Rock your Query by Cathy Yardley

ROCK YOUR QUERY is my favorite kind of ebook. It’s short, to the point, with all the information a writer needs and none that she doesn’t. I appreciate Yardley’s straightforward approach. The only drawback to the short-and-sweet style is that Yardley doesn’t include many examples. Even so, beginning writers should have no problem writing their own queries using her method.

A query (a one-page letter introducing your novel to agents and editors) is not a complicated document. It has three parts: an introduction, a mini synopsis, and a closing paragraph. Of the three, the introduction is the hardest to get right. Yardley shows writers how to use that first paragraph to hook an agent or editor. She suggests a very, very brief middle paragraph, as short as three sentences. Although I personally think a writer has a bit more room than that, I can’t argue with Yardley, since she shows how to make those three sentences say it all. The closing paragraph is where the writer gives her credentials, showing that she is  a pro, or at least has pro work habits.

Yardley also helps with other parts of a query package, since some editors or agents also want a full synopsis and/or sample pages. She does a superior job helping writers figure out what to leave in and (more importantly) what to leave out of their synopses. ROCK YOUR QUERY ends with a bit about the sample pages, helping writers overcome common problems.

There is a lot of information in books and on the internet about query writing, some of it useful, some of it fluff. I’d put ROCK YOUR QUERY in the useful category. It has everything a new writer needs to know to write this maddening document. Making the query rock? Well, that’s up to you.

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rating: 4 stars

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pie slices: 8 slices business

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This book is best for: beginning writers

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I recommend this book

Fifty Shades of Grey: Inner Goddess (A Journal) by E.L. James

This is a semi-blank journal, meant to be written in, based on the FIFTY SHADES OF GREY books. Love them or hate them, one thing all readers agree on is that the FIFTY SHADES books are poorly written. Even the most passionate fans will admit this, claiming that the superior storytelling makes up for the bad prose. I can’t imagine why the publishers of this journal would choose to highlight the worst aspect of FIFTY SHADES OF GREY, but that’s what they’ve done.

The journal opens with three pages of “writing advice” from E.L. James. It’s really self-praise disguised as advice. She goes into great detail about how imaginative she is, always thinking up new stories. She brags about her playlists and her wall of visuals and her notebooks, but offers little to the budding writer. Next is the journal itself, where each page is stuffed with quotes from FIFTY SHADES OF GREY, interspersed with widely-spaced lines. There’s not much room to actually write in it.

Quotes like “Stop biting your lip,” and “Holy crap!” are given entire pages of their own. If I didn’t know better, I’d think this journal was a parody of its parent book. However, press releases from the publisher say it’s meant to be sincere. They’re pretending that phrases like “oh my!” and “twitchy palms” and “laters, baby” aren’t the accidental repetition of an unskilled writer who didn’t copyedit her fan fiction. They are being passed off as catch phrases, or, if you’re feeling literary, motifs.

No serious writer would be interested in this journal. But writers are not its market. Stamped on the back of the plastic cover are the words, “Fifty Shades of Grey ™ Official Collection.” This journal is a knickknack, like the Christian Grey t-shirts or the handcuff earrings that can be bought everywhere from Etsy to the local mall. But unlike collectibles that help fans identify with a beloved character, this one is meant to help fans identify with the author.

Themed journals can be fun. And yes, a pretty package might make me want to write more. However, a writer would be far better served by an attractive, blank notebook.

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rating: 1 star

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I recommend Take Joy by Jane Yolen or Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott instead of this book.

From Idea to Story in 90 Seconds by Ken Rand

I was intrigued by the title of FROM IDEA TO STORY IN 90 SECONDS. The jacket copy and blurb made it sound even more exciting. Could this book really teach what it promised? Most writers have enough ideas for several lifetimes worth of books, but the trick is in the execution. Until it’s wedded to character and plot, an idea is all but useless. So if this book could show writers how to flesh out those ideas into actual stories that worked, I couldn’t wait to read it. Unfortunately, Rand never follows through with anything concrete or useful. FROM IDEA TO STORY IN 90 SECONDS has plenty to say about the idea-gathering process, but next to nothing to say about what to do with all those vague ideas in our heads.

