Fiction writers often struggle to improve their craft, and the biggest challenge comes from the inability to see what isn’t working. The prose feels off. The scene isn’t gelling. The dialogue sounds stilted or clunky. But they don’t know why or how to fix it. This book lays it all out.
5 Editors Tackle the Twelve Fatal Flaws of Fiction Writing demonstrates the deadly dozen pitfalls on the road to a strong story, along with revisions that show writers exactly how to avoid novel failure.
No other writing craft book offers such detailed instruction in how to spot and remedy the major flaws of fiction writing. What makes this book an important addition to a writer’s bookshelf?
This in-depth guide to self-editing is an invaluable resource for any writer of any genre. It shows, not just tells, how to write better fiction. Using it, you’ll be armed with the tools and skills you need to conquer the twelve fatal flaws of fiction writing.
As an editor, I work with a lot of new novelists, and most of them make the same mistakes. I’m always looking for good books to recommend to help them learn how to identify and correct those mistakes — this book is going at the top of my list.
I’ll be honest — it’s not a great cover and the title is a bit tedious. I know three of the contributing editors, though, so I picked up a copy. Still, it took me a couple of years before I decided to read this.
If you’re a new writer struggling to understand and master the basics of fiction writing, you need a copy of this book. It approaches each “fatal flaw” from five different angles, increasing the odds that the reader will connect with and understand one of the explanations. On top of that, the book is full of before and after sections, so even if the reader doesn’t completely understand what the author is saying, all you need to do is compare the before and after examples to see how something was edited.
I’ll be adding this to my list of must-haves for new authors, next to Jeff Gerke’s The Art & Craft of Writing Christian Fiction, Brown and Kings Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, and Kathy Tyers Writing in Deep Viewpoint.
G rated. Get your copy here!
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