How to Write a Damn Good Novel: A Step-by-Step No Nonsense Guide to Dramatic Storytelling

How to Write a Damn Good Novel is an excellent read for novelists, especially beginners. Frey has packed this book with actionable information that will help writers craft, well,...a good novel. The book addresses everything from character and conflict to storytelling and dialogue. If you've never completed a novel or if you're trying to polish or rework one, this book is a vital and indispensable tool. Frey is good at instructing the writer, not only on what to do, but on how to do it. He discusses many techniques that are useful for writers, then gives examples showing how these techniques have been used in the published works of successful authors. In How to Write a Damn Good Novel, you'll learn which device is the most misused and overworked device in fiction writing, the three commandments of dynamic prose, how to connect with your readers on an emotional level, how to draft a step sheet, how to determine the best viewpoint for your novel, and many more elements that are critical to writing a novel. *An important note: This book primarily addresses the technical aspects of crafting a good novel (structure, dialogue, creating dynamic characters, etc). I mention this because it seems that How to Write a Damn Good Novel is repeatedly compared to other writing books, books that are more about the emotional and psychological obstacles of writing as opposed to a fundamental discussion on the how-to's of crafting a good novel. As such, it seems that many reviewers are trying to draw an apples-to-apples comparison that is more akin to comparing apples to oranges. In its own right, How to Write a Damn Good Novel is a practical and useful tool to help writers with the technical and fundamental aspects of structuring and writing a good novel. Highly recommended.

James Frey clearly intends that the potential author-reader has a lot of fun by hugely encouraging the reader to write! He gives sound fundamentals for the creative writing process. An engagingly readable 'fundamentals-of-successfull-dramatic-writing' book, this Guide gives valuable practical analysis of the reasons why books succeed and why they fail. Frey supports his viewpoint with quotes and references to other masters of the subject of the art and craft of writing. At the same time he does hesitate to disagree with the experts, making his case convincingly. Some very valuable sections--the neccessity for creating characters with a biography, a history; how fictional characters are different from real life people, while being identifiable with real people; the basic single premise-based message that is the reason for the story; the driving premises of the individual characters; what elements drive a story forward making in an interesting/readable way; identification of the dreaded 'writer's block' in its various forms and solutions for these; the self-editing and re-writing that Frey includes as an essential part of the writing process itself. And of course, the committed hard work that goes into the writing process. In this book, in order to grasp the information in a usable way will require many re-readings, making connections and note-jotting. This will be true for published authors as well as for those starting out. (In that sense "How to Write.." is not quite a formula book and reads more like an interesting novel.) A quick way to do this is, having got a point the author makes, to re-read the related section skipping the examples and going directly to the formulation-conclusion represented by those examples. These then become the reference points for understanding the framework of How to Write Damn Good Novel. This makes the reader work at really understanding the methods in a practical way. All said and done--Damn well done, James!

This book was highly recommended by a few writers. At the beginning, I just didn't agree with the author. He tells you what you need to do to write a dam good novel. But if you don't write his way, that doesn't mean that you will not end up writing a masterpiece. What I didn't like is that he tells you precisely what you have to do. Each author is different. What works for some, doesn't work for others. He tells you to write one hundred pages development about each of your main characters before you start writing your novel. You don't have to do it if it will only create confusion. And if transformed into your writing, it could be felt by your readers. And it might be a waste time to do it in the first place. But I have loved a few things that I didn't think about in my writing. The author talked about physical characteristics that shape us of who we are. It may develop our personality that way and our expectations. Another thing that I loved is the personification. What a wonderful way to present our characters in the novels! The last one that stood out was symbol of life. Many new writers who rely heavy on symbolism are using it wrong. They can sound childish and be picked up as amateurs. The author explains well what symbolism mean and how it should be used. The writer strongly emphasized using conflicts upon conflicts throughout the book. He stressed it well enough that I'll never forget it. Overall, the book was good, but the last two or three chapters were most valuable for me. I loved the way how the author talked about dialogues at the end and pointed out things that will become useful in my writing. I didn't know that there was a part II; I will be looking towards that read as well.

