Writing Fiction – a user-friendly guide
‘Writing Fictionis a little pot of gold…Screenplayby Syd Field for film, Writing Fictionby James Essinger for fiction. It’s that simple.’
William Osborne, novelist and screenwriter
Writing Fiction – a user-friendly guideis a must-read if you want to write stories to a professional standard.
It draws on the author’s more than thirty years of experience as a professional writer, and on the work and ideas of writers including:
• Anthony Burgess
• Joseph Conrad
• George Eliot
• Ken Follett
• Frederick Forsyth
• Dan Harmon
• Ernest Hemingway
• David Lodge
• Norman Mailer
• John Milton
• Ben Parker
• J.K. Rowling
• William Shakespeare
• Martin Cruz Smith
• J.R.R. Tolkien
The twenty-four chapters cover every important matter you need to know about, including: devising a compelling story, creating and developing characters, plotting, ‘plants’, backstory, suspense, dialogue, ‘show’ and ‘tell’, and how to make your novel more real than reality.
Also featuring special guest advice from legendary screenwriter Bob Gale, who wrote the three immortal Back to the Futuremovies (1985, 1989 and 1990), and novelist and screenwriter William Osborne, whose many screen credits include the co-writing of the blockbuster Twins (1988), this highly entertaining book gives you all the advice and practical guidance you need to make your dream of becoming a published fiction writer come true.
Purchase Links
Author Bio –
James Essinger has been a professional writer since 1988. His non-fiction books include Jacquard’s Web (2004),Ada’s Algorithm(2013), which is to be filmed by Monumental Pictures, and Charles and Ada: the computer’s most passionate partnership (2019).His novels include The Mating Game(2016) and The Ada Lovelace Project(2019).
Social Media Links – https://www.facebook.com/james.essinger
My Review
This book poses some of the familiar questions that storytellers will have no doubt pondered since the first stories were told around campfires - what is fiction? What makes a hero? The book also deals with writing in first person, third person or omniscient narrator and discusses the pros and cons of each. What it doesn't do is set exercises for the writer to practise, so if that's what you're looking for then this isn't the handbook for you. It would, however, be a useful tool for anyone wanting to analyse the art of writing fiction, whether a new writer or someone more established trying to hone their art.
This book poses some of the familiar questions that storytellers will have no doubt pondered since the first stories were told around campfires - what is fiction? What makes a hero? The book also deals with writing in first person, third person or omniscient narrator and discusses the pros and cons of each. What it doesn't do is set exercises for the writer to practise, so if that's what you're looking for then this isn't the handbook for you. It would, however, be a useful tool for anyone wanting to analyse the art of writing fiction, whether a new writer or someone more established trying to hone their art.
