How did the book help you as a writer? What overall aspects of it taught you something?
Each chapter breaks down a key element of the breakout novel. Essentially Maass offers an outline, followed by straight-forward detail, to writing a publishable novel. The book is simple and isn’t cluttered with poetic rhetoric just for poetry’s sake. In other words, Maass’ writing isn’t bogged down in fancy wordplay; instead he uses his time to clearly articulate what young writers need to know. If the writing of the breakout novel were a pool, I felt this book was the diving board. He asks the reader a lot of questions – like a self-assessment – that helped propel me into the writing process.
What two or three major lessons did you learn that you can apply?
Maass encourages the reader to raise the stakes: “The reason we care about a character in mortal danger is that we care about that character period†(p. 60). He talks about there being two levels of stakes, public and private. In order to raise the private stakes, I must allow the reader to know my protagonist as intimately as I do; but first I must know her. The stakes don’t only need to be raised for my characters but my setting as well, which Maass states has its own history. Viewing my novel in this light, I was able to see deeper into the stakes already at play for my characters because of those that are naturally found within my setting. Maass taught me that to draw readers in, to make them feel as passionately about my novel as I do, the world I create must be highly specific, so detailed that it becomes “all of America.â€
Maass states that the detailed makeup of time and place is more than just description of landscape and rooms. Writers of the breakout novel are able to capture people in an environment. He says that its physiological effect – how it makes people feel – is key, not how a place looks. Focus on the nouns and verbs, not the adjectives or adverbs. A truly helpful tip in regards to this is to deepen the effect of a place through point of view description: return to a previously established setting and show how a character’s perception of it has changed.
A third lesson I took away from this book is the importance of interwoven character relationships. Maass suggests taking underutilized characters and putting them to work. In my own novel, I needed someone to play the role of a doctor; instead of creating another small character, I decided to make Abe, my protag’s love interest, a doctor. Once I’d made this decision, his character grew into something far more important than I’d originally thought he would be. Maass states that by interweaving character relationships plot outcomes become dependent upon each other which naturally creates plot complications. Abe could have easily been a mechanic or a coal miner, but by making him a doctor he became more useful to the plot and depth of the story as well as the depth of the relationship with my protag.
Was there anything in the book that obviously conflicted with lessons/readings in the novel writing program? If so, what?
To me, Maass seems to put more weight in the story within the writer. On page 30 he says, “The story is there inside you, in all its complexity.†Although Author Salon may also believe writers have a specific story to tell, there is a stronger focus on the systematic approach to writing a novel.
THE WRITING LIFE
by Annie Dillard
How did the book help you as a writer? What overall aspects of it taught you something?
Dillard pulls no punches in describing the frustration and reality of the life of a full time writer. She does this by creating a narrative using examples of her own experience. This book helped better prepare me for the difficulty that will come with dedicating my life to writing, and further revealed to me the commitment necessary to accomplish my writing goals. Of course it also made me jealous of those who are at the point in their lives where they are able to make writing their full time commitment! While Maass’ book was written as an instructional guide to writing a publishable novel, Dillard’s provided a glimpse into the emotional journey of the writing life. It’s good for each of us as new writers to experience that sort of wakeup call moment.
What two or three major lessons did you learn that you can apply?
Dillard teaches not to be afraid of the delete key; she refers to it as tearing down the walls of the house (the words of the novel). She warns against wasting time trying to salvage the unsalvageable. Being able to erase something that took hours and hours to write is difficult. I find myself wedded to particular scenes, aspects of my plot, or characters, and even long after realizing something isn’t working, it can be scary to toss them. Tearing down these walls, Dillard says, takes courage.
“There is neither a proportional relationship, nor an inverse one, between a writer’s estimation of a work in progress and its actual quality†(p. 15). This sentence, possibly more than any other in the book, spoke to me. Dillard says that writers need to steer clear of indulging feelings of a writing’s magnificence or its abomination. I am always going to love my book, love my characters, love my setting more than any other because they are my creation; therefore, I cannot be the judge of the quality of the work and must approach the editing process as an outsider.
Dillard also teaches to write from first word to last. Prior to this course, I never followed that advice. I wrote when the inspiration would strike and I wrote whatever inspiration happened to throw my way, regardless of where the scene may fall within the novel. I started this course with only a premise. Through the course I developed an outline of my novel using the 6 Act, 2 Goal method and then began the writing process from the beginning and have been working my way through each act. I have resisted scene jumping and found that writing in this way has helped me stay focused.
Was there anything in the book that obviously conflicted with lessons/readings in the novel writing program? If so, what?