FROM IDEA TO STORY IN 90 SECONDS is divided into two parts. The first part is theory. It attempts to answer that age-old question, “Where do you get your ideas?” The answer is as individual as the writer. Rand is very clear about where he gets his ideas (while driving) but we all tap into our subconscious in our own way, and most writers are overflowing with raw ideas already.

The second part is labeled “practice” and is supposed to teach writers how to shape all those amazing ideas they have. However, Rand never discusses the specifics of creating stories. The entire second half of the book can be summed up in six words: write fast and don’t censor yourself. Rand is of the spit-it-out-and-fix-it-later school of thought. That’s perfectly okay, but the advice is both basic and well-known. It tells a writer nothing about the writing itself.

I’m giving this book two stars, because I reserve one-star ratings for books that are actively harmful to writers. Nothing that Rand says will set your writing career back in any way, but it won’t push you forward, either.

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rating: 2 stars

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pie slices: 8 slices craft

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I recommend Techniques of the Selling Writer by Dwight V. Swain or Hooked by Les Edgerton instead of this book.

Finding Your Voice by Les Edgerton

 

Voice is something writers and readers love to talk about. Many editors say that voice is everything, but when you ask them to define it, they shrug and say, “I know it when I see it.” These same people often insist that voice can’t be developed: a writer either has it or she doesn’t. Edgerton knows this is a lie. FINDING YOUR VOICE shows a writer how to develop her unique voice, mostly by regaining her original style, diction, and word choice.

The trick is to get out of your own way. We all write with a head full of well-meaning advice from teachers, parents, editors, and the ghosts of famous writers. Edgerton provides exercises to kick them all out, because trying to please everyone will result in bland, beige writing. The examples in FINDING YOUR VOICE show how some writers turn stiff and heavy the moment they become the least bit unsure of their writing. The writers think that formal language and big words make them sound like they know their stuff, but it often has the opposite effect. Edgerton isn’t saying that you can get away with ungrammatical, sloppy writing. But you can write well while also writing like yourself.

Once a writer regains her true, authentic voice, Edgerton tackles the four elements of voice: tone, vocabulary, imagery, and rhythm. Every chapter of FINDING YOUR VOICE has exercises to make sure you’re staying in your voice. Edgerton cautions writers to be especially careful while editing. It’s too easy to edit your voice right out of your work.

FINDING YOUR VOICE ends with a disclaimer. How-to books are great, but nobody is the final authority, not even Edgerton himself. The major part of an authentic voice is trusting your own instincts. Learn from other writers, Edgerton says, but have the confidence to let your true voice come through.

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rating: 5 stars

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pie slices: 8 slices craft

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This book is best for: intermediate to advanced writers

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I recommend this book.

The Order of Things by Barbara Ann Kipfer

Like most writers, I love lists. I love to know the relationship of one thing to another. THE ORDER OF THINGS is a fat book full of lists that is supposed to show the structure, hierarchy and pecking order of everything.  While some of the lists do just that, most of them do not.

The lists range from the interesting (boat and ship classification) to the silly (all the answers from a magic 8 ball). The problem is, Kipfer tries to impose an order where none exists. For example, there is a list of the eleven brightest stars in the night sky. However, knowing that Sirius is brighter than Vega doesn’t really tell you anything. Likewise, knowing that a tuba has 13-14 inches of tubing while a trumpet has 4-5 inches doesn’t put them into any kind of hierarchy. And I really don’t know why anyone except a McDonald’s line cook would need to know the order of assembly for a Big Mac. It’s as if Kipfer is trying to jazz up a dry list of lists. The result is a mishmash that is too dull to be truly entertaining, while also too lightweight to be truly useful.

As expected, the most thorough chapters were those on the military, government and sports. Those are places where the hierarchy is strict, confusing, and crucial to know. Kipfer’s lists would be helpful to anyone trying to sort out a chief warrant officer from a chief master sergeant, or a judo yellow belt from a judo green belt.

But none of this information is difficult to find. When looking for facts like this, my first instinct is to run for the computer, not the bookshelf. THE ORDER OF THINGS may be interesting at times, but in this age of Google, it’s hardly necessary. There is nothing here that I couldn’t find on my own with a few clicks of the mouse.

