Tagged: literature
Small Medium At Large by Joanne Levy
Image Courtesy of Goodreads
Synopsis: Lilah is your average Seventh Grader…until she is struck by lightning at her mother’s wedding. While Lilah is thankful to be alive, she’s in for a surprise; she can hear ghosts. Specifically Bubby Dora is always in Lilah’s ears, enlisting her help to find Martin (Lilah’s dad) a new girlfriend.
How on earth is a Seventh Grader supposed to help her dad get back into the dating world, crush on Andrew Finkel and talk to dead people? Lilah is about to find out…
Reader Suggestion Week
I love reviewing books and ranting about books, but The Mad Reviewer would not be possible without you guys, my amazing readers. Although I do my own thing most of the time, I love hearing from you about how I could improve the site. Do you want to see more rants? Do you want me to review a particular genre more often or do you think there’s a certain series I should check out? Is there any way I could improve the site layout or make navigation easier?
Well, you’ll all have a chance to have your say! Because this week, from Sunday, September 16 until Sunday, September 23, you’ll be able to ask me about something or suggest something new or something that needs to be improved upon. Of course, I welcome suggestions at all times, but a ‘Reader Suggestion Week’ makes things more official.
If you have any suggestions or questions about the site, you can comment below and I’ll respond to your question as well as I can.
My First 20four12 Guest Post
Today I’m posting over at 20four12 and this time I’m reviewing a zombie book that isn’t really a zombie book. What to know what I mean? Go on over and check out Autumn by David Moody. You won’t regret it, I can promise you that.
Farewell to We Heart Reading
As you probably don’t know, last Wednesday was my last day posting over at We Heart Reading. I know my ‘resignation’ is pretty sudden and you’re probably all asking yourselves why did I quit, but I’m going to keep things brief:
1. I want to focus on my own blog more.
2. In September I’ve taken on a lot of projects, most notably my collaboration with Mark of The Masquerade Crew on his first anthology. My role as developmental (content) editor will take up a lot of my time and the fact is that guest posting regularly takes a lot more time than just posting on my blog. Both Mark and I are hoping that there will be more anthologies in the future, so to put it bluntly: editing pays and guest posting doesn’t. I am human and would like to make a little extra money, so I feel that my energy is better spent on paying work than on We Heart Reading.
3. It wasn’t meeting my expectations. I’m a perfectionist and when things don’t turn out, I often lose interest in them. This is no one’s fault but my own. We Heart Reading hasn’t turned out nearly as well as I thought it would; it was just not a good fit for a control freak like myself. However, for non-control freak book reviewers I would highly recommend joining it. It’s a great place to build a community of book reviewers and fellow book lovers.
Even though I’m saying ‘addio’ to We Heart Reading, that doesn’t mean I’m saying farewell to guest posting in general. It’s just that I will be guest posting less frequently, as in once every two weeks. But more on that later.
For now, just know that I will no longer be posting at We Heart Reading, but I will still do everything I can to help the site out. It was a great place to meet fellow book reviewers and book lovers and I’m going to miss it.
Writing the Popular Novel by Loren D. Estleman
(Cover picture courtesy of Amazon.)
Writing great fiction is, quite simply, hard work. It requires dedication to the craft, hours of thought and research, attention to detail and sentence structure, a clear understanding of the submission process, and so much more. In Writing the Popular Novel, Pulitzer Prize-nominee and award-winning author Loren D. Estleman draws on his vast experience to teach you the awareness and skills you need to turn your efforts into a rewarding, exciting experience.
Estleman offers invaluable instruction on the craft behind writing commercial fiction and provides you with a smart, honest look at today’s competitive publishing industry. This thorough guide features:
- A detailed overview of literary genres with information on how to decide which one is right for you.
- Instruction on how to conduct research and how to make the leap from research to writing.
- An in-depth look at dialogue, point of view, and other writing techniques.
- Tips on how to know who your target audience is and how to deliver a story that will keep them reading.
- A look at more than twenty opening lines from popular novels, with ideas on how to create your own.
- Advice on working with agents and editors to develop a successful, long-term career.
At once thoughtful and engaging, Writing the Popular Novel provides new and experienced writers with an unmatched resource for writing and selling their fiction!
Writing the Popular Novel was the first book on writing I ever picked up and I’m glad it was because it remains one of the best ones I’ve ever read. It’s comprehensive, concise, and gives practical advice on dealing with rejection from agents and editors.
One of the things modern writers (especially self-published ones) may not like is Loren Estleman’s views on self-publishing. But you have to take into account that this book was written in 2004, before self-published writers had access to all of the great resources that are out there now. More people are becoming accepting of self-publishing (myself included), but things weren’t nearly always like that. Self-published authors are still looked on with disdain now, but it’s not nearly as bad as it was in 2004, or even 2009.
Other than his little spiel about self-publishing, Writing the Popular Novel is just as relevant today as it was in 2004. Loren Estleman explains the five different points of view authors may use, how to write believable dialogue, using an outline, writing the climax of your novel and so many more practical things authors should learn about. He also debunks some of the most prevalent and annoying myths that frequently crop up in fiction, especially ones about guns. As someone who grew up in a rural area, I find myself laughing until I cry at some gun scenes in novels and short stories. Please don’t be the author that makes me do this; I (and other reviewers) will call you out on your faulty research.
With an entertaining style and practical, relevant advice, I would recommend Writing the Popular Novel to any writers, both new and experienced, traditionally published or self-published. If you’re going to buy only one book on writing, this should be the one.
I give this book 4.5/5 stars.
*Unfortunately, it’s out of print right now so you’ll have to pick up a used book or see if it’s been made into an ebook.