Dillard says that novels written with film contracts in mind “have a faint but unmistakable, and ruinous, odor.†She believes that the more literary a novel, the more desirable (why read a book versus go to a movie?) The program views the writing of the novel in a cinematic way (6 Act, 2 Goals, etc). That’s not to say we are taught in the program to write our novels for the purpose of trying to get a movie deal, because I haven’t interpreted it that way, but this is the only slight “conflict†I found.
THE ART OF FICTION
by John Gardner
How did the book help you as a writer? What overall aspects of it taught you something?
At times I found this book “muddy,†like I was wading through a clutter of words just searching for the points Gardner was trying to make. I did appreciate his dive into technical aspects of writing as it is always helpful to be reminded of what we were taught so long ago. His instruction to read widely and deeply encouraged me to assess my reading habits and force myself to read beyond my usual (rarely can you achieve effects much larger than the effects of books you’ve read and admired, he states), while his instruction to write continually, thoughtfully assessing and reassessing, pushed me to look at my writing habits and set aside meaningful time to write.
What two or three major lessons did you learn that you can apply?
“…a writer should make his characters’ world sensually available to a wide range of readers, knowing in advance that for many readers […], his characters’ experience will be beyond comprehension†(p. 44). This goes hand in hand with Maass’ idea to detail a setting so thoroughly that it becomes all of America. But Gardner is realistic in that you will never form a character, develop a plot line, or create a setting that is accessible to everyone, so just focus on making it as widely accessible as possible.
Gardner states that character, plot and setting must be shaped simultaneously. By connecting them, a world is created. In my own novel, I have strived to achieve this by developing characters that realistically would experience the plot as a result of their setting.
Gardner devotes a chapter of the book to common errors committed by beginning writers. I found many of these errors, which I took as warnings, particularly applicable and have been able to keep a watchful eye for them in my own writing. One example is insufficient detail and abstraction (use of the word “creatures†instead of “snakesâ€).
Was there anything in the book that obviously conflicted with lessons/readings in the novel writing program? If so, what?
Gardner favors the authorial-omniscient point of view: the narrator as God, moving through the minds of all the characters, unlike the writing program which prefers a blend between all four levels of third person point of view.
I also found contradiction between Gardner and Maass. While Maass gave an almost systematic/step-by-step approach to writing a publishable novel, Gardner states that art depends heavily on feeling, intuition and taste, and he calls “ordinary, easily publishable fiction†imitation fiction—he says there are no rules for real fiction (although he does concede there are techniques that are teachable).
WRITE AWAY
by Elizabeth George
How did the book help you as a writer? What overall aspects of it taught you something?
This book was full of useful lessons. Similarly to Maass, George gives clear instructions for writing a publishable novel by divulging the process she uses while writing her own novels. She provides applicable examples from contemporary works and many from her own. George places a strong emphasis on character development and as a result I began to really assess my own characters, deeply shaping each one, even the minutest.
What two or three major lessons did you learn that you can apply?
As mentioned above, George begins with character as she believes it is the most important aspect of the novel’s development. In this book there are many different lessons involving character that I have been able to apply to my own writing. Some examples are: give your characters flaws, allow them to doubt themselves, make them grow and change and put them into conflict; character is story/dialogue is character; characters are brought to life by the author’s complete knowledge of the character. George says she doesn’t allow a character to enter onto a page of the novel before she has done a complete write up of that character – who he is and his history (she does this as a free write). This lesson alone made reading this book worthwhile for me. I took her advice and through doing so feel I have really taken my characters to deeper levels.
George talks about providing readers with needed information as the novel unfolds. For example, she says not to stop the action to describe setting, but instead allow description of place and character to be part of the narrative (don’t interrupt the flow with description.) Similarly she teaches to open up the story as you go. Lay down, but don’t answer, dramatic questions, make partial disclosures, don’t give all the information you possess. In this way you create suspense, which in turn creates anticipation in the reader.
Similarly to George’s free write character sketches, she also creates an outline prior to writing any scene or chapter. Through this process she develops a purpose for each and every scene. She advises deciding in advance what your character wants from each scene, in order to give him an agenda. Also, she says, outlining in advance ensures that each scene either advances the plot or subplots, develops character, or addresses theme. Since utilizing this outlining method, I have found my writing to be far more focused; as George says, it has allowed me to focus on the art of writing because I’ve already focused on the craft of writing.
Was there anything in the book that obviously conflicted with lessons/readings in the novel writing program? If so, what?
I was unable to find any contradictions between George’s methods and what has been taught to us through the writing program.