In a very breezy, no-nonsense style with plenty of examples, author Frey goes into precise details about establishing good characters, creating conflict within your story, coming up with a premise, changing points of view, how to come up with realistic dialog, and how to handle rewriting. Also covered is a final chapter on the "Zen of Novel Writing," giving an overall view of what kind of life you can expect, how to deal with writers block, and a plethora of other tips. I found the book to be remarkably useful. It's reasonably short (well under 200 pages), yet zeros-in on the most important facets of writing. Whether you're dealing with novels or short-stories, I think there's a wealth of material here to ponder and peruse. There's also a bibliography of nearly two dozen additional books -- both works of fiction and books on writing -- many of which were used as examples and source material for the book. I think many would-be writers who have a trouble getting a handle on _structure_ will get something out of DAMN GOOD NOVEL, if nothing else. And his concept of Premise -- character, conflict and conclusion -- will be easy for beginners to digest. Frey's book (and the sequel) has been enormously successful on Amazon.com, and I think for good reason. Whole college courses on writing could (and have) been taught with HOW TO WRITE A DAMN GOOD NOVEL; Frey teaches at the University of California at Berkeley, and his credentials are hard to criticize. I consider both this book and the sequel to be absolutely indispensible. Beginners looking for an ideal way to start writing novels need look no further.

If you want to write novels or for that matter become a writer of any kind you need to read more than one book on writing. This book, given its fun, brief, and easy to read format will give you a solid base for the elements of fiction-writing. You'll learn: - the differences between describing a real human being, and creating a well-formed fictional character; how to avoid having a flat or stereotyped character. - how to create a slowly rising conflict and keep your characters in the "crucible" (the arena where the conflict plays out and the transformation occurs) - the difference between writing with a premise and without it (you choose then whether you think you need one or not) - the basics of storytelling and how to make your narrative flow - which viewpoint to use in your writing; when to use flashbacks, or how to foreshadow the events that are to come - whether and how to use symbols - different types of writing - how to find the time to write and what can help you with re-writing Throughout this book the author is offering examples from Nabokov's Lolita, Falubert's Madame Bovary, Disckens' A Christmas Carol, Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea, Kesey's One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, Le Carre's The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, and Puzo's The Godfather. This is a small book. It is ideal if you want to get an idea about the elements of fiction writing without feeling overwhelmed. Then, you can read other bigger books on different aspects of fiction writing, and books that contain exercises helping you to practice your craft.

I will not say this book will not help you, there is good info in it. I will say it won't help you write a damn good novel. I felt that Frey over emphasized on common knowledge of writing as if his readers have never read a book prior to his. The three stars reflects how painful a read it was. Frey goes on and on with small Petty examples on info most people learnt in high school creative writing. Small quotes, bulleted, lasting up to two full pages, on average. Useful up to the 3rd example but after the 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th sometimes as high as 12 examples it becomes a complete waste of time and just a way to fill pages. The novels he uses for examples, they are classics yes, he actual inspired me to read Madame Bovary. But the novels he uses do not reflect the times and styles in which we live and we will write about. That makes a big difference. This book is marketed to the laymen, someone planning on writing a great American novel, not a classic based in the 1800's. This wasn't meant to be used in the classroom it was meant for and marketed as a format to help the laymen writer, write a novel, a damn good on in fact. In my opinion Frey could of written this much better. The book is more of a book than a text book, which I expected. I do use it to reference certain things but being the way it was written it is hard to locate information unless you have highlighted and noted the page number. I do not do this as I normally donate my used books to my library after I pass them around my family. I purchased the Marshall Plan for novel writing along with this book. I have not fully read it but the style seems more appropriate to the function it is intended for. From the four chapters I have read from it I found it much easier to stay focused and retain the information, instead of just wanting to push through it and get it over with. There is info offered that answers questions I had and teaches me new things instaed of focusing soley on the basics. It was a good thing I read this Frey first, if I would of read the Marshall plan, I probably would of never made it past the 2nd chapter in Freys book. Look for books like this in your local library or buy used as I did. I would go with the Marshall Plan over this book in a heart beat. I am amazed at the reviews Frey's book got. This book should be a 3 star book, no more. What ever book you decide to go with best of luck and never give up on writing. It is a painful processes on its own. Writing is like suffering from bipolar. You can be at the top of your game one day, putting out the best work you have written and the next everything sucks and you don't want to go near the computer.

