The Complete Idiot's Guide to Writing a Novel

I probably picked up six or seven books on writing a novel one day in the bookstore. This book happened to be on top, and after reading the first few pages, I happily set it aside and began picking through the others... Half an hour later, this was the only book in my "To Buy" stack. Maybe the author spoiled me by injecting a sense of humor into what so many others seem to regard as drudgery. Writing is fun! I don't want to learn about it from a textbook. Tom even makes the chapter about grammar enjoyable - a Herculean feat! There are also several questions answered in this book that I would have never thought to ask, and Tom offers valuable insight from someone who's been through the process of writing a novel several times. I would venture that most people interested in this book have never published a novel, and there is a great deal of information provided about what happens after "The End." As for the negative reviews already posted, you simply must notice the common thread that they all didn't appreciate the author's sense of humor. I get the feeling these are the same kinds of people who think it's inappropriate to laugh out loud. I just couldn't disagree more with the negative reviews. An excellent book, to not only help you get started, but also to use as a resource throughout the entire process of writing your novel.

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Writing a Novel by Thomas Monteleone I will not go so far as to refer to this as "great" or call it some kind of a "triumph"; but it is an excellent reference as well as an outline for success. It contains all the ordinary material such as one might hope to find. It discusses ABILITY, the art of STORYTELLING, the TOUGHNESS & DETERMINATION necessary, and the ADVENTUROUS ATTITUDE that leads to progress. The book invites you to examine CREATIVITY, inviting you to discover your own implicit ideas and make them explicit. It encourages you to do new things, like travel, to acquire learning experiences and to spark your own imagination. TCIGTWN introduces the idea of the writing GENRE, and encourages aspiring novelists to understand history, at least in the context of bestselling novels, so as to become familiar with what people enjoy reading about. PLOT, CHARACTERS, SCENE DESCRIPTION, SETTING, DIALOGUE, TRANSITION, PACING, etc etc. All of these things are introduced. I remind myself that there is not only a single good book on writing. There are many good ones, and many of the same topics are covered. In fact, when I searched the bookshelves I found only three of about twenty five that seemed worth buying. I bought three, and this was one of them. This one is adequate, and there is just so much good material to produce an inspired novelist. I really enjoy the preponderance of information contained herein. Besides, I qualify for this book.

I read the reviews and opinions offered on the validity of this guide and I can say only this... Tom Monteleone knows what he is talking about. In a powerful presentation, both from the point of view of a successful novelist and the culmination of years of practical knowledge properly applied to his own and the careers of others, this book is invaluable. I fall into the category of the "others". I have followed Tom's advice and through hard work, I have published my first hardcover novel, released this fall, 2004. I can only encourage the serious writers out there. If you want to create a writing career, Tom's Idiot's Guide is the light to help guide you down the dark paths of the publishing world. Fellow writers buy this book and start walking.

I've read a lot of beginners novel-writing books and this has to be the friendliest, most useful, introduction to the craft by far. As usual with this series of books, everything you need to know is broken down into sensible and easy to understand language, with additional little tips and hints scattered alongside the main text. This format helps keep the book interesting and easy to reference. Mr. Monteleone takes you gently by the hand, gives you the benefit of his years of precious knowledge (he's written many fine novels), and tells you everything you need to know about how to get started on that novel you've always been itching to write.As I said, I've read dozens of novel-writing books, (including the sometimes confusing, sometimes useless Writers Digest books someone else mentioned), and take it from someone who's not afraid to put their name on a review: for the beginner, there's nothing finer out there.Get this book, have fun reading it, and write that novel!

This book is fun, informative and refreshingly to-the-point. His chapter on "reading to write" is the most varied and comprehensive I've seen, discussing the value of all kinds of fiction and nonfiction reading, including literary criticism, book reviews - even bad novels. (Also see the chapter on "other sources of help" where he talks about books on writing.)This book is very comprehensive with chapters on ideas, process (as in "getting it done"), fiction elements (plots, characterization, setting, etc), revision, grammar, publication, and writing as a business.Unlike a lot of books on this subject, the writing style is humorous and candid, in everyday language as if you were sitting down at a writer's conference to talk one-on-one. Best of all, he distills important points to their essence so they can be quickly absorbed and remembered. If it's your heart's desire to write a novel, this book could be the only one you'll ever need. At the very least, I'd suggest buying and reading this book before you buy any others on writing. You may find you don't need them.