Writing the Breakout Novel

by Donald Maass

Book Overview

Take your fiction to the next level Maybe you're a first-time novelist looking for practical guidance. Maybe you've already been published, but your latest effort is stuck in mid-list limbo. Whatever the case may be, author and literary agent Donald Maass can show you how to take your prose to the next level and write a breakout novel - one that rises out of obscurity and hits the best-seller lists. Maass details the elements that all breakout novels...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 158297182X
• ISBN13: 9781582971827
• Release Date: August 2002
• Publisher: Writer's Digest Books
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.96 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.9" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Writing the Breakout Novel

Donald Maass gives a course in how to turn a good story into a breakout novel. He doesn't give advice on how to craft beautiful prose in the mode of Marquez or Naipaul. He's not teaching how to write the next To Kill a Mockingbird. He doesn't even attempt to supplant the craft as taught by the Iowa Writer's Workshop. What he writes about is turning a good story into a commercial success. Like his advice, it's straightforward and a bit formulaic, but why would you pick this book up with the title, How to Write the Breakout Novel, if you didn't want advice on commercial success? That'd be silly if you ask me. Maass knows the market as one of the top agents in publishing and as a successful novelist. He's given advice to his clients and it's propelled them to the top of the Bestseller List. Sure he uses personal examples and touts his client list, but it's an impressive client list, believe me. I don't like all the books he uses as examples, but that's personal choice and my choice hasn't impacted sales numbers at all. I found his advice on Theme to be really good. To be honest, I hadn't considered starting with a theme and working to craft around something which resonates with the reader simply and clearly. I know all great stories integrate theme, but I didn't really understand that it could be a conscious thing on the part of the writer. Maybe that's my own naivety, but that's why I'm reading self-help books. It's completely changed the way I'm writing my next story. The Checklist style construction makes recollection of what each chapter covered simple. Want to know what it covers? Here are the contents: Why Write the Breakout Novel Premise Stakes Time and Place Characters Plot Contemporary Plot Techniques Multiple Viewpoints, Subplots, Pace, Voice, and Endings Advanced Plot Structures Theme Breaking Out Read each and every one. I found value throughout the book. - CV Rick

Worth the time and the money, despite some drawbacks

OK, so I will first start with the drawbacks. They're basically what the unsatsified reviewers of this prduct said - Maas likes to talk about himself and isn't shy about using this book to promote himself and his clients. A little annoying but BIG DEAL! This book was extremely helpful. I've read many books on writing before. All are useful in their own way, but this one was useful through and through. Each chapter offered something important. The major contribution of this book was getting me to think BIGGER. To see the novel as an orchestra and to consider what I wanted the final product to look like and how to achieve it. It was also helpful how he reviewed different book and what it was about them that was successful. Read this book and every now and then look inside and consider whether you're following all the suggestions he offers. Writing a great novel (breakout novel) is more work, true, and with this book he helps you figure out just what work it is that needs to be done. I can't see a book being bad if it follows all of the criteria.

Excellent Resource for Strong Writing

Don't be deluded by the title of this book. It's a dynamite resource for strong writing--whether or not you're interested in writing a breakout novel. Mr. Maass's insights and suggestions are excellent, presented in an easy-to-digest manner, and translate easily to your current manuscript-in-progress. While the book deals with novels, the concepts presented are also valuable to short story authors and to nonfiction writers. In my humble opionion, all writers can benefit greatly from this book.There aren't many books on writing I haven't studied, but I recommend very few. This one will be on the Recommended Reading List I distribute at Creative Writing seminars, lectures, and workshops I conduct, and to those writers who are active in my Aids4Writers program.

Five Stars Aren't Enough

These days, anyone can publish a novel. Publishing a successful novel is another matter entirely. Are you ready to breakout? A breakout novel will have you bypassing the midlist blues. But your novel must contain certain key elements. Writing the Breakout Novel details those elements and identifies why it's so crucial for authors to think out of the literary box. Published authors tired of watching book sales go nowhere as well as first-time novelists wanting to make an impact on their writing career will both benefit from this writing resource. Some of the many breakout facets this book examines are: * Raising the Stakes in Your Writing * Time and Place * Larger-Than-Life Characters * Plot Structure * Character-Driven Stories * Multiple Viewpoints * Successful Subplots * Theme Building * Breakout PublishingAfter each chapter, you'll find a checklist summarizing the requirements you should include in your own novel. You'll also find real-life examples from current breakout novels like Barbara Kingsolver's "The Poisonwood Bible," Thomas Harris' "The Silence of the Lambs," Nicholas Sparks' "The Notebook" and so many more. To attract literary agents and major publishing houses, your novel must stand apart from your fellow writers. If you're ready to take your writing to the next level, "Writing the Breakout Novel" is a vital addition to your writing career

The Truth, simply put

If I could, I would give this book ten stars. I am in the midst of writing my first novel, (truth be told I've started 1,000), and I am reading this book simultaneously. I read "On Writing" by Stephen King, and that has some great advice, "Don't use adverbs" and "Kill your darlings" to name a few tenets. However, in reading "Writing the Breakout Novel" I found myself questioning the plot I'm working on, questioning my characters, and with about 5 minutes of thought, bringing something to my book that makes it 200,000% better. Even though I feel like I've got an interesting story, Maass's advice helped me to make it matter. I've found myself rooting for my characters, adding dimension, changing some outcome. All in all, I feel like Maass and Stephen King are standing over my shoulders going, "What about this? and that?" King's book inspired me, Maass's book challenges me. Unlike the plots that I've tried before, this one grips me, keeps me writing. If I get stuck, Maass helps me through it. Unlike some instructional writers, Maass injects passages from successful authors and books to illustrate his point. The reader can easily decipher what he means, and see it in a variety of writing styles. Maass is telling the truth, and the truth will revolutionize your writing.