As you might have figured out by now, I’m a writing-craft-book junkie. So it should come as no surprise when I picked up Elements of Fiction Writing: Conflict & Suspense by James Scott Bell. I wasn’t planning to. But then author Jody Hedlund gushed about it on her blog. And she was right. The book seriously rocks (Okay, those weren’t her exact words).
It’s divided into two sections: Conflict and Suspense. These are further subdivided into twenty-two informative chapters (you can check out the table of content here). The explanations in each chapter are brilliant, and examples from various novels are used to demonstrate the key points. For those of you who enjoy exercises that transfer to your writing (me me me!), the book is rich in that area. For example (chapter 12—Styling for Conflict):
- Identify a highly charged moment in your book.
- Make a list of possible actions, gestures, or setting descriptions that might reflect upon the scene.
- List at least twenty to twenty-five possibilities as fast as you can. Remember, the best way to get good ideas is to come up with a lot of ideas and then choose the ones you want to use.
- Write a long paragraph incorporating the detail, then edit the paragraph so it is lean and potent. The telling detail works best when it is subtle and does all the work by itself.
If you’re going to buy only one book on writing fiction this year, definitely keep this one in mind. It’s doesn’t matter what genre you write, the advice in the book will help you create page-turning stories readers will love.
42 comments:
Sounds like a great one and a little bit like Donald Maass. I'll have to check it out!
I've got to do more of this. I tend to get excited when things fall into place and make sense, rather than continuing to push myself to make the best story I can. Thanks for the tip!
Thanks I'll keep this one in mind.
Yeah I never would have guessed you were a writing-craft book junkie..hahaha...sounds like another good one
I'll definitely check it out because I loved his book Plot and Structure. I need to start reading more craft books.
Sounds like a really good resource to have on hand, thanks for sharing ...
Thanks for the recommendation! Take care
x
Sounds good.
Sounds like a good book! One book I'm dying to read on craft is Save the Cat. It's about screenwriting, but apparently the plotting elements are really helpful to fiction!
I can't believe there's a James Scott Bell book I haven't read (non-fiction), but I'll have to fix that immediately. Thanks for filling up my bookshelf again! :)
You always find the most helpful books! I'll have to read this one. Thanks so much for the recommendation!
This sounds like my kind of book! Thanks for passing it on.
Just bought two craft books, which is my limit for the year, but this might make it in next year. Sounds great!
I've been meaning to read more craft books and I really need to start. I'll have to pick this one up when I head to the bookstore this weekend. Thanks, Stina!
Hey, very cool! I've only read like two craft books, but I've been wanting to read Save the Cat very much. Looks like this one's on the list now, too! Thanks, Stina! :o) <3
I have several writing books but not that one - thanks!
Hey fellow craft book junkie ;) I just finished reading that one a couple of weeks ago. I love James Scott Bell's craft books.
i have not read this book, but suspense and tension are qualities of writing i can improve on. the really good authors say there is a back and forth quality to good tension, so that tension is introduced and then there's a breakthrough, but that breakthrough leads to more tension. i think life works this way often, and great writing is often times mimicking life as it unfolds. or so i hope, not that it's easy by any means:) thanks for the book suggestion.
I definitely want to pick this up. I heard James Scott Bell speak about conflict and suspense during the 2012 Writer's Digest conference and I enjoyed what he had to say! He gives great writing advice.
Sounds really good! I like the idea of writing a bunch of ideas down quickly to choose from. Kind of stream of consciousness to get to the gold!
thanks for the tip and recommendation! sometimes its hard to know where to make our characters go.
I love books on writing! James Scott Bell's are always informative and straightforward and helpful (The Art of War for Writers is one of my favorites). Thanks for this recommendation!
I love reading craft books too. Looks like an interesting one.
mood
Moody Writing
@mooderino
The Funnily Enough
I'm a writing book addict too and I have so many I haven't even opened yet - but gah this one sounds great!!!
I like the "write it fat" then "slim it down" idea!
Thanks for the tip on this book. To keep learning is a great thing.
I had 3 craft books waiting to be read. Now it looks like I have 4 ;). I've been thinking a lot about tension and conflict, particularly in the book I'm going to be revising next, so this is very timely. Thanks, Stina!
Becca @ The Bookshelf Muse
Hey! Thanks for the heads up on this one. I've got a couple of his other books, so will be sure to add this one to the pile.
Thanks for the recommendation. I love reading craft books too - though I probably should do more writing than I do reading if I really want to improve my skills.
I love writing books. When I read them, I have a few minutes of feeling like i can actually do this! Then I try to put their advice to work and it's back to reality :) James Scott Bell is great.
Great post thinking of all the ways to amp up the tension and action in a novel in unexpected ways.
Good stuff. I have to choreograph it and have my karate sons work with their karate mother to see if it works--and then hope I described it well. That's hard!
I'll add it to my craft books to read =)
This sounds like a great book and one I hadn't heard of before. Thanks for sharing!
JSB is a giant scoop of awesome. I've highlighted and post-it noted his other books like crazy. Didn't know about this one. Must have. Must have.
I have this on my shelves, will have to check it out again!! I, too, have been going back through craft books. I want to be the best writer I can be.
You are the bomb when it comes to craft book recommnendations!
Eek can't spell--recommendations (there)!
Sound good and I like the example you gave.
Just added to my TBR list - thanks for the suggestion!
Thanks for the recommendation. This sounds excellent. I'm jotting it down to remember!
Thanks for the review. I'm at the stage now where I really do think I need professional help. (In more ways than one, but that's a whole 'nother story!).
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