Short but superior book on plotting
588073
Was very pleasantly surprised by this little book. Extremely helpful in developing plot. Lots of useful information, tips andtricks for writing. Strongly recommended.
1978690
Developing characters for fiction or gaming can be a challenge. Creating depth, realistic flaws and goals for heroes and villains alike always make for a more interesting read.

This primer offers a variety of prompts to help create that sort of detailed dimension, and each example is accompanied by a beautiful short work of fiction. I was delighted and captivated by each one.

I highly recommended this book for writers of all sorts, though in particular it would be extremely valuable to fantasy writers, roleplayers, and gamemasters.
2872292
this book is awesome. the graphs shown in the book really help you see the plot of a book from beginning to end. It shows you how to get that middle part of the story written.
219971
This is a very short but very useful and practical book on what manipulation is, how manipulators act and what you can do about it. It is written by an experienced psychotherapist in a very simple language, really easy to understand for the lay reader. Unlike so many other authors, he does NOT mix apples with bananas (so to speak) and does NOT put in the same basket things like how to influence people and manipulative behaviour, overt manipulation and covert manipulation (the latter mostly hidden and the worst of all kinds of manipulation).

The first part of the is a categorization of what manipulation in general is, covert aggression specifically, and the different types of manipulative people you can find. He uses long study real-life cases that show how these people operate. The second part is the practical one, and shows how manipulators operate practically, which sort of techniques and behaviour they show, which buttons of yours they push, and what you can do about it. This part is very well organized, very sound, and useful.

Some of the main takes from the book for me are:
> Many of these manipulators do not have any trauma background or anything that justifies their actions. They are nasty per se.
> Covert aggression is an attack, always hidden, never explicit, and has a hidden agenda. The agenda is using you the more the better. All covert aggression is active, intentional and aggressive in its nature.
> Manipulators come in all shapes, ages, social status, civil status, gender and religious beliefs.
> Most covert-aggressive people have a character disturbance, wear a social mask, don't want to change and the few that do, find it almost impossible.
> You cannot and must not try to understand why these people operate the way they do. A psychotherapist should be doing that. You have to take care of yourself, your own needs, put yourself first, and escape as soon as you see them manipulating.
> Learn which are your weakest points in your character, because these are the buttons they will push you to use you.

The main downside of the book, to me, is the fact that the two parts of the same are quite unbalanced, with the descriptive part occupying most of the book. I think most readers would come to this book looking for tools to use, not for a description of people who probably they have already found.  Although, I agree with many of the things Simon says in the epilogue, I consider it unnecessary, a big preachy, and does not help the reader to get more "juice" from the book. Finally, I missed among the ways of identifying manipulators more tools on the language they use, which makes easier to spot them before, during and after you get involved with them.

This is a good read, like a basic introduction to the subject. I wanted more!
1799841
Great, succinct tips here!  I wish I'd read it earlier in my outlining process.  So far I've only been reading books on plotting general fiction, and reading something genre-specific was a huge help.  You don't have to reinvent the wheel!
1138784
One of the best plotting/outlining help books out there. The author wrote it as if she was speaking right to me, making this as easy as possible for me to understand. I can't say enough how much this book should be on every author's shelf.
2782623
This is a really excellent book. I bought in on the referral of a novelist friend, and I've found it really useful for creating a strong plot backbone in a novel. I don't outline before writing, but I do in revision, and I find it very helpful at that stage, as well as for writing query hooks. There are a few differences between novels and movies--the text part of movies is much more simplified than books, and if you wrote your novel characters the way this book suggests, they would come off somewhat less than three dimensional. But books and movies are just different, and you have to pick out the bits they have in common when reading screenwriting books, and not worry about the rest. I would (and have!) recommend this one!
2321977
I really enjoyed this book and the way it showed the process of writing a novel from the middle, mirror moment. James Scott Bell does a nice, clean job of showing this approach with good examples. He also includes great questions that help with plotting and character development. I'm sure that I'll return to this book again and again for plotting technique.
1238062
I very rarely write comments on books, but I had to make an exception for this book because it is far and away so much better than all the other books I own on cartooning. I keep it close by my desk for regular reference. When I teach my children to draw, this is the book we ALWAYS come back to. I'll probably buy a second copy soon because I am wearing my first copy out and I simply can't imagine not having this book around. Unlike other cartooning books that I find to be annoyingly wordy or too simple, this book is PACKED with vital, detailed, HOW-TO instructions on drawing dynamic figures in exciting poses. It gives you a full, easy method on how to draw ANY pose in 3-D, from ANY visual angle. It provides plenty of step-by-step instructions so you can practice this same method over and over until you master it. It provides detailed instructions and examples of important techniques like overlapping and fore-shortening, so your characters have depth, and can appear as if they are jumping off the page right at you. It gives amazing details on basic anatomy - both male and female. It shows how to draw difficult body parts like hands and feet. It also provides valuable information on character design, like explaining facial features that make a character appear young or old; how to make a character look heroic, charming, tough, or mixing these features to suggest hints of various personality traits. For example, you can mix features to create an intelligent looking, tough guy. It explains how to draw various expressions - not from templates - but how you can design your own. Most art books I buy I feel could have been cut down to half their size. But not this book - this book fits everything into only 80 pages, but every page gives you something of real value. It does not discuss color, and I would have like to have seen a section on dealing with hair, but other than that, the book is - far and away - the best value in cartooning that I own. If you want to learn to cartoon action figures - not copy them - but really create your own dynamic and exciting poses from scratch - right out of you own imagination, then buy this book. You won't regret it.
3215397
All three volumes of Bine-Stock's "How to Write a Children's Picture Book" are very simple in concept, teaching only a few lessons about what makes a great and satisfying picture book. But simple is often better, and in this case simple is superb. Add to this the fact that Bine-Stock examines twelve classic picture books and shows you the structure of each, what is the first half and what is the second half of each story, and what and where the plot twists are, and you have a book that teaches through concrete example as well as through explanation. If you want to write picture books for children, don't skip over this book. Read it again and again, follow the examples, and you will see your writing improve dramatically. My only criticism of this book is that it seems to be priced too high for a softcover 200-page book.
408697
I found the information in this book very useful.  This book gives a very clean way to structure the different points in your novel. Part One gives information on structure overall and how writers, no matter how they write, can benefit from using it. Part Two then takes you step by step through fourteen signposts that form to complete a good plot.