Brittany Hughes
in Art and Life in Novel Writing
Posted
WRITING THE BREAKOUT NOVEL
by Donald Maass
How did the book help you as a writer? What overall aspects of it taught you something?
Each chapter breaks down a key element of the breakout novel. Essentially Maass offers an outline, followed by straight-forward detail, to writing a publishable novel. The book is simple and isn’t cluttered with poetic rhetoric just for poetry’s sake. In other words, Maass’ writing isn’t bogged down in fancy wordplay; instead he uses his time to clearly articulate what young writers need to know. If the writing of the breakout novel were a pool, I felt this book was the diving board. He asks the reader a lot of questions – like a self-assessment – that helped propel me into the writing process.
What two or three major lessons did you learn that you can apply?
Maass encourages the reader to raise the stakes: “The reason we care about a character in mortal danger is that we care about that character period†(p. 60). He talks about there being two levels of stakes, public and private. In order to raise the private stakes, I must allow the reader to know my protagonist as intimately as I do; but first I must know her. The stakes don’t only need to be raised for my characters but my setting as well, which Maass states has its own history. Viewing my novel in this light, I was able to see deeper into the stakes already at play for my characters because of those that are naturally found within my setting. Maass taught me that to draw readers in, to make them feel as passionately about my novel as I do, the world I create must be highly specific, so detailed that it becomes “all of America.â€
Maass states that the detailed makeup of time and place is more than just description of landscape and rooms. Writers of the breakout novel are able to capture people in an environment. He says that its physiological effect – how it makes people feel – is key, not how a place looks. Focus on the nouns and verbs, not the adjectives or adverbs. A truly helpful tip in regards to this is to deepen the effect of a place through point of view description: return to a previously established setting and show how a character’s perception of it has changed.
A third lesson I took away from this book is the importance of interwoven character relationships. Maass suggests taking underutilized characters and putting them to work. In my own novel, I needed someone to play the role of a doctor; instead of creating another small character, I decided to make Abe, my protag’s love interest, a doctor. Once I’d made this decision, his character grew into something far more important than I’d originally thought he would be. Maass states that by interweaving character relationships plot outcomes become dependent upon each other which naturally creates plot complications. Abe could have easily been a mechanic or a coal miner, but by making him a doctor he became more useful to the plot and depth of the story as well as the depth of the relationship with my protag.
Was there anything in the book that obviously conflicted with lessons/readings in the novel writing program? If so, what?
To me, Maass seems to put more weight in the story within the writer. On page 30 he says, “The story is there inside you, in all its complexity.†Although Author Salon may also believe writers have a specific story to tell, there is a stronger focus on the systematic approach to writing a novel.
THE WRITING LIFE
by Annie Dillard
How did the book help you as a writer? What overall aspects of it taught you something?
Dillard pulls no punches in describing the frustration and reality of the life of a full time writer. She does this by creating a narrative using examples of her own experience. This book helped better prepare me for the difficulty that will come with dedicating my life to writing, and further revealed to me the commitment necessary to accomplish my writing goals. Of course it also made me jealous of those who are at the point in their lives where they are able to make writing their full time commitment! While Maass’ book was written as an instructional guide to writing a publishable novel, Dillard’s provided a glimpse into the emotional journey of the writing life. It’s good for each of us as new writers to experience that sort of wakeup call moment.
What two or three major lessons did you learn that you can apply?
Dillard teaches not to be afraid of the delete key; she refers to it as tearing down the walls of the house (the words of the novel). She warns against wasting time trying to salvage the unsalvageable. Being able to erase something that took hours and hours to write is difficult. I find myself wedded to particular scenes, aspects of my plot, or characters, and even long after realizing something isn’t working, it can be scary to toss them. Tearing down these walls, Dillard says, takes courage.
“There is neither a proportional relationship, nor an inverse one, between a writer’s estimation of a work in progress and its actual quality†(p. 15). This sentence, possibly more than any other in the book, spoke to me. Dillard says that writers need to steer clear of indulging feelings of a writing’s magnificence or its abomination. I am always going to love my book, love my characters, love my setting more than any other because they are my creation; therefore, I cannot be the judge of the quality of the work and must approach the editing process as an outsider.
Dillard also teaches to write from first word to last. Prior to this course, I never followed that advice. I wrote when the inspiration would strike and I wrote whatever inspiration happened to throw my way, regardless of where the scene may fall within the novel. I started this course with only a premise. Through the course I developed an outline of my novel using the 6 Act, 2 Goal method and then began the writing process from the beginning and have been working my way through each act. I have resisted scene jumping and found that writing in this way has helped me stay focused.