This is an excellent, and highly readable, guide for fiction authors. As a published author myself, and a retired teacher, I thought this was a superb contribution to the literature on writing.

James Frey's How to Write a D*** Good Novel is a classic for writers. It's been around a long time (since 1987) because it is straightforward, easy to ready and prioritizes what's important in writing a great novel. If you're new to writing, it tells you what the most important elements are and if you're experienced, it reminds you where the problem areas lay. The fact that he relays all the details with a sense of humor makes everything digestible--as opposed to pedantic lecturers who write not for the reader but to hear the sound of their own words. Chapters include the Who of writing, conflict, the story's Premise, how to tell a story, climax-resolution and end, POV, dialogue, and editing. Among the chapters are topics that aren't covered well in other books such as how to get to know your character (maybe via an interview), how to avoid stereotyping your character, keeping characters in the crucible, genres, when/how to begin the story before the beginning, resolving conflict, objective viewpoint (have you ever heard of that one?), foreshadowing, symbols, dynamic prose, writers groups, and where to after you've finished the book. The real plus of this book is it is readable, down-to-earth, speaks in language ordinary people understand and addresses problems we all face in our writing. When I get stuck in my story, I first identify what the problem might be, then I pull my writer's resources out and read what the experts tell me would solve it. Frey has more of those specific problems than most other books. Every writer's handbook will tell you about the dialogue but not many get into foreshadowing and flashbacks. There are a few items missing, though. For example, I went through a phase in my current novel where I didn't believe I had a good handle on what my theme was. Frey doesn't have anything on theme (I found some good information in Bob Mayer's Novel Writer's Toolkit). Or story arc, for that matter. Frey tells me to begin the story at the beginning and add lots of conflict, but sometimes I need more specifics than that. The other piece that's missing in his book is an index. I like a good index so I can quickly find a specific topic. In Frey's book, I have to scan the Table of Contents (which is pretty detailed) to find it. The last bit Frey doesn't cover is how to write with inspiration and creativity. I don't hold that against him, though, because I think we writers have to bring that with us to the novelist table. Overall, I recommend every writer include it in their library of How-to books and review it when you have a bit of free time. It will remind you of what's important in our trade.

I was writing for at least five or six years before I bought this book. The cheesy title put me off. I'd had moderate success but I hadn't, despite investing in countless other books on writing learnt how to properly define and develop a premise or look at my manuscript objectively. Both big problems if you want to write anything well. So I swallowed my literary ego and sought the support of our friend Mr Frey. And he is our friend. This man has named this book in the same way Ronseal branded their wood preservative. It does exactly what it says on the tin. I read this book cover to cover twice, made some notes, took a long hard look at my work and wrote a response to the professional that had sent me some crushing editorial feedback. I outlined my own thoughts on corrections for my manuscript. They were impressed. I was relieved. I've never looked back. If you want to write. If you really, really want to know, you could do a lot worse than to start with this book. It's honest, it's readable and damn it, it's funny. Good luck!

Very helpful n interesting read

Touches all aspects, uses good examples. Very clear, all round, book on how to write books. I see it as a must have for all wannabe authors and not only.

Ottimo libro, lo consiglio a ogni aspirante scrittore e anche ai lettori più evoluti. Sarebbe da tradurre anche in italiano.

Very impressed with this book on the craft of writing a dramatic novel. James Frey lays out the major building blocks that are required in an orderly fashion with no fluff to confuse the aspiring author. A new, or even an experienced writer could benefit from reading this book on the craft of writing I believe.