This book has become part of my permanent writing resource library. I highly recommend it to any writer.
2904877
Stephen Few has a rare talent for explaining apparently opaque concepts in simple terms, but without simplifying the subject.  This book starts from the *very* beginning and provides the reader with a solid understanding of the basics of chart design, including when to use a table vs a graph, what types of tables and graphs to use for what kinds of data, and why certain graphical features are more effective than others.  Throughout, Few maintains a plain, readable writing style that is never patronizing even when spelling out seemingly obvious points (e.g., use a table if you need to look up a specific value).  His patient tone and simple presentation end up guiding you through some unexpectedly sophisticated waters of design almost without your even realizing you've gone anywhere.

In addition to the design coverage, Few covers some (very) basic statisics, how to adjust for inflation, rgb values of a nice selection of colors to use in graphs, how to make box graphs in Excel, and many other workaday details that make the book immediately useful.  Most of the charts in the book are made in Excel, showing that you don't need advanced design software to make attractive, clear charts.

The book itself is a beautiful large hardback.  This is the source of my one complaint: its large size makes it somewhat difficult to just pop off the shelf and flip through to find something.

If you want to learn how to design good tables and graphs, get it.
4837551
The book is quick and to the point. Good examples to explain each point made. The book seems to be designed for novice Communicators. Even if you only pick up a few pointers from this book it will be well worth it due to the short length.
2474099
I came to know about this book after I attended 2 days Power Presentation session conducted by Jeff. I like books which are short, well organized and a very effective and "Pitching to Win" is a very good example of such books. Jeff has repeatedly highlighted as how quality of our communication affects our quality of life. In this book, he has basically summarized his life-long learning into some simple key take-ways. He has taught some useful tools such as Power Map, Competitor Profile Form and Competitor Intelligence Checklist which are useful for understanding buying process and gaining specific details of the competition. These tools are only available with practicing managers, not in academic publications. Finally the book ends with key message that people buy emotions and justify with logic. Throughout the book, he elaborated several techniques as how to influence the emotional mind of customer and give him substances to justify his buying decisions.
2343713
Loved this so much I needed both audio and paper copies.  Extremely insightful about how to pick a plot based on market factors, and considerations to build a strong plot.  Worth every penny!
2416823
I love this book! The diagrams are very helpful as well as the way the author writes. It is very concise so don't think you will spend a lot of time glancing over things. I like that it is very easy to search for specific topics!
4742094
This is an exceptional book on a well-thought out method of writing a novel.  I knew virtually nothing about the book before I bought it, but was intrigued by the reviews that described the way that the information was presented - in a "story format - with characters."  I bought the book and have never regretted it.  I was drawn into the the story which is an excellent demonstration of the Snowflake Method itself.  It's well worth the price - and is a quick and informative read, and the methodology is sound.  Highly recommended!