Product Description

Professional editor and author Elizabeth Lyon offers aspiring novelists the guidance and instruction they need to write and edit well-crafted and compelling stories that will stand out from the competition and attract the attention of agents and publishers, including:

- Stand-out style techniques, from accessing an authentic voice to applying techniques of "wordsmithing" that transform prose
- How to rewrite characterization for dimensionality, a universal need, and theme
- Adjustment suggestions to match the prose style and structure of specific genres
- Correct grammar, punctuation, spelling, and style
- Strategies to strengthen story beginnings and endings
- Methods for increasing plot stakes, creating movement, and adjusting pace for maximum suspense

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #33346 in Books
• Published on: 2008-04-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 368 pages

About the Author
Elizabeth Lyon is a mentor, editor, and popular writing instructor. She's contributed to The Writer and Writer's Digest.

Customer Reviews

Actually useful
I've tried several of these books about editing or otherwise improving your fiction manuscript and am usually disappointed, but this one is actually useful. I've long said there should be a straightforward book that teaches what can otherwise take years of study of the market, publishing in general and the different types of fiction. This appears to be it.

Many new (and not so new) writers have little knowledge of the basics of writing a novel. The same 'beginner' mistakes are seen over and over, even with talented writers. Once past that hurdle (which can take years), few know what type of writing they do, so don't know how to effectively refine and market a completed work. Ms. Lyon addresses these issues in a no-nonsense style that gets the point across without preaching or talking down to the reader. Her examples are clear and get the point across. She is obviously well read herself, current on publishing trends and has a good eye for what works and what doesn't.

I've read well-known books that give such poor examples the lessons are rendered useless. In one book, the examples of what not to do are laughably awful. No one would ever make such mistakes, so the lesson is ineffective. In another, the examples of what not to do are from Pulitzer Prize winning novels. Hellooo! Then these egotistical authors, who shall remain anonymous, have the audacity to rewrite the excerpts to show how they should have been done. That was not useful in the extreme. I was unable to finish either of those books because I lost respect for the authors.

On the other hand, Ms. Lyon sites successful authors who are known for the quality she is describing and demonstrates with positive examples.

While some information in the book is fairly basic, some is pretty sophisticated, so all levels of writers can find value. The book is extensive and covers many subjects. Ms. Lyon understands that there are different writing styles and offers information that will speak to those different styles, often with 'if you are this type of writer, skip to Chapter x', saving the reader from slogging through information that wouldn't apply to them.

Overall, I was very impressed with the quality of this work and wish it had been available years ago. It definitely shortens the learning curve.

Got Manuscript? Get this Book!
Elizabeth Lyon's book is a wonderful tool for editing, light on theory and full of technique and examples. It is easily the best book I have read on revision with specific suggestions on all aspects of fiction writing.

Lyon writes both for planners and seat-of-the-pants-ers, with thoughts on structure, style, characterization, and punctuation and syntax. Her style is conversational, clear and supportive. Her examples come from contemporary literature rather than from movies or television, and she assumes that the reader has a manuscript in process. Her book has many good suggestions for creating a first draft, but that is not her focus.

Each chapter has a handy summary-checklist to keep the reader on track with revision. The book is designed to be used as a reference, so that the reader is directed to the chapters which deal with specific approaches and specific difficulties.

Lyon is careful to discuss pitfalls of any approach to writing, such as advantages and disadvantages of single point of view, dual points of view, and author intrusions. She discusses the differences in structure between the hero's journey, as described by Joseph Campbell and the heroine's journey described by Maureen Murdock, and how each fits into a different genre and approach to storytelling.

If you have a manuscript, you need this book now. If you are still thinking about writing, this book will save you hours of revisions later.

Well worth owning
The first two chapters of this book by themselves are worth the purchase price. Ms. Lyon offers revision techniques which are specific enough to be helpful without being overwhelming. The brief checklists at the end of each chapter sum up her suggestions so you can avoid having to thumb through the entire book repeatedly.

I am keeping this one as a reference. It is not a one-time only read.