Novelist's Boot Camp: 101 Ways to Take Your Book from Boring to Bestsell

Having a small to medium collection of "How-To-Write" books, I can say that this is easily one of the better ones. With focused exercises that put your creativity in gear and your mind focused for the task at hand (write a book) this is one book that an author should not be without. There is certainly some justified criticism with this book, chiefly that some aspects of writing are only briefly mentioned and some aspects are simplified. However, this is more than made up for by the book's strengths. This book will help a budding author kick bad habits, ideally before they have a chance to form, such as: 1. Reviewing material already written before continuing a draft 2. Revising a draft before it's done 3. Writing in the margins of a book when researching (get yourself a notebook! It's easier, more efficient and it makes it a lot easier to keep your notes straight!) 4. At the risk of possibly lifting some of the wording from the book, using dialogue to provide back story instead of what it should only be used for: A tool or weapon for characters to use to fight for what they want. At the end of each exercise (or "drill") there is a handy key that refers the reader to similar "drills," making cross-referencing and finding similar concepts that apply to other areas of writing that much easier. This is definitely something other authors who write books on writing should take to heart. Stone also outlines how to make several writing aids that help an up-and-rising author to have a tangible source of information while they draft. I am working on an epic length novel, and using Stone's writing aids is proving to be a big help in keeping my characters and plot straight. Having everything mapped out before beginning the draft is a good way to ensure that writers block is never a problem. This is certainly not the "end-all, be-all" book on writing, given the sparse material on many aspects of writing, and to help compensate for this, I would recommend reading four of the five "Write Great Fiction" books, namely, "Plot and Structure", "Description and Setting," "Dialogue" and "Characters, Emotion and Viewpoint." I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who is having a hard time writing or never has written but wants to know how to do it.

I looked at over a dozen similar books and picked this army green book as the best. This is a humorous but powerful book that I highly recommend. It contains 100 general guidelines for writing a novel, including dealing with outside influences and the publishing industry. I bought the book and have no regrets or second thoughts. It is a great value and a good guide. This book has a humorous theme. The author, Todd Stone, talks to the reader as a drill sergeant might in a military training course. Having gone through military training and knowing something about books and writing, I loved the approach. But, most "civilians" will like the entertaining approach as well: and "no sniveling allowed." The only small flaw in the book is that the page numbers are in black over dark green trim and sometimes it is hard to read page numbers. They should be moved into the white part of the pages. The whole book has a dark green military color including the edges of all the pages. He has included various military drawings, maps, and sketches sprinkled through the book. So, it is a combination of text and visual stimulators. As Stone points out, the new novelist is his target audience. He wants them to get their first novel published and to do that he outlines objectives that are reasonable and achievable in a finite time period. He suggests (or commands here as Stone would say) that potential writers keep focused on certain objectives and follow certain guidelines. One can save the super creative and unique novel for a later novel. Goal #1 is to write a novel that will be entertaining throughout, emotional, have good characters, and will capture the publisher and the readers. I recently read a number of books by Doris Lessing (the 2007 Nobel literature winner) and it was clear that her first novel was modest and straightforward. Her first novel, The Grass is Singing, is relatively simple in structure and has just a few characters. Then after she was established, she came out with her complex novel The Golden Notebook. There are many other examples with other famous writers including Joyce. They started simple. So, as Stone, says, there are many ways to shoot a gun but military training camp shows you only one way. Stone limits your options. He gives definite guidelines to follow and has many suggestions, mostly all great. I thought his comments about character development and dealing with the publishing industry, including editing scams, were all very good ideas. This is a great book.

This is one of the best books on writing out there, and I have a great many. There are some things in it that are invaluable for the beginner as well as a seasoned pro. The title and cover may be a turn-off to some but in those pages are gold. Excellent.

You just have to love the concept, don't you? Lots of people say they want to write a book, and some even mean it, but most never write that book. Writing a novel isn't done by sitting around waiting for the book fairy to sprinkle you with magic dust. You have to have the discipline to sit your butt in a chair and write, every day, one step at a time. Todd A. Stone is a novelist I've admired for many years, and he's also a former Army Airborne/Ranger Infantry officer with a Master's Degree in English. So if you read his book, he'll give you the tools and the discipline you need to write some books. Why did I write four novels one year, one three years later, and one three years later than that? Because I needed Todd A. Stone to kick my flabby butt and whip my flabby civilian self back into tip top writing shape. He's a fantastic writer, full of useful advice explained well, but I knew that already. I've been reading his articles, and his fiction, for years. Now I've read NOVELIST'S BOOT CAMP, and I highly recommend that you do the same.

Todd Stone's 'Novelist's Boot Camp' is a useful tool for the serious writer. Stone compares writing a novel to drawing up and following a battle plan, and the analogy works. His advice is useful and, if followed, will result in a well-planned novel. The drills are short but none of them is a meaningless exercise...they are all a step in the right direction toward completing your novel. The drills are the meat of this book, and are workable tools for writing a novel. If you're serious about writing, 'The Novelist's Boot Camp' is highly recommended. Did I mention that the pages are all bordered in green? It is also illustrated with line drawings of military characters. And it is a durable hard cover just the right size to slip into a bag when you're travelling.