The Marshall Plan for Novel Writing

by Evan Marshall

Book Overview

4TH EDITION - COMPLETELY REVISED & UPDATEDThe book that demystified novel writing for a massive audience, The Marshall Plan for Novel Writing, is the groundbreaking international bestseller that went... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0898798485
• ISBN13: 9780898798487
• Release Date: January 1998
• Publisher: Writer's Digest Books
• Length: 242 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Here is the novel's framework!

1) At work I'm constantly encountering situations where templates/spreadsheets made by someone else save me tons of time. At the most, all I need to do are minor revisions on the template to meet my specific business need. This book is exactly like that. This is a template, a formula, that lays out one (1) suggestion on how to put a novel together.2) This is not a book about how to write great dialogue or develope charasmatic characters(even though there are tips on how to get some of this accomplished). That is what all the other books on the market are for. This book is a blueprint, the scene by scene layout of your novel's plot structure. He gets as detailed as stating the order in which the first 15 scenes (he calls them sections) need to occur and what characters need to appear in those scenes and what in general terms need to happen.3) This is the first book I've read so far that talks about multiple subplots and how to handle them. Thank you Mr. Marshall!4) Normally when I take notes on a book, I find that only 10% of the book is the core of what the author is trying to teach. The other 90% are examples to support the 10%. Examples to win you over to the author's viewpoint/opinion or examples to help the reader understand the point and see a demonstration of that example. This book is just the opposite. Mr. Marshall is 90% core material and very little examples. He explains his points clear enough that if you've ever read other books on the craft of writing, then your mind grasps the concept and has already filled in the example.Yes, when you get to this level of granularity it both shows that novel writing isn't glamours and full of spontaneous creativity. On the other hand, the formula breaks such a project up that it becomes doable, like eating an elephant one bite at a time.

Fiction writing simplified

A plan for writing a novel that fits almost everyone? My first impulse was to snicker, even to hoot out loud. What type of story could someone hope to create following a formula designed to accomodate every major fiction genre out there?Yet I couldn't resist opening the book. After standing in the bookstore reading it for awhile, I knew it would go home with me, and I finished it that night (though it's destined to get read repeatedly!). Although I have written two complete novels, Evan Marshall's approach is so intriguing that I plan to adapt parts of it to my next novel. Why? Because my story lines are getting complex enough that I'm afraid I'll lose my balance, and his method of planning a book should keep the subplots and main plot flowing smoothly. So this book is helpful to more than beginning writers.Yet I think the Marshall Plan is absolutely wonderful for any would-be author who isn't quite sure how to get his or her ideas shaped into a novel. Using the plan, a novelist will keep the action moving, learn to interweave story lines, develop interesting characters, produce good dialogue, and avoid the dreaded mid-story sag. Plus learn how to wrap up the ending, write a query letter, get an agent and (hopefully) be published.Is Mr. Marshall teaching people how to write the Great American Novel? No, and I can think of several fine best-selling books that I've read in the past year that break many of the plan's guidelines. But this book will be very helpful to those who want to tell an entertaining tale that will be published. As an agent, Mr. Marshall knows what sells, and he sees where most budding novelists go wrong. Certainly his book is an excellent starting point, and probably more helpful to a beginner than anything else I've ever seen. I highly recommend this book.

A novel guide

I just had to thank Evan Marshall for giving me the opportunity to purchase The Marshall Plan for Novel Writing. It is a life-saver from beginning to end. Each step of the 16-step book gives suggestions and advice on how to. . . I have read this book many times and I am still amazed to find a chapter in Evan Marshall's Novel Writing to help me through that problem. For the little I paid for it, Marshall Plan for Novel Writing is as important to me as my dictionary, my thesaurus, or my word processor. I took a Creative Writing evening class and let others read the contents of the index. They liked what the book offered and bought copies as well. A while back I purchased Storycraft software. WHAT A WASTE OF MONEY. The Marshall Plan is available for a third of the price. I don't know if it's allowed to down Storycraft in this way but I wanted others to know. This 16-step program helped me decide the type of story I wanted to write, to how to finish a novel, along with how to write a query letter. Thanks a whole lot, Evan Marshall.

a goldmine for novelists of all skill levels

Marshall provides concrete, step-by-step instruction on structure, characterization, style, synopsis writing, self-editing, dealing with agents, and submission. His approach is pragmatic (he assumes you want to SELL your ms.) Someone else commented Marshall was "condescending" and his approach would stiffle creativity. But all art is based on craft. You have to know the rules and how to apply them before you can depart from them. While much of his advice is identical to, if not taken from, Dwight Swaim, he presents it more concisely. I've written three novels and learned many of Marshall's lessons the hard way. (Okay, and many of them I still needed to learn!) This is the most thorough, understandable, and easy-to-apply instruction book on fiction craft I've read (and I've read most of them). The chapter on self-editing is itself worth the price of the book. Follow his advice and you will produce a manuscript that is professional in style, content, and format. Don't think twice, buy it.

An exceptional guide to the art of novel writing.

As the author of two successful novels, I didn't think I could learn much from a book about novel writing. I was wrong. Even experienced writers will find much to learn from Evan Marshall's clear-cut advice on pacing, plot, and characterization. For new novelists, his 16-step plan provides the structure necessary to avoid common pitfalls and critical mistakes, as well as invaluable advice on marketing and selling the work. In short, Evan Marshall has succeeded where so many others have failed. The Marshall Plan transforms a complex, often overwhelming, task into an understandable process - one which, when infused with creativity and talent, will result in a superior novel.