Was there anything in the book that obviously conflicted with lessons/readings in the novel writing program? If so, what?
Dillard says that novels written with film contracts in mind “have a faint but unmistakable, and ruinous, odor.†She believes that the more literary a novel, the more desirable (why read a book versus go to a movie?) The program views the writing of the novel in a cinematic way (6 Act, 2 Goals, etc). That’s not to say we are taught in the program to write our novels for the purpose of trying to get a movie deal, because I haven’t interpreted it that way, but this is the only slight “conflict†I found.
THE ART OF FICTION
by John Gardner
How did the book help you as a writer? What overall aspects of it taught you something?
At times I found this book “muddy,†like I was wading through a clutter of words just searching for the points Gardner was trying to make. I did appreciate his dive into technical aspects of writing as it is always helpful to be reminded of what we were taught so long ago. His instruction to read widely and deeply encouraged me to assess my reading habits and force myself to read beyond my usual (rarely can you achieve effects much larger than the effects of books you’ve read and admired, he states), while his instruction to write continually, thoughtfully assessing and reassessing, pushed me to look at my writing habits and set aside meaningful time to write.
What two or three major lessons did you learn that you can apply?
“…a writer should make his characters’ world sensually available to a wide range of readers, knowing in advance that for many readers […], his characters’ experience will be beyond comprehension†(p. 44). This goes hand in hand with Maass’ idea to detail a setting so thoroughly that it becomes all of America. But Gardner is realistic in that you will never form a character, develop a plot line, or create a setting that is accessible to everyone, so just focus on making it as widely accessible as possible.
Gardner states that character, plot and setting must be shaped simultaneously. By connecting them, a world is created. In my own novel, I have strived to achieve this by developing characters that realistically would experience the plot as a result of their setting.
Gardner devotes a chapter of the book to common errors committed by beginning writers. I found many of these errors, which I took as warnings, particularly applicable and have been able to keep a watchful eye for them in my own writing. One example is insufficient detail and abstraction (use of the word “creatures†instead of “snakesâ€).
Was there anything in the book that obviously conflicted with lessons/readings in the novel writing program? If so, what?
Gardner favors the authorial-omniscient point of view: the narrator as God, moving through the minds of all the characters, unlike the writing program which prefers a blend between all four levels of third person point of view.
I also found contradiction between Gardner and Maass. While Maass gave an almost systematic/step-by-step approach to writing a publishable novel, Gardner states that art depends heavily on feeling, intuition and taste, and he calls “ordinary, easily publishable fiction†imitation fiction—he says there are no rules for real fiction (although he does concede there are techniques that are teachable).
WRITE AWAY
by Elizabeth George
How did the book help you as a writer? What overall aspects of it taught you something?
This book was full of useful lessons. Similarly to Maass, George gives clear instructions for writing a publishable novel by divulging the process she uses while writing her own novels. She provides applicable examples from contemporary works and many from her own. George places a strong emphasis on character development and as a result I began to really assess my own characters, deeply shaping each one, even the minutest.
What two or three major lessons did you learn that you can apply?
As mentioned above, George begins with character as she believes it is the most important aspect of the novel’s development. In this book there are many different lessons involving character that I have been able to apply to my own writing. Some examples are: give your characters flaws, allow them to doubt themselves, make them grow and change and put them into conflict; character is story/dialogue is character; characters are brought to life by the author’s complete knowledge of the character. George says she doesn’t allow a character to enter onto a page of the novel before she has done a complete write up of that character – who he is and his history (she does this as a free write). This lesson alone made reading this book worthwhile for me. I took her advice and through doing so feel I have really taken my characters to deeper levels.
George talks about providing readers with needed information as the novel unfolds. For example, she says not to stop the action to describe setting, but instead allow description of place and character to be part of the narrative (don’t interrupt the flow with description.) Similarly she teaches to open up the story as you go. Lay down, but don’t answer, dramatic questions, make partial disclosures, don’t give all the information you possess. In this way you create suspense, which in turn creates anticipation in the reader.
Similarly to George’s free write character sketches, she also creates an outline prior to writing any scene or chapter. Through this process she develops a purpose for each and every scene. She advises deciding in advance what your character wants from each scene, in order to give him an agenda. Also, she says, outlining in advance ensures that each scene either advances the plot or subplots, develops character, or addresses theme. Since utilizing this outlining method, I have found my writing to be far more focused; as George says, it has allowed me to focus on the art of writing because I’ve already focused on the craft of writing.
Was there anything in the book that obviously conflicted with lessons/readings in the novel writing program? If so, what?
I was unable to find any contradictions between George’s methods and what has been taught to us through the writing program.