The Write Balance by Bonni Goldberg

THE WRITE BALANCE isn’t a book about how to write. What I mean by that is, it’s not a book about craft issues like plot, character, description, pacing, or dialogue. But it is a book about the writing process. Goldberg ignores the most obvious part of the process—the first draft. There are hundreds of books out there that will teach writers how to write a first draft faster, cleaner, in thirty days, or ninety days, or a year, with or without an outline. Goldberg leaves that to other books.

Instead, she shines a bright light into other, darker corners of the writing process—those that aren’t taught much and often not even mentioned in books and classes. THE WRITE BALANCE is divided into three parts. The first is about percolation, that pre-writing period where ideas are generated. The second is about revision, including on your own and with a critique group. The final part is about going public, which can mean publication, but doesn’t necessarily have to.

Too many writers focus on daily word count, as if that’s the only metric that matters. However, Goldberg devotes fully a third of THE WRITE BALANCE to what she calls percolation. She recognizes that writers are humans, not machines, and that we need quiet thinking time as much as we need butt-in-chair time. However, she doesn’t advocate for mindless woolgathering. Goldberg offers exercises to do and a reasonable timeframe in which to do them.

The middle part of the book is about revision—another thing that gets scant attention in most how-to books. Goldberg discusses the ins and outs of critique groups and beta readers, while constantly reminding writers that their intuition will guide them well if they listen to it.

Finally, Goldberg discusses going public, although her focus is not on rushing immediately to publication. Instead, she talks about taking your time, finding the right publication path, and finding other ways to share stories, whether that is through public readings, open mics, or blogging. Publication can (and should) be in that mix, but there are lots of ways to share what we write.

Throughout, Goldberg shares lessons steeped in empathy. Everything is seen through the lens of how it will nurture or hurt writers. But this isn’t a touchy-feely book full of woo. It’s an extremely practical guide to the areas of a writer’s life that are so often overlooked. Some of us don’t even have words for what we’re doing when we’re percolating. Instead, we call ourselves “lazy” or “procrastinators,” instead of honoring the idea phase of writing.

THE WRITE BALANCE was so insightful, I sometimes felt like Goldberg was sitting in my home office with me. More than once, I whispered to my kindle, “How does she know?” But Goldberg doesn’t see through walls. She’s simply tapped into the universal struggles that all writers share, and she shows us how to make it through all the phases of writing, from first idea to publication.

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THE WRITE BALANCE can be found here

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Rating: 4 stars

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This book is best for: intermediate writers

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I recommend this book

Because Internet by Gretchen McCulloch

I used to worry about the state of the English language every time I used social media. Faced with a wall of misspellings, incorrect grammar, and wild punctuation, I despaired for my mother tongue. I sometimes reminded myself that until the digital age, public writing was something that professionals did, and we never read printed words from an average person. Perhaps most writing was always terrible, it’s just that we didn’t see most of it. Other times, I worried that nobody cared about the “rules” of writing and we were all doomed to a slow slide into illiteracy.

BECAUSE INTERNET showed me that my assumptions were wrong on all counts. It’s not that people are using English incorrectly, it’s that they’re adapting language to their needs. Until recently, we had formal writing and informal speech.  For example, you’d start a letter to your grandma with “Dear Grandmother,” but when you saw her in person, you’d say, “Hi, Gran!” However, with the rise of social media, for the first time, we have informal writing.

Internet language isn’t incorrect, and it doesn’t signal the end of good grammar. It’s simply a way of expressing the informality of speech in a written format. Nor should we worry about young people being unduly influenced by it. McCulloch sites studies that show that students can easily code-switch into formal writing when required for tests or papers.

BECAUSE INTERNET takes a deep dive into internet language, starting with its history. McCulloch explains why different generations use language differently on the internet. Users are roughly divided by age, but more importantly, by when they first got online. Like all good linguists, McCulloch is descriptive rather than prescriptive, explaining why and how language is changing without ever judging people for it.

Because when it comes right down to it, the way that we write when we’re online makes sense. When we’re face to face, we communicate so much in body language, tone, and facial expressions. Written words don’t express tone of voice, so we sometimes use uppercase for emphasis, or add asterisks or tildes. We use /s to indicate that this is sarcasm or a joke, but we use a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters to indicate mockery. We misspell on purpose for humor or to pull out a word, as in, “I allllmost forgot my phone,” or the Tumblr favorite, “sameeee” to indicate absolute agreement.

