Writer's Little Helper: Everything You Need to Know to Write Better and Get Published

I thought this was a great little book for writers. It offers you solutions to character and plot developement conundrums, presented in small and concise exercises. The author helps you get over obstacles to creating an exciting book, while providing valuable insight into how to present and prepare your book for publication. One of the main points of this book that I found helpful was how the author shared his insight into the publishing world. He explains to readers what makes a book sizzle to publishers and what they are looking for when they review a manuscript. I found this book extremely useful and helpful in creating my subplot and with character development. I highly recommend it to beginning and experienced authors. It contains all the information you need to create an interesting manuscript, without all the tedious "bonus" information provided with most text books and writing guides.

James V. Smith's "Writer's Little Helper": The difficulty with a HOW-TO-WRITE-A-NOVEL text is the tendency to drag the reader into either rigid outlines that enslave, or alternatively, suggest the reader embark upon diverse trivialities which separate him from his own power to tell a story. Neither does knowledge of spelling or grammar indicate whether one can tell a story. Does James Smith fall into either of these traps in his HOW-TO? No, definitely not. Smith also does not write one of those big books with lots of tiny print that make one feel like a shrew. Rather, Smith has written a book that is a bit of an OUTLINE, but he will tell you plainly that you do not need an OUTLINE; but for lack of another word..... You could read almost any chapter in this book entirely out of order and get just as much out of it. Whether studying CHARACTERS, or TRANSITIONS, or SUB-PLOTS, Smith has only put into this book what an aspiring novelist can use. PLANNING: Smith tells you that you need only TEN SCENES for the PLANNING of your novel. [You can end up with many more, but for the PLANNING, you only need about ten scenes. 1) an Opener 2) a Point of No Return 3)----through----6) Complications [that's 8] 9) a Closer 10) Ending ...and then Smith explains how this scene tool is to be used. What you must know about Smith's book is that none of his chapters are very long. He is one of those writers who is not so full of himself that he confuses QUANTITY with QUALITY. Perhaps because Smith is a successful author in his own right, and this book has evolved out of his own experience, he can reduce what he has learned into a methodology of practical imperatives. The reader will benefit from the distillation of his hard won experience. There is not ONE-WAY to write a novel. The information contained here is a combination of Smith's formal learning and his discoveries. t It is not written as though Smith were telling you that you MUST write a book his way. It is what some refer to as SHOTGUNNING, because Smith gives you everything, and you can select what is most helpful to you. It is a kit of tools Having examined dozens of book about writing novels, I find that Smith's is by far the very best for its straightforward simplicity, ease of use, and practicality. Also, I think I know why books such as this come under criticism for being disorganized. Perhaps the reason is that LIFE itself is not "organized" and a creative person must develop their skills and methodologies whenever and however they happen to come by them. If those things actually WORK, they must be included. These different methodologies may have no identifiable inter-relationship. Some criticisms can also be based upon some false inferrence that all readers already know and understand many METHODOLOGIES that are published and familiar to all. This is highly doubtful, especially wh

From time-saving tips to insights on how a believable dialogue is created and how a compelling pace is maintained, The Writer's Little Helper: Everything You Need To Know To Write Better And Get Published packs in specific tips and references for writers of fiction who wish to improve their style and quality of work. The format here is unique: it especially lends to browsers who just wish to hone in on a particular area of interest or improvement: checklists, boxed outlines and notes, the use of color bullets and more allow for quick, breezy reference. An exceptional guide for any who would absorb the foundations of good writing solid and who would hone improvement routines.

This book is similar in quality and content to the other recent Writer's Digest book, "The Writer's Book of Wisdom: 101 Rules for Mastering Your Craft" by Steven Taylor Goldsberry. Both are excellent books. This one is focused on fiction, the other on writing in general. Comments by others that the book seemed jumbled are correct. But that was only a minor distraction for me. Because each lesson was bite-sized, having the lessons on dialog (for example) scattered over the book was quite acceptable. Actually, it spiced things up a bit. This author uses Flesch Indexes to determine pacing and other matters for your book, chapter, scene, parts of a scene. Some may react to these numbers as too mechanical. In one sense I found it is mechanical, but I thought it was unique and helpful. This book has lots of great exercises (watching movies and using screenplays). The author writes with a caring voice and provides many checklists to make his advice easy to implement. John Dunbar Sugar Land, TX

As a new freelance writer I am always searching the bookshelves for something to help me write. This is the perfect find! Finally a book to actually help, from a real writer who knows the real problems writers face and how to help avoid them. I am so excited about this book! Each chapter is great! For the new or unpublished writer this book is a great find. Every writer should have one in their personal library!