Simple Stories by a Simple Man

Quote:

“Having something to say, or something you wish us to experience is what gives your novel its power. Identify it. Make it loud. Do not be afraid of what’s burning in your heart.”

Setting:

N/A

Plot:

Donald Maass provides advice and guidance on things like what makes a good protagonist, how to make characters who matter, uncutable scenes as well as how to build constant scene driving tension. For each point he makes he provides an example to help drive the point home or make it more clear what he means.

Writing:

The copy of The Fire of Fiction I read had many typo’s which felt a bit odd in a book about how to write, but that aside I appreciated that Donald Maass’s explanations were clear and to the point. He also did an excellent example of picking examples from several different genres to show not tell his points. Some chapters even stuck to a similar story line to show different ways of doing the same thing.

Characters:

NA

Pros:

Powerful advice and examples

Clear and concise writing

Cons:

Needed proofreading

Left me wanting more

Recommendation:

Even if you are a seasoned writer I think this book is an absolute must read. It’s examples to prove points were in many cases so good I want to go back and read those whole stories to see them in their full contexts. I will admit I don’t know if I agree 100% with everything Maass expresses in this book, but I plan to try all of them, and see if I am wrong on some of them and to build my writing journey on more solid foundations. The chapter on Singular Voice is particularly relevant to my current writing, I found myself doing exactly what he said not to do without realizing it, that being switching between narrators for only a paragraph or two, which will just confuse readers. However the chapter on Hyperreality which focuses on how to harness satire, humor and the like in a written format as it can be difficult to translate to page is one I didn’t find too poignant to my current writing, but in later chapters of my novel I know I will be going back to re-read that section. If you want to write you need to read this book.

Score: