan Gottschall, I might actually have been right about all of that - or at least some of it (he has nothing to say about the economy being a fiction). Just released this month, The Storytelling Animal: How stories make us human, is some inspiration reading for any writer (or fiction-creator in any media) who is asking the question why. Because as Gottschall will tell you, storytelling is one of our most fundamental and profound acts, and strikingly, it's what makes us uniquely human.

Now, Gottschall isn't making a deep or especially scientific case for any of this. He is an English professor, and it shows in his lack of hard science referencing, and abundant use of literary references. But what he does give us are examples from a variety of sources and studies that show the prevalence and power of fiction in the human experience. Conspiracy theories, religious stories, myths, the fantasy play of children, dreams, film and the modern-day novel are all examined as shapers of social mores and conscience, as a way of working out deep-seated anxiety, and as a way of ensuring social cohesion.

Along the way, Gottschall throws in some interesting factoids about the increased empathy of fiction-readers, the actual correlation between creativity and mental illness (actually much higher than you might want to believe), and the prevalance of conspiracy-theory believers in society. All fascinating - but what I appreciated most about the book is Gottschall's use of story in what is otherwise a non-fiction work. Besides just giving description about his own inspirations and family observations, he plays a couple of tricks with brief fiction exerpts which are meant to reveal the power and depth of stories to you (and me), the reader.

Gottschall winds up making the case that across culture, time and technology, the fundamentals of fiction stay the same - that as much as we evolve socially, we are still bound within the same anxieties and fears which are the primary driver of story - and to that end, we are in no danger of losing storytelling from our society. To the contrary, the increasing access to on-demand fiction may propose the opposite - that we risk becoming a society increasingly lost in the fictions we create.

An engaging read, Gottschall joins scientific research and the humanities together in an easy style - so thumbs up.
1180386
This book on novel and screen play writing brings a clarity to the fiction writing process I have not found before. In order to make this point, hopefully persuasively here, let me just say that I have been laboring at bringing my novel-writing skills up to publishable level for a number of years, and consequently I have read a lot of excellent fiction-writing how-to books, at least over 30 and took thorough notes from most of them, and also even completed two courses on fiction writing to boot.

This book is essential.  It's rather amazing, really.  Larry Brooks packs into one volume a huge a mount of concentrated but very-reader-friendly and key information for writing fiction, specifically novels and screenplays. What is particularly good about this book is that he doesn't get bogged down in the specific details of specific fiction techniques, like how to write realistic dialogue, how to use metaphors, how to describe emotions by showing rather than telling--all skills that are very important to learn and develop skill at writing.  This isn't the only book you should read to perfect your writing skills, but it is really a good place to start!

But what the novel writer needs, first and foremost, is a game plan for actually structuring an effective novel.  Effective whether you are writing popular fiction or aiming for literature.  Not formulas, but the big picture and what needs to go where and why.  Formulas are rigid. Every principle Larry includes is flexible to a degree and in no way inhibits creativity.  As a matter of fact, creativity is quintessential to apply those principles successfully!

The key points Larry Brooks includes are not all that new, although the in-depth understanding you can find on every page is new, and the potent clarity he brings to each point is new.

Clarity is essential to all of us who write fiction, even beginners, even pros, those of us aspiring to create the "great American novel," or a best seller, or just to get published.  We need to know what we are doing.

If I had to go to war again (I did once) and if I were a commanding general, there would be a lot of things I would need to know and remember.  I would, of course, benefit from a lot of experience in that arena (like for the writer putting words on paper over a period of years!).  But I would need clarity. And I had better be clear on what I need to achieve to get victory and how to go about it, what to do first, then next, and then next.  Fiction writing is a war!

The chapters on theme are among my favorites (although you couldn't pry ANY part of the book away from me).  More clarity there than I have found in any other book, though some came close.

Would you like to publish a novel, would you like to do that in a few years rather than ten or twenty?  I cannot guarantee you'd be published, of course.  But assuming you have that potential, and all that goes into it besides a knowledge of the craft, this book can, to my mind, hasten your victory.

Highest recommendation.
2003072
The elements that make a good story have not changed. Mr. Brooks has discovered a way to market the classic elements of story telling as something new. I'll admit, I fell for it. I have a degree in Physics, and the title really spoke to me.

That introduction sounds like a criticism, but it is not. Some of the best advice is actually very classic advice. Often, common knowledge needs to be repackaged to get people to accept it. Mr. Brooks did a great job. He's a lot like the diet experts who write books that say little more than, "Eat fewer calories than you burn." It's obvious, but the number of overweight people who want to lose weight demonstrate that it isn't easy to apply. I've actually known most of Mr. Brooks' advice since I was in high school, but the nine awful novels sitting in a box in my basement show that knowing the truth doesn't mean I'll use it.

Between Mr. Brooks and KM Weiland, I rethought my writing with book #10. I don't know yet if the new book is good enough to publish. What I do know is that it is leaps and bounds above the nine novels that came before.

This particular book came along as I was finishing the rough draft of book #10, so I'll admit that it did not affect my writing at that point as much as "Story Engineering", but it will impact my edits.

I criticized Mr. Brooks' previous book for being too wordy. This one is no exception. But, again, it is full of worthwhile advice. It seemed to me that this book became more specific than the previous book.  It seemed to me that this book was more specific than the previous book.

One chapter is entitled, "The Great and Silent Story Killer." He begins by talking about the danger of passion. He's right! I've been very excited by several of my 9 awful novels. I've been excited to the point that I lacked a critical eye. As he notes, sometimes the hero's problem doesn't relate to the actual story. I've been guilty of this. He also has chapters about subtext and challenging the hero. I'll admit that I'm weak on subtext. However, that is growing. More importantly, I have had to learn to challenge my hero. A hero needs challenges. I have a few books in that terrible 9 in which the hero really doesn't work through any serious difficulties, just a constant string of successes in solving problems. Boring!

One of the best things I got from the book was the idea of "mission critical scene writing". I really have improved my writing, but this was a good reminder that every scene needs to advance the story. Even scenes that establish important background information should advance the story in some way.

I had applied part of this idea in my original rough draft. I had planned to start with my hero's childhood. I realized that children just don't do very much.  He suffered really horrific abuse, and a really horrible accident that severely crippled him, but he didn't actually do much. Instead, it all happened to him.  When I started with him at age 37, suddenly I had a book about him doing things, even if the things he did failed.

Finally, I felt the "beat sheet" was very helpful. One of the things book #10 still needed was an opening hook. I threw in a scene early on to show the brutality of the planet's government, and I put enough of the hero's background to show how it applied personally to him. It also became clear why he became involved in the story.

Since I'm also guilty of being wordy, I feel guilty of criticizing Mr. Brooks for the same sin. However, I know that I can clean up my wordiness by the third draft. (This review is a rough draft, so don't judge.) I really believe that Mr. Brooks could write a stronger book with some editing. Aside from this criticism, Mr. Brooks really does have good advice. Right now, I have one of his fiction books lined up as my next book, so I'm curious to see how he applies this to his own writing.
2056369
I have never read anything like this before, but I loved Game of Thrones and had a reading itch (even though I'm not a huge reader in general either). My roommate bought this book and flew through it, then just gave it to me in case I wanted to read it. It was MASSIVE, and I had never heard of Brandon Sanderson.  I have never read anything so long, so I didn't pick it up for a while thinking it would take me at least six months to get through.

Oh boy was I wrong.  The way he writes pushes you through the story. Nothing is hard to remember and little reminders of the world's context are sprinkled everywhere, but not in a way that makes it heavy handed. The story is interesting. The characters are fantastic. The world is so deep and detailed. I finished this book within three weeks.

It's not quite perfect, but the second book is (Words of Radiance) and the third book in this series (Oathbringer) is starting out even better. It's much closer to five stars than four stars. This is really the start of a series that is going to go down as one of the best of all time in Fantasy.
3819071
I have enjoyed Mr. Brooks's blog for a few months, and picked up a copy of Story Engineering because I respect his approach to storytelling.  I am also stepping into the realm of writing fiction, and looked for a concise book that would lay out the essentials for me. This book is excellent, and a core resource for me in learning to write, no strike that, engineer stories.

Mr. Brooks provides very good explanations of each topic. Along the way, he highlights how his topics are essential to good story writing, and how the pieces work together in a solid story.  He has good discussions on the relevance of each competency, backed by plenty of examples from published works, which helped me to conceptualize the ideas.  He also explores nuances of each competency, and how they relate to each other to help make your work stronger.

I scored this a "4" for two main reasons.  First, I think he excessively repeated the reasoning for needing story structure, throughout the book.  I should acknowledge that I am just stepping into writing, and the approach made sense to me right away (even though I grew up thinking of writing more like a continuous flow of expression from the author's mind than a set of principles or process). I just found some of the explanations repetitive and sometimes wordy, where the pages could have been better spent getting to the point.  Since I was reading this on my Kindle, in many cases where I saw the book starting to re-explain the necessity of story engineering, I just paged ahead until the subject changed to the "meat" of the chapter.

A second issue was that the flow of the book reminded me somewhat of reading a compilation of the blog. I think it flowed pretty well, but in other cases it reminded me of someone gathering notes and blog entries, arranging them, then rewriting the materials to make it flow better.  This is just my opinion, and overall, it was much better than an obvious "blog to book" writing.  So, if you like his style, disregard this.  Also, it is quite likely that a person who has shared so much thought about this subject on his blog, over many entries, would have a book that sounded similar.

I would download the sample chapter to your Kindle, and if you like the appetizer, then stay for the main meal. There is important, meaningful, and pertinent information in it, written passionately, and it delivers what it promises.

One thing I wished for after I was done, is for a couple of "extras" (these don't affect my rating).  The first is a template in Scrivener, SuperNoteCard or other writing software that has a reference to the essentials from this book.  Maybe a one-pager, a skeleton, etc.  The second item would be a PDF diagram of the essential story structure, the purposes at each stage for plot and character arc, and other relevant points.

