Break Into Fiction = Awesome!

I wasn’t planning on a blog post for today, but I just couldn’t keep quiet about this. Generally, I have a love/hate relationship with writing books. I buy them, start reading them, only to stop reading them for…whatever reason.  Not that I don’t like them. Not that they aren’t teaching me something.  I really don’t know why.  It’s just a bad habit. 

But a few days ago, I received a writing book in the mail which I WILL finish.  Probably fairly quickly.  It’s nothing short of amazing! 

Break Into Fiction: 11 Steps to Building a Story that Sells, by Mary Buckham (fellow Pacific NW writer!) and Dianna Love, is the byproduct of a workshop they’ve been giving around the country for quite a while now.  A friend had taken it and swears that workshop is the reason she finally snagged an agent.  I wouldn’t be at all surprised if that was the case. It’s that good.

Their secret? Plotting through Character.  The best stories (popular fiction anyway) are the best because of the characters.  We pick up commercial fiction books because we love connecting with the characters and seeing/reading about their growth through the course of a book.  Break into Fiction guides writers through plotting through getting to know their characters. 

There are 11 (I think) templates to fill out (NOT character sketches), each getting to know your character more and more, and as you do so, discovering where your book needs to go in order to fulfill the character arc you have planned out. 

I really have to recommend this book!  I’m loving what I’m discovering.  Check it out!

Tagged as: books, nonfiction, reviews, writing, writing books