Review: Advice for all wannabe writers
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 08 11, 2013
Ray Johnson states in his opening chapter to this informative and very straightforward book on how to write a novel, 'I've been a ghost writer for a little over five years now, carving raw novel ideas into complete edible works. I've helped complete mystery, science fiction and romance novels and even dabbled in erotica. So I know about the frustration.' He has been in situation where structure is of paramount importance and that is one of the driving forces for sharing his experience and knowledge with us.He explains the four simple but powerful steps of the title: Finding Your Idea, Developing an Outline, Writing Your First Draft, and Rewriting and Editing. But he quickly adds that understanding the fundamentals of Plot, Characterization, Point of View, and Scene Construction are paramount before even thinking about writing your own novel. The bulk of this instruction guide is to elucidate the intricacies of each of these fundamentals (given with lessons and very fine examples) including dialogue with all the steps above.Once he has taken us through the process of writing the novel - and it is in the rewritten and edited stage - he then offers input on how to create a killer title, how to create a captivating cover, how to make your editor happy, and how to publish your book.  Is it work? Yes, of course, but Johnson's advice is presented in a very supportive fashion that seems a solid path to success. Grady Harp, August 13