This excellent book covers a wide range of fiction-writing
topics, including plot, show & tell, characterisation, voice, point of view,
dialogue, language, backstory, suspense, and editing & improving your
novel.
The book is informative, readable and concise, and uses lots
of examples drawn from not just the classics, but also from modern fiction and
other media such as cinema. The author
illustrates how such devices work well, and (interestingly) also describes
occasions when the big names didn’t always get it quite right.
The book can be read cover-to-cover like a novel, or
consulted like a reference book for advice on specific points. It’s perfect not only for writers who are
just starting out, but also for more experienced writers who want to improve
their craft.
Special thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources and The Conrad
Press for the opportunity to take part in this blog tour.
‘Writing Fiction is a little pot of gold… Screenplay by Syd
Field for film, Writing Fiction by James Essinger for fiction. It’s that
simple.’ (William Osborne, novelist and screenwriter)
Writing Fiction – a user-friendly
guide
is 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 Future movies (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
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