And when words aren’t enough, we use GIFs to show a facial expression, or turn to emojis. McCulloch gives a detailed explanation of the history and purpose of emojis. They aren’t taking the place of body language, since body language is unconscious. Emojis are deliberate, and therefore represent gestures, such as a thumbs up or a shrug. McCulloch details how and why emojis are used and by whom. (I laughed the first time my mom sent me an emoji. It looked strange because most senior citizens don’t use them.)  

BECAUSE INTERNET is not written in an academic tone. It’s easy to read, sharp, insightful, and quite funny in parts. It gave me new appreciation for the way that language is changing right before our eyes, with the birth of new grammar for the digital age.

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BECAUSE INTERNET can be found here

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Rating: 4 stars

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This book is best for: all writers

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I recommend this book

Into the Woods by John Yorke (content warning)

Content Warning: sexual assault

Yorke is a TV writer and producer for the BBC, so he has an interest in story structure. His career would seem to depend on it, and yet, he treats the most basic and well-known elements of storytelling as if they were brand-new insights. Yorke references the screenwriting teachers who came before him like Vogler, Snyder, and Field, while at the same time trying to take credit for ideas they developed.

While studying the three-act structure, Yorke noticed that act two was longer than the others, with a distinct dividing line in the middle. In short, he learned about Midpoints. That’s when Yorke decided that the three-act structure was really a five-act structure, and INTO THE WOODS is littered with charts to “prove” his point. It’s still the exact same story structure. He simply renamed the parts.

All of INTO THE WOODS is like this. Yorke describes some well-known facet of storycraft and then pretends he was the first to discover it. The first chapters are about story structure, while the second half of the book deals with characterization, dialogue, and exposition. Yorke ends with a long and boring history of TV shows. His entire point here is that TV shows either end because the characters change, and therefore their story is finished, or the characters don’t change at all (such as in sitcoms) and the show gets repetitive. It’s so obvious as to be laughable. There is literally nothing here that hasn’t been said before in better books.

Yorke’s examples are mostly random and never illustrate his points in any meaningful way. In fact, his points are so general that nearly any example from nearly any movie or TV show would fit. INTO THE WOODS reads like a paper from a student who did a lot of research and took a lot of notes, and is determined to cram it all into the text, whether it fits or not.

Throughout, Yorke keeps hinting at a big reveal. He keeps promising that he’s going to explain why humans tell stories. Like a late-night infomercial that keeps hyping a gadget before showing it to you, Yorke hints that his upcoming insight is going to be brilliant. Finally, he shares the secret. Are you ready for this?

Humans tell stories to make sense of the world.

That’s it.

That’s the insight that Yorke thinks is so groundbreaking that he spends an entire book leading up to it.

All this would probably add up to a two-star rating but what sinks it to a one-star is Yorke’s misogyny. The vast majority of his examples are taken from macho movies such as The Godfather and Apocalypse Now, and every single one of the experts he quotes is a man. He brings up sexual assault at least once per chapter, as if he’s fascinated by the subject. Out of the thousands of examples he could use to illustrate his points, over and over he chooses examples of women being assaulted by men. The only woman-centric movie he cites is Thelma and Louise, and you can guess which aspect of it he’s fixated on. He even reimagines the fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel with the children raped and murdered.

I never thought I’d have to put a content warning in a book review, but there’s a first time for everything. And here’s another warning: don’t buy this book.

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Rating: one star

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I recommend Save the Cat by Blake Snyder or Plot and Structure by James Scott Bell instead of this book.

Firefly Magic by Lauren Sapala

Marketing isn’t something that comes naturally to writers. In fact, many of us are put off by the idea. Some of that is fear of rejection or fear of wasting time and money. But most of it is because the traditional methods of selling just don’t mesh with our personalities. We think of book marketing as something extroverts do, or people who are shameless about tricking buyers, or writers who treat their books like commodities. At the very least, we think successful marketers have an unhealthy obsession with money and sales, and their art suffers for it.

FIREFLY MAGIC upends all of those assumptions about marketing. Sapala shows writers how to sell their books in an authentic way, from a place of integrity and confidence. By thinking of our books as our service to the world, we can sell books without selling out.

Sapala is a student of the Meyers-Briggs personality matrix, and she makes it clear she’s speaking to “INFJ” writers. However, you don’t need to be one of those, or even know what the letters stand for, to benefit from FIREFLY MAGIC. Sapala is speaking to introverted and highly-sensitive people, which means she’s speaking to the vast majority of writers.

Unlike other marketing books that say “do this and get rich,” Sapala understands what’s going on inside writers. She feels those feelings and knows exactly why writers are resistant to marketing. If something feels inauthentic or sleazy or uncomfortable, we won’t do it.

But here’s the interesting thing. The middle section of FIREFLY MAGIC lists the things that writers must do to be successful, and they are the very same things that other books tell us to do: get a website, use social media, have a newsletter, find your niche, lead with your unique selling point, and most of all, keep making more content. So if Sapala is telling writers to do the same thing as other marketing books, why is her book so much better? That small mindset shift—from selling to serving—makes all the difference. Other marketing books feel like sitting on a cactus, while FIREFLY MAGIC feels like stepping onto fluffy clouds. Believe it or not, Sapala can make you feel excited about marketing.

FIREFLY MAGIC is very much a “why to” rather than a “how to,” so it’s more of a companion book rather than a complete one. You’ll need other marketing books to learn the actual nuts-and-bolts of how to do it. But reading FIREFLY MAGIC first means you’ll actually be able to absorb the lessons of the other books, making sure you start your marketing efforts on the right foot and maintain them for the long haul.

FIREFLY MAGIC can be found here

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Rating: 4 stars

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This book is best for: advanced writers

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I recommend this book

Alex Kourvo’s Second Book

Big News! My second how-to book for writers, No Hero Wants to Save the World: How to Raise the Stakes in Your Fiction will be published two weeks from today.

Last year, I published The Big-Picture Revision Checklist, which included a chapter on story stakes for those who were revising their novels. However, No Hero Wants to Save the World goes deeper, for a comprehensive look at story stakes on every level. This book will help you when planning, outlining, writing, and revising your novel, to make sure your stakes are as high as they can be, and that readers won’t be able to put your novel down!

Story stakes come in three kinds: inner stakes, outer stakes, and personal stakes. The key to raising the stakes is first knowing the difference between the three kinds, and then knowing when to apply each one. And most important of all, knowing that heroes and heroines don’t want the stakes raised. They are resisting danger at every turn, and unless there is something personal in the story pushing them to act, they will not cooperate with the excellent plot you’ve laid out for them.

No Hero Wants to Save the World is the guide you need to raise the stakes in an effective way. You’ll find what’s most important to your characters, how to get them personally involved, and how to crank up the tension on every page. You’ll discover the ideal time to reveal the true stakes of your story and how to add in plot twists that work. 

No Hero Wants to Save the World will be published on January 22^nd. Pre-orders are available at all retailers for both ebooks and paperbacks, so you can reserve your copy right away.

Happy reading!
Alex K.

The Writer’s Roadmap by Leigh Shulman

It seems so simple: make a goal, break it down into steps, and follow the steps. That’s been said in hundreds of books. Shulman says that too, but THE WRITER’S ROADMAP is specifically geared toward writers—especially writers who are trying to leave their day jobs to write full time. And Shulman adds a few extra steps and refinements that made me see this timeworn advice in a new light.

The problem is that many authors put “write a book” at the bottom of a long to-do list and wonder why it never gets done. We’re all working as hard as we can every day, but Shulman reminds us that working harder won’t get you anywhere if you’re working on the wrong thing. To keep writers on track, Shulman uses the acronym OGSM (which I kept reading as “orgasm” because I am twelve). It stands for Objective, Goals, Strategies, and Measures.

Most how-to books start with goals. It seems like a natural place to start. Goals are what we’re working toward, right? But Shulman goes one level higher. What’s the overall objective? What ties your many goals together? What gives your life purpose? It’s almost like you’re writing a mission statement for yourself and your writing.

