A Writer's Guide to Fiction: A Concise, Practical Guide for Novelists and Short-Story Writers

I highly recommend this book to both beginners and published writers. A Writer's Guide to Fiction is well organized and gives a clear direction of where to go from here, where ever you find yourself in the journey of becoming a writer. Well worth the read.

By far the best book for unpublished writers to achieve their goal in the business. Robbert Snijders

I actually started with Lyon's "Sell Your Novel Tool Kit", but quickly realized I had not reached that point with my novel yet. So I backtracked and bought this book, which I have found to be incredibly helpful. Her approach is systematic and rational, while still allowing for the creative and inspired. This is by far the best of all the books I've read on writing fiction, especially novels, and it has in some ways completely changed my approach. She manages to be supportive and inspiring without getting sappy, and her experience as an editor makes her insights especially penetrating and pertinent. Though Ms. Lyon generously recommends other books on fiction techniques within the text of her own, this title is the one absolute must-have for serious novelists. Its companion title on selling a novel is likewise highly recommended and required. Thank you, Elizabeth Lyon, for your invaluable guidance!

This book covers everything, though it lost me in the 6 Sherpas chapter. It should have more examples and explanation of concepts from that point on. A Writer's Guide to Fiction should serve anyone well, with many careful re-readings, but if a second edition were released with better examples and more thorough explanation I'd dump my copy in a minute and buy the new edition. The 6 Sherpas chapter could have been broken up into 3 chapters, and the book should be closer to 500 pages. Overall this is a must-have book for fiction writers, with content not available anywhere else and almost equal treatment of short story and novel writing with no bias against genre fiction. Be prepared to read it much more than once.

I used Elizabeth Lyons' book, The Sell-your-Novel Toolkit, after I'd finished my first novel. Her samples of query letters and synopses helped me sell my first (and second) novels. Now I recommend it to students when I teach fiction writing. Her new book, A Writer's Guide to Fiction, is loaded with practical tips and strategies for new writers. It takes the mystery out of writing fiction, and has lots of good examples, lists and suggestions for would-be short story novelists and short story writers. I'll recommend this one as well.