All in all, I believe this book will help me (and you!) to write stories that people love to read, and that it will help me write them more easily.
2446026
What impressed me immediately was the quality of the writing. It seems to flow effortlessly throughout the book. I know writers agonize over every word, sentence and paragraph, but the writing in this book is so smooth and clear that it seems effortless. There is never a place where I had to pause and think because the author intruded into the story. The writing itself makes the book worth reading. In addition, Reed makes the ordinary fascinating so that you are anxiously turning pages to see what happens next whether it is baking fairy cakes or flying in the clouds, the writing makes it extraordinary.

Next, the romance is indeed a paranormal romance, but it is has neither vampires, werewolves or your usual version of shifters. What it does have is fairies, lots and lots of fairies and ravens. In many native American cultures, the raven is seen as a trickster and this is because of its ability to change and shift shapes. In "Twixt," the raven is not a trickster. In fact, the raven turns out to be man's, well woman's and child's BFF, best forever friend, and more.
3403648
Just ridiculous in its uniqueness and genius. It is world building that is unbelievable in its believability. It is characterization at its best. Truly amazing characters. It is brutal and extremely sweet at the same time. And it is funny as hell. All this inside a story that is crafted by a genius. I cried when Milar told Tatiana to not let his brother get captured. I have never cried from reading, and I rarely cry from movies/tv. It was torture to put this book down and I literally did not sleep. But in all its greatness, what I loved most about this writing was the complete and inherent non-stereotyping of gender. I have never come across such writing before.
3071306
Wow. This how-to instructs the writer in how to be brief, how to get to the matter's dark heart, how to omit needless words, phrases, images in order to tell the tale, whether this story is fiction or nonfiction. In a brilliant fiction/nonfiction of her own, the author begins with a flash she wrote called "Agoraclaustrophobia." This powerful suspenseful story throws down the gauntlet, showing the writer that Kaye Linden knows how to engage the reader in "a flash." Also amazing: the story's setting is a strange exotic landscape, dangerous yet alluring.

I teach creative nonfiction at the Writer's Center, where I will recommend this brilliant book to other writers. The prompts here will help the writer learn brevity. I find as I write this I am taking Kaye Linden's advice. I am seeking brevity.  No matter what you write this wonderful BRIEF book will aid you.
2486480
I don't read fiction. Terrible yes, but that's the truth. The Drift of Things, however, made me reconsider my reading material of choice. Schwartz crafts a compelling story; prima facie a simple tale, but one hiding layers of meaning both figurative and personal. Profoundly ordinary in his experience, Norman allows us to see ourselves and those we relate to him for what we all are: people whose lives are, in their mundane complexity, the image of average and exceptional. Norman embodies every kid who left his hometown looking for something that wasn't there, and those who begrudgingly stayed only to discover that where you began is where you belong.

Schwartz's writing style is at once approachable and refined to the point that he breaths life into characters that may otherwise seem devoid of interest. These are people you would see walking through life without a thought as to who they really are, unaware of the richness of their lives. A wealth tempered by the absurd reality in which we all find ourselves. The Drift of Things captures this experience wonderfully in a way that could only be done by an author that feels genuine affection for his characters, and one that has a real talent for conveying ideas and experiences both relatable and profoundly, ridiculously sublime.

As worth your time to read as his time to write.
4119150
This is the first book in a while that I had to buy as a book and not an e-book, and I love that. It's one of the most brilliant forms of storytelling I've seen in a long time. This is a book that commands engagement like nothing I've ever seen. I'm hooked.
4569429
When Calliope was invited to review an advance reading copy (ARC) of The Writers Field Guide to the Craft of Fiction, I was not overly optimistic that I would gain any new insights into the art, craft or occupation of writing fiction. It seemed that ground had been more than adequately stomped. To my delight, I was wrong. Michael Nolls book will have a permanent place on my writing library shelves.
  The Field Guide has an introduction by Noll that, like a finely crafted story, pulls you in and doesnt disappoint. From these opening pages, we begin to understand how we can teach ourselves many techniques used successfully by 40 of to-days most highly respected writers.
 The next chapter contains the syllabus for this course: How to Use This Book (Or How to be Taught to Write Fiction). The book is divided into three parts, and each part is further divided by topic area. Within a topic, four techniques are presented.
 For example, in Part 1. Tools of the Trade, the first topic is How to Start and Keep Writ-ing, and the first technique, Drop an Elephant in the Room, begins with a 1-paragraph excerpt from The Heart by Amelia Gray.
 After reading the excerpt, never more than a page, Noll gives us The Strategy that makes the example work and then provides exercises that reinforce the technique and guide the reader into writing his/her own story.
 The Writers Field Guide is comprehensive but can be consumed in small bites. Each time you read, digest and then create using the exercis-es, your bag of writers tools expands. Highly recommended for all writers of fiction.

This review was written by Cynthia Sabelhaus and first appeared in the spring 2018 issue of Calliope