Writing the Breakout Novel: Insider Advice for Taking Your Fiction to the Next Level

I found this book very helpful. As a starting point, understand that this is not a book on the craft of writing superb sentences with excellent grammar. This outlines the broader picture, plot, character development and other concepts. Some readers consider this book encouraging merely a commercial pursuit and not art. Personally, I'm attempting to write a novel that will grab readers and hold their attention. This book fits my goals. As an exercise, I went through some of my favorite books, including a couple of the classics. While the authors might not have sat with Mr. Maass' guidelines in front of them, they did cover nearly all the points he suggests are key.The book itself. First, the "you can do it, Rah Rah" section required to start this type of book is relatively short and painless. In the book Don Maass takes concepts that are known to all authors and he organizes them well. One of the distinctions about this book is he explains why the concepts are important and he provides guidelines to achieve the desired result. He provides numerous examples, and although I didn't agree with every example, the process of evaluating the examples was part of the learning experience. Each chapter ends with a summary that feels like a checklist.The book feels a little bit like a "recipe" ie, follow these instructions and use these checklists and you will have a breakout novel. Obviously breakout novel writing can't be that easy as I don't believe Mr. Maass would consider any of his own novels as breakouts. I personally like that recipe / textbook feel and organization, others might find it to feel contrived.My writing skills increased dramatically from reading this book and I actually use the chapter summary to remind myself to build deeper characters, create conflict etc. An unexpected bonus from reading this book is that my own enjoyment of reading went up as I was able to more fully appreciate the work that goes into a good novel.I recommend reading the book and challenging your own writing with the concepts. This is the most helpful book on writing that I have read.

Writing the Breakout NovelDonald MaassMake your story betterThis review is for Writer's Digest Books (an imprint of F&W Publications Inc.) first edition. Although there is no publication date given in my copy of the book, Amazon.com lists it as August 2002. The book's copyright date is 2001, and the author indicates he was writing part of it in June 2000. Therefore, his comments on the state of the fiction publishing industry are as of the turn of the century.Mr. Maass wrote several novels himself. The four found on Amazon.com he published from December 1982 through March 1983. All are out of print.Donald Maass has the credentials, though. In 1980, he founded the Donald Maass literary agency, a unique agency that only represents fiction. That's twenty-five years of reading manuscripts. In 2001, his agency sold over a hundred novels to publishers.Throughout WRITING THE BREAKOUT NOVEL, Mr. Maass includes excerpts from dozens of great stories to exemplify his guidelines for getting out of the midlist malaise. These references do not bloat the text; they are useful.I have completed two literary novels that I decided are not good enough. With a good start on the third, I thought it wise to buy WRITING THE BREAKOUT NOVEL. It was.In chapter two, Mr. Maass writes that the breakout premise must have four elements: plausibility, inherent conflict, originality and gut emotional appeal. He explains, with examples, precisely what constitutes these elements, but you will find concise, workable summaries like this list for his guidelines. In applying this to my own work, I believe that I have the first three covered, but I could use some more of that gut emotional appeal. Mr. Maass uses THE NOTEBOOK by Nicholas Sparks as an example. I thought of THE FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN by Mitch Albom. Both have been number one best sellers.Mr. Maass writes, "Life-and-death stakes are empty unless they are tied to underlying human worth," and he gives examples that make you realize that a plot with some relevance to society as a whole will attract a broader spectrum of readers. I saw that I could add another layer to my story. It may or may not breakout, but it is going to be better for reading this book.If you write novels, read WRITING THE BREAK OUT NOVEL. Mr. Maass has the credentials. He can tell you how to make your story better.

Donald Maass is both an author and literary agent who has years of experience in finding what works and what doesn’t in the books that sell. In a clear, concise manner, Maass takes the reader through the different parts of a novel that can elevate your story. Dealing with plot, characters, premise, and other key areas of your story, he gives concrete explanation and example of how any author can elevate their writing.I will definitely be trying some of the strategies in my own stories mentioned in this thought-provoking examination of great writing. Recommended for beginners or seasoned authors.

Este es un libro muy completo sobre el arte y el oficio de escritor de novelas. Prácticamente toca todos los puntos esenciales, desde el tratamiento de los personajes, la trama, etc etc. Muy recomendable.

On time delivery. Quality product.

Nicht alle Informationen in diesem Buch sind neu, aber das Buch ermöglichst einen sehr guten Überblick und damit effizientes Arbeiten.

An interesting book filled with good advice and many useful tips. Recommended!