Only after the overall objective is super clear should you turn to your goals. Goals give you focus and help you find opportunities. THE WRITER’S ROADMAP is full of questions and worksheets to help writers clarify their goals and put them in order.

Strategies are the specific steps taken. These change the most. Many of us get stuck at this step because we think we need to know exactly how to accomplish our goals. But Shulman reminds us that of all the things in an OGSM, the strategies are the most flexible. We learn as we go, and it’s perfectly okay to refine your strategies.

Measures are important too. You either do the thing or you don’t do the thing. You need to keep track so you know for sure that you’ve done the thing. Numbers don’t lie. Shulman also includes short, snappy sidebars about setting boundaries and dealing with money. I really appreciate those because don’t we all struggle with those two issues? But having them as small sidebars feels insufficient when they really need whole chapters.

I think we’re all re-evaluating our goals in 2022. The last two years have been extremely hard, and we’re all looking at our writing goals in new ways. Some writers have scaled back. Some have taken on projects outside their usual genres. Some are exploring new revenue streams. But I don’t know a single writer whose objectives and goals have stayed the same since 2019. THE WRITER’S ROADMAP is a refreshing look at an old topic, and a perfect way to start the new year.

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THE WRITER’S ROADMAP can be found here

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Rating: 4 stars

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This book is best for: beginning authors

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I recommend this book

Conquering Writer’s Block and Summoning Inspiration by K.M. Weiland

The first thing you need to know is that Weiland doesn’t actually believe in writer’s block. At best, it’s a bogeyman used to scare writers. At worst, it’s an excuse for not writing. However, Weiland does believe in frustration. Every writer has good days and bad days. CONQUERING WRITER’S BLOCK AND SUMMONING INSPIRATION is the book you need on the bad days.

The second important thing about CONQUERING WRITER’S BLOCK AND SUMMONING INSPIRATION is that the book is short, to the point, and no-nonsense. This isn’t the book that’s going to coddle writers, or let writers feel sorry for themselves, or tell writers that they are brave and heroic for simply putting pen to paper. Professional writers work long, diligent hours on their craft, and if you expect to join them, you will have to work hard too.

Inspiration exists. It’s wonderful, and when it happens, a writer feels invincible. But inspiration doesn’t come for free. The price is that the writer has to show up at the page day after day. Weiland gives solid advice for putting this foundational habit in place. Let go of perfection, study the craft, cultivate excitement in the work, and don’t cling too tightly to writing rules. Weiland also discusses the dangers of trying to “failure proof” a piece of writing, which will only bleed the life out of it. And if a writer is dreaming of fame and fortune more than she’s dreaming about her characters and her story, she’ll likely never finish her book.

However, even with solid writing habit in place, sometimes the words won’t come. In that case, Weiland lays out some emergency measures. Things like brainstorming ahead of time, stopping mid-sentence, throwing in random plot twists, or shaking up point of view, tone, or a heroine’s goal.

Throughout CONQUERING WRITER’S BLOCK AND SUMMONING INSPIRATION, Weiland reminds us that writers write. A writer can’t expect success without putting in the work. Whining doesn’t get the job done. Waiting for inspiration doesn’t get the job done. Talent doesn’t get the job done. The only thing that matters is putting your butt in the chair and typing one word after another. Sometimes, doing the work is the only inspiration a writer needs.

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CONQUERING WRITER’S BLOCK AND SUMMONING INSPIRATION can be found here

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Rating: 5 stars

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I recommend this book

Trough of Hell by H.R. d’Costa

Most authors are fired up to write the beginning of their novels. They know how the story starts and are eager to get going on the wonderful story they want to tell. Many authors have an easy time with the ending as well, feeling like they’re coasting downhill to the climax. Then there’s the middle. Somehow, blank pages in the middle of a story are the worst kind of blank pages.

D’Costa specializes in taking a deep dive into one aspect of story, breaking down the story beats into their smallest possible units. TROUGH OF HELL zeroes in on that section about 75% of the way through the story, when things are as bad as they can get.

This is the all-is-lost moment, when the heroine is at her lowest point emotionally. Paradoxically, she’s also the closest to achieving her true goal—perhaps not the one she wants, but the one she needs. But in order to get there, she has to reach rock bottom. Only then, when she’s at her most vulnerable, can she face the truth about herself and change for the better.

