I have been suffering writer’s block lately. I have tried to work on my novel but just can’t seem to get the ideas to come together. So, I checked out a couple of books. I have only just started the first one. It is called Writing Fiction Step by Step: An award-winning author leads you through more than 200 exercises enabling you to complete a story or novel. It is by Josip Novakovich. The exercises so far have really made me think. He has 14 chapters, each detailing a story element. Each chapter is full of 10-20 exercises. Each exercise has Purpose, Tip, and Check sections. He also shows how each element works in a story by giving examples from current and past literature.
He states early on, that the exercises needn’t be done in order. He does say that they are all connected and that you should connect several (if not all) of your exercises together to form scenes. He says “The exercises thus build upon each other, and once you have finished the book, you might have drafts of a dozen stories and outlines with a couple of chapters for a novel or two.”
So far, I have found several exercises that will help with my novel. I have gone though and copied down several that I intend to put in my writer’s journal. If anyone has any great books about writing, please let me know. I am always looking for books (and other resources).
Well, back to reading…
I actually just put up a post about dealing with writer’s block and I know exactly how frustrating it can be. I’ve been looking for a book like this to help me make some progress writing my novel. The way you review this book, it seems like it is a good resource and would be helpful to me. Thanks for the info, and good luck!
My post about writer’s block can be viewed here: http://creativityisdefiance.wordpress.com/2014/06/18/writers-block-flighting-idea-syndrome-and-other-pleasantries/
As someone who suffers from writer’s block, you might get a laugh out of it!
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I love your blog! Thanks so much for telling me about it. I also found the Daily Post through your blog. I am now following both. You are an awesome writer. Great blog! Is it alright if I re-post your writer’s block posts here?
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Thank you so much for checking it out, I’m really glad you enjoy it! And yes, feel free to repost! Thanks again! 🙂
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