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rating: 2 stars

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pie slices: 8 slices business

Save the Cat Strikes Back by Blake Snyder

After the publication of SAVE THE CAT in 2005, Blake Snyder thought he’d said everything he needed to say about screenwriting. After all, the subtitle of SAVE THE CAT is “The Last Book on Screenwriting You’ll Ever Need.”  So why did Snyder write SAVE THE CAT STRIKES BACK four years later? Because he started teaching. In Snyder’s writing workshops, students came with questions. They challenged his assumptions. They called him out when his explanations weren’t clear enough. SAVE THE CAT STRIKES BACK was born directly out of those workshops. The result is a book that’s even better than SAVE THE CAT, and believe me, the original was already amazing.

Like the original, SAVE THE CAT STRIKES BACK is about story structure. Because long-form story structure doesn’t change much from medium to medium, all of Snyder’s advice works just as well for novels as it does for screenplays. Using what Snyder calls the “beat sheet,” a writer can easily see the big turning points of the story and where they fit on the story arc. The writer has to know, from the moment he sets pen to paper, how the hero will change and the best way to show that change. Snyder gives many pointers on how to keep the spine of the story straight so that the audience happily goes along, perhaps surprised but never confused.

But structure does not mean formula. To Snyder, these are not formulas, but universal storytelling rules, as unbreakable as the laws of physics. Telling a story in a certain way, with scenes in a certain order, simply enhances the reader’s experience. Those who don’t believe it should read the original SAVE THE CAT where Snyder demonstrates how movies as diverse as “Jaws” and “Sister Act” have the same turning points at the same places in the show.

Snyder also devotes considerable time to handling rewrites, especially rewrites at the request of movie executives (novelists can substitute editors or beta readers, here). His 50-point checklist for revision is the best I’ve seen anywhere. Again, it’s not unique to screenplays. There are ways to make every story better and Snyder knows how.

Of all the books I’ve read, the SAVE THE CAT series has taught me the most about story structure. If I had to pare down my overflowing bookshelves to just a handful of volumes, SAVE THE CAT STRIKES BACK would easily make the short list. I can’t imagine writing a novel without it.

And you shouldn’t, either.

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rating: 5 stars

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pie slices: 1 slice inspiration, 7 slices craft

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This book is best for: intermediate to advanced writers

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I recommend this book.

Living Write by Kelly L. Stone

LIVING WRITE is meant for people who are writing occasionally and want to make it a daily habit. Stone offers fifteen ways to make daily writing happen, using affirmations, visualizations, or “fake it until you make it” mind tricks.  The exercises are not practical do-this-get-that advice, but much more ambiguous. LIVING WRITE is about changing a writer’s mindset. The theory goes like this: if someone feels like a successful writer, she will act like a successful writer by writing every day.

Some people really like this kind of book, especially those with a lot of trust in the subconscious mind and faith in things like affirmations and vision boards. I see nothing wrong with a writer looking in the mirror and telling herself that she’s talented, and worthy, and hard-working, and on her way to success. However, the next step is where affirmations break down for me. Telling myself that I’m already successful or that I’m already a bestseller doesn’t work because I know it’s a lie. (Or, a pre-truth, if you will.)  My mind gets tangled in the absurdity of success coming before work. It negates the good feelings the affirmation is supposed to create.

But more than that, I have a bit of a problem with the main premise of the book. I have little patience for people who complain about the difficulty of writing. Someone who has to use fifteen different tricks in order to get to the page perhaps isn’t cut out to be a writer.

However, Stone does have some good ideas that a serious working writer can use. Even people who love to write can have small blocks, and that’s when some of the techniques in LIVING WRITE come in handy. I especially like Stone’s idea of having a writing mantra. In the same way that people training for a marathon will tell themselves “26.2” throughout the day, something like “successful author” or “finished novel” can remind writers of their ultimate goal, and perhaps keep them away from the television during writing time. I’ve also used her technique of looking up to writing role models. We all have mentors whom we’ve never met but who influence us all the same. Just thinking “what would Lawrence Block do?” has clarified my thinking on more than one occasion.

The exercises in LIVING WRITE aren’t very time-consuming or difficult, so they wouldn’t hurt to try, although they probably won’t help much, either, unless someone is already writing fairly regularly. They will probably be more useful as little pick-me-ups or boosts in an already-healthy writing practice.

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rating: 3 stars

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pie slices: 8 slices inspiration

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this book is best for: beginning writers

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I recommend this book or Word Work by Bruce Holland Rogers or Chapter After Chapter by Heather Sellers