Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #68838 in Books
• Published on: 1998-12-31
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 176 pages

Customer Reviews

Tremendously helpful if you are planning a commercial novel
As a literary agent I have given copies of the first edition to many of my clients: it has helped them all. I wish this second edition was available from a British publisher. It's practical and down-to-earth, concise, and always keeps one aim in mind: to help you write a novel that will be a) saleable and b)readable. You need the two to come together to achieve real success in the marketplace. There are very many books about how to write, but I think this is one of the best in that all the advice is easily applied...

Great, but be careful...
This is a great little gem of a book, but fans of Mr Frey watch out: This is republished as "How to write a damn good fiction", so don't buy it if you've already got that one - the text is identical and you only end up having to return one...

Superb continuation from the basics...
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Accomplished writer and lecturer James N Frey returns to his successful 'How to Write' with this succinct guide. While the book only contains about 150 pages it includes very useful anecdotes and advice, references and examples all with Freys light splash of humour throughout.

Although published in 1994 in America it has now been published in the UK by Macmillan in 2002 under the same title with a grey keyboard on a blue background as the more 'professional' looking cover.

Written more for people who feel they have a grasp of the basics of writing creativity, structure, language, dialogue etc. and want know more, this book delivers very well. Dispensing with what Frey describes as the 'pseudo-rules' of a lot of other writing guide books he encourages and guides instead of trying to inhibit your creativity. All round an excellent book from a very good teacher.

The one thing none of these books can do of course is criticise any work you have produced and although they help you do this for yourself with a new perspective, better armed with a mind more aware of the common mistakes, try to get a few people from differing backgrounds to read your work if possible and listen to what they have to say about it. Nothing beats a second pair of eyes picking up the things you hadn't noticed before.