Novelists Boot Camp: 101 Ways to Take Your Book From Boring to Bestseller

Novelists Boot Camp: 101 Ways to Take Your Book From Boring to Bestseller
By Todd Stone


Product Description
It's time to plan and execute a writing strategy that's in sync with your ultimate mission objective: getting published.

In Novelist's Boot Camp, author Todd A. Stone, a former assistant professor at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, draws on his experience as novelist, writing instructor, and military officer to help get you and your writing into tip-top shape.

This boot-camp-in-a-book includes 101 carefully crafted drills designed to show you how to:

• Identify and develop story ideas with laser-like perception
• Create realistic "alpha" characters who can take charge of any scene
• Know what motivates your protagonist's enemy so that you can amp up the conflict
• Outline your story to avoid sneak attacks from flawed plot twists
• Dodge the land mines of bad writing like Deadly Modifier Buildup (DMBU)
• Triage your scenes to ensure a thorough and precise revision process

Plus, there's a twelve-week boot camp battle plan that you can use to stay the course and finish your novel.

Novelist's Boot Camp provides you with all the ammunition you need to approach your work with dedication, confidence, and skill. Now, report for duty and start writing that bestseller!


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Product Details
Amazon Sales Rank: #74610 in Books
Published on: 2006-03-11
Number of items: 1
Binding: Hardcover
320 pages

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Customer Reviews
Excellent Book
Having a small to medium collection of "How-To-Write" books, I can say that this is easily one of the better ones. With focused exercises that put your creativity in gear and your mind focused for the task at hand (write a book) this is one book that an author should not be without.

There is certainly some justified criticism with this book, chiefly that some aspects of writing are only briefly mentioned and some aspects are simplified. However, this is more than compensated by the books' strengths. This book will help a budding author kick bad habits, ideally before they have a chance to form, such as:

1. Reviewing material already written before continuing a draft
2. Revising a draft before it's done
3. Writing in the margins of a book when researching (get yourself a
notebook! It's easier, more efficient and it makes it a lot easier to
keep your notes straight!)
4. At the risk of possibly lifting some of the wording from the book,
using dialogue to provide back story instead of what it should only be
used for: A tool or weapon for characters to use to fight for what
they want.

At the end of each exercise (or "drill") there is a handy key that refers the reader to similar "drills," making cross-referencing and finding similar concepts that apply to other areas of writing that much easier. This is definitely something other authors who write books on writing should take to heart.

Stone also outlines how to make several writing aids that help an up-and-rising author to have a tangible source of information while they draft. I am working on an epic length novel, and using Stone's writing aids is proving to be a big help in keeping my characters and plot straight. Having everything mapped out before beginning the draft is a good way to ensure that writers block is never a problem.

This is certainly not the "end-all, be-all" book on writing, given the sparse material on many aspects of writing, but I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who is having a hard time writing or never has written but wants to know how to do it.

A Military Mindset
Those with military experience will notice Mr. Stone's Novelist's Boot Camp feels and smells like memorandum books--a clever marketing ploy. It returned nostalgia to me, and I bought the book after scanning a few passages.

I'm glad I did.

Overall, the work displays insight and spot-on techniques. These include discussion on planning, character, dialogue, description, and overall editing. Again for military, current and former, this book will sing to you. The wording and phrases feel familiar and comfortable. For civilians, the pacing and layout could distract. Nonetheless, your writing will still benefit.

On that, I can recommend the book.

Wolfe


Great Book Great motivator
This book tells you how to stay focused and write. How to motivate yourself and make game plans. Outlining, scene, description, story elements its all here. Its no nonsense and to the point and its written in a down to earth way. One thing it does say, if you want to write, then do it. Its a great motivator.