I finished last week’s book a couple of days late, but I’m still going to count it. It’s a book on writing by Hug0-award winning science fiction author Nancy Kress, and for anyone interested in writing stories in any genre, I’d highly recommend it.
Kress wrote this book back in the early 90s, after publishing six novels and a handful of short stories. She also taught creative writing, and from the calibre of her writing advice, that’s abundantly clear throughout the book. She tackles just about every aspect of story creation in a straightforward, methodical way, with a calm, almost motherly tone that is reassuring without being too heavy-handed. She picks apart just about every element that is essential to a good story, and explains how it all works in a way that is clear and makes sense.
Because this was written back in the 90s, there are some artifacts of traditional publishing that make the book feel dated. For example, the first few chapters focus on how to construct a beginning that will sell to an over-stressed, over-worked editor, with less of an emphasis on how to hook general readers. Aside from that, however, much of her advice is still quite applicable to today’s indie writers. The book’s main focus is on story, and good storytelling is important no matter which market you’re writing for.
The section on beginnings was a bit overwhelming, with so much “you must do this, you must not do this” kind of advice that it would probably kill my creativity if I were reading it as I was just starting a new book. However, the sections on middles and ends were quite insightful, and sparked a ton of great new ideas for my current project. Either way, her advice is spot on.
If you’re a new writer, I would recommend picking this book up after you’ve written a practice novel, or after you’ve finished a couple of short stories. If you’re already an experienced writer, I would still recommend it, because even if most of the advice isn’t new, it will help you see much more clearly how a good story comes together. It’s a short, easy read, but it’s so packed with good information that I’ll definitely reread it. Highly recommended.