D’Costa gets very specific here, showing readers all the ways they can hurt their heroes, and how to evoke true emotions by tailoring them to the story. She gives consideration to different genres, since this story beat plays out differently in comedies and serious stories. She also shows how to use minor characters to make the all-is-lost even more resonant. She wraps it up by discussing ways to avoid cliches, keep the pace from dragging, and make the all-is-lost moment deeper and more meaningful.

D’Costa is a screenwriter, so all the examples are from movies, some of them stretching back to the 1990s. But she never discusses obscure or arty films. All of the examples are from well-known movies, and D’Costa gives enough explanation so you can follow along even if you’ve never seen the film in question. The all-is-lost moment is a vital story beat in both novels and screenplays, with the same emotional job to do, so this concept applies to novels too.

The trough of hell is one of the least fun parts of a novel to write. It’s the moment when we have to be very mean to our imaginary friends. But with a guide like TROUGH OF HELL, writing that section of a novel will be easier, and the author will have the satisfaction of knowing that the terrible trouble she put her heroes in was all worth it.

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TROUGH OF HELL can be found here

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Rating: 4 stars

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This book is best for: beginning writers

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I recommend this book

Guest Review from Lawrence Block: The Big-Picture Revision Checklist by Alex Kourvo

Today’s book review is a bit different. Instead of a book review by me, it’s a review of the book I wrote! Lawrence Block is visiting the blog today to share his thoughts about THE BIG-PICTURE REVISION CHECKLIST.

Alex Kourvo is one of a kind. A gifted writer and editor, she has developed a special interest in books for writers, how-to manuals for those of us who want to find the best words and put them in their best order. Pursuing this interest, she has devoted much of her time to reading those books, digesting their contents, and reviewing them for the benefit of those writers who are her readers.

Full disclosure: I’ve written instructional books for writers myself, and Alex has been gracious enough to say very nice things about some of them.

I recall an observation of science fiction writer Samuel R. Delany: “I write the books I cannot find on library shelves.” Alex’s shelves are extensive, but the book she couldn’t find was one on writing a novel’s second draft. And so she’s written The Big-Picture Revision Checklist, designed to shepherd a writer who’s already produced a novel’s first draft.

More full disclosure: I’m an anomaly. I’ve produced a substantial body of work over many years, and while I certainly tweak sentences and rework scenes as I go along, my first draft is my final draft. So I’m probably not the best person to swear to the efficacy of Alex’s suggestions. But her book is cogent and persuasive, and now that she’s been considerate enough to write it, it’s there to be found on the shelf—where you’ll be fortunate to make its acquaintance.

Lawrence Block

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The Big-Picture Revision Checklist is in paperback and ebook at all retailers.

Bonus Blog: Don’t Take My Word for It

The Big-Picture Revision Checklist comes out October 1^st, and you can pre-order your ebook or your paperback today. But you may be wondering, why should you pre-order a book that you haven’t even glanced through yet? The author says it’s good, but authors always say that about their own books. Maybe we should get a second opinion or three.

Here’s what Sacha Black had to say.

You know how to draft a book, you know how to proof for commas, but what happens in the middle? The Big-Picture Revision Checklist is a fantastic tool to help you assess and do a developmental edit of your novel. If you’ve ever struggled to do the big-picture edit, you need this book. Packed with examples and comprehensive explanations, this is the perfect guide to help you through edits. Whether you’re a new writer or a seasoned pro, you’ll find tips, tricks and helpful reminders to keep you on track while editing. 

Fellow editors like Chris Allen-Riley quite like the book as well.

This book will not only walk you through the revision process step by step, it will also entertain and encourage you. Alex Kourvo and her process are nothing short of life-changing. Reading The Big-Picture Revision Checklist is like sitting down with your BFF and sorting out exactly what your book needs to take it to the next level (and beyond).

And here is Lawrence Block.

Alex Kourvo is one of a kind. A gifted writer and editor.

One more note: I won’t be writing a book review on October 1^st because Lawrence Block is going to take over the Writing Slices blog for the day and write a full review of The Big-Picture Revision Checklist. Stay tuned to watch Alex’s head explode in rainbows and sparkles!

Until then, happy writing, and happy re-writing!

Alex K.