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lachellerising's review
3.0
This is a great book for people who are looking to gain some practical skills in structuring long form narrative works. I'd specifically recommend this book for novelists and screenwriters (specifically features). I'm in the process of writing a short-form narrative piece and a lot of the suggestions in this book did not apply though some of them proved to be helpful. I make this comment specifically for people who write short stories and short films, this is probably not the book for you.
There are some parts that are redundant and many examples used feel like they were skewing toward formulaic writing but as someone who more of a right-brained writer, the tools in this book help a lot with finding a balance between writing about character development and moving the story forward through dramatic action, themes, and other plot devices. I will definitely be revisiting this as I work through the pieces I am writing.
There are some parts that are redundant and many examples used feel like they were skewing toward formulaic writing but as someone who more of a right-brained writer, the tools in this book help a lot with finding a balance between writing about character development and moving the story forward through dramatic action, themes, and other plot devices. I will definitely be revisiting this as I work through the pieces I am writing.
julieartz's review
4.0
This is a solid, entry-level book on how to plot a novel. She uses lots of examples from the classics to define what she calls the Universal Story and includes some great plotting exercises to evaluate not only each individual scene, but overall story structure.
giuliasacco's review
5.0
Un manuale molto utile per dare struttura e coerenza alla trama del proprio romanzo, ma anche per interrogarsi riguardo ai proprio obiettivi, difetti e aspettative in quanto autori.
witchofthemountains's review
4.0
This book was inspirational and helpful enough that I went out and bought a copy after I read the book.
melissabalick's review
IMO, this is one of the better books to read after you’ve written a draft to learn how to improve it. I found it useful, anyway. It always amuses me how much review-writers hate books about how to write. That’s why they’re review-writers instead of novelists. They’re unwilling to internalize other people’s valid advice, use what they can, and discard what doesn’t work for them. The funniest is how they try to find stuff to nitpick, like the way it’s organized, or a metaphor they’re not into. I guess it makes them feel like a better writer than the person who wrote a book about how to write. I guess that’s easier than revising your book.
Whatever. It’s fine if you don’t like the book. You do you. It helped me.
Whatever. It’s fine if you don’t like the book. You do you. It helped me.
dani_j_norwell's review
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.0
I really enjoyed this book on the craft of writing. I understand other readers' frustration with the author's winding and sometimes repetetive way of delivering her advice but, since this was not one of the first craft books I've read, I enjoyed how different it was from most.
Instead of being very theoretical and left-brained, it delves into the process of plotting and writing a book from a more spiritual angle. Alderson often correlates the writer's journey to the journey her protagonist has to go through, with similar antagonists and stumbling blocks along the way. This way of thinking is not for everyone but it really resonated with my right-brained tendencies. I also enjoyed the exercises mapped out in this book as well as the simplicity of the Plot Planner.
If you're looking for your first book on plotting and want really clear details on the steps / beats / scenes, perhaps this isn't the right book for you. On the other hand, if you already know the basics of plotting but simply want a refresher with a breath of fresh air, I recommend this book!
Instead of being very theoretical and left-brained, it delves into the process of plotting and writing a book from a more spiritual angle. Alderson often correlates the writer's journey to the journey her protagonist has to go through, with similar antagonists and stumbling blocks along the way. This way of thinking is not for everyone but it really resonated with my right-brained tendencies. I also enjoyed the exercises mapped out in this book as well as the simplicity of the Plot Planner.
If you're looking for your first book on plotting and want really clear details on the steps / beats / scenes, perhaps this isn't the right book for you. On the other hand, if you already know the basics of plotting but simply want a refresher with a breath of fresh air, I recommend this book!
yurwity's review
2.0
I found this book to be vague and new age-y, repetitive, and distinctly NOT ground-brekaing. I thought maybe two pages of the text were useful for giving me new terms for explaning to myself what I was trying to do... but the rest was a waste of time. (And colored post-it notes.)
jmmeyer's review
3.0
There are a great number of good things about the book. I like the concepts and learned a good bit. Alderson has a "new age" approach and I think it's excellent. I read the first few chapters of this book (it's not very long and a pretty quick read.) but I started to feel like the book was a little...smothering? I started feeling like all my creativity was leaking away I decided to take a break. I almost went back to finish it, and one day I might, but it was due at the library and I didn't want to renew.
Overall I think this a good book and helpful in many ways. I was looking for something to help motivate/inspire me and this was more a discussion of the nuts and bolts. I think I'm going to check out "Stephen King's On Writing" and "War on Art" instead.
Overall I think this a good book and helpful in many ways. I was looking for something to help motivate/inspire me and this was more a discussion of the nuts and bolts. I think I'm going to check out "Stephen King's On Writing" and "War on Art" instead.