Reviews

The First Five Pages, by Noah Lukeman

If I had to choose just one book on writing, Noah Lukeman's book "The First Five Pages: A Writer's Guide to Staying Out of the Rejection Pile" would be the one I would choose, no hesitation. Mr. Lukeman's book covers all aspects of writing and submitting your work, from presentation to style, to voice, to sound. Nothing that could possibly give an editor an excuse to reject your work is left unturned.

As a writer, I recommend the book to other writers because it's been so useful to me. As an editor, myself, I beg writers to read it before they submit. If every submission we recieved at DKA followed Mr. Lukeman's advice, our job would be a lot easier.

If you're a writer wanting to get your work published, then I heartily recommend this book. Geared towards novels, the advice is nevertheless more relevant for short story writers than you might think. Five stars. Buy The First Five Pages from Amazon.com

Writing the Short Story by Jack M. Bickham

Writing the Short Story, by Jack M. Bickham, is an excellent resource for writers who want to develop their short story craft, find short story ideas, or just go through a hands-on workshop to increase their productivity.

Writing a short story is different from writing a novel. And it's not just that you have less space, although that does come into play. Everything has to be tighter; characterization, plot, setting. Many people say that writing a short story is actually harder than writing a novel.

But for that very reason, writing a short story is something that every writer should learn how to do. Jack M. Bickham walks you through the steps, from gathering ideas to actually writing the story to polishing it for publication. Learn what makes a short story, a short story, and how you can write and market them.

I recommend Mr. Bickham's book because of the level of detail. Writing the short story, more than any other art form except writing flash fiction, is all about what you can leave out. Mr. Bickham walks you through the process, and there's a very good chance that you'll walk away from the book bursting with new ideas for your next short story. Four stars. Buy Writing the Short Story from Amazon.com

Strunk and White: The Elements of Style

If you're confused about commas, suspicious of semi-colons, or don't know an em-dash from a hyphen, this is the book for you. William Strunk, Jr., and E. B. White walk you through the basics of grammar in easily-searchable format.

Speaking as an editor, I can't recommend this book too highly. It should be required reading for every author thinking about submitting their work.

Poor grammar and style is the easiest reason in the world for a busy editor to reject your work. Don't think that an editor will look past poor grammar and see your brilliant manuscript beneath; many times, we simply don't have time. Don't make it easier for an editor to reject you by breaking rules you might not even know about. Five stars. Buy The Elements of Style from Amazon.com

Plot and Structure, by James Scott Bell

If you have trouble figuring out how to improve your novel's plot--or even what a plot is--then James Scott Bell's Plot and Structure is definitely the book for you. Mr. Bell walks you step by step through such problems as getting a strong beginning, supporting the plot through the middle, and ending with a bang, and touches on subjects like subplots, character arcs, and the roles of scenes within plots.

Most enjoyable for me, however, was his frank, open writing style, and how easy it was to read through the book. Exercises at the end of each chapter help you apply what you've learned to your own novel.

The emphasis of the book is mostly on action plots, but his advice is good whether you're writing mystery, fantasy, thrillers or chick lit. Five stars. Buy Plot and Structure from Amazon.com