Product Description

How do widely published authors keep their stories burning hot? Learn how to supercharge every story with deep conviction and, conversely, turn fiery passion into effective story. The Fire in the Fiction shows you not only how to write compelling stories filled with interesting settings and vivid characters, but how to do it over and over again. With examples drawn from current novels, this inspiring guide shows you how to infuse your writing with life.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #16240 in Books
• Published on: 2009-05-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781582975061
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

About the Author
Donald Maass is president of the Donald Maass Literary Agency in New York, which he founded in 1980. He represents more than 100 fiction writers and sells more than 100 novels per year to top publishers in America and overseas.

Customer Reviews

The Next Chapter
This is a worthy third volume to add to the shelf next to Writing the Breakout Novel and The Breakout Novel Workbook. No, not next to: between. If you think of the original Breakout as a bachelor's degree in fiction writing, the Workbook is a PhD. However, The Fire in Fiction is more like a master's degree. It goes a bit beyond Breakout, but is not as in-depth and overwhelming as the Workbook. Some of the material is a repeat of Breakout, but with all new examples taken from recently published fiction.

The most important reason I like this book is the tone. So many how-to books focus on the negative. Maass isn't interested in what can go wrong so much as he is interested in what can--and does--go right. His sincere desire to help writers comes through on every page. Here is a quote from page 55, discussing revision of the chapters in the middle of novels.

"The purpose of this chapter, though, is not to set rules for scene triage, but rather to illuminate why middle scenes rock when they do. Once you have that understanding, it's my hope that revision will get easier and, for the majority of your scenes, may prove unnecessary."

He then goes on to show you successful examples so that you, too, can write fiction with fire.

Advanced Techniques for Fiction Writing
"THE FIRE IN FICTION--Passion, Purpose and Techniques" is a sophisticated workbook for revising fiction drafts. The reviewer who wrote that it's "not as in-depth" as Maass's earlier workbook is mistaken. On the contrary, "The Fire in Fiction" highlights advanced exercises, aptly titled "Practical Tools," at the end of each chapter that deepen and build on the foundational exercises of his earlier workbook.

Having recently studied Donald Maass's three books in the order they were published -- "Writing the Breakout Novel"; "Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook"; and "The Fire in Fiction: Passion, Purpose and Techniques" -- I have to disagree with the same reviewer's odd classification: "If you think of the original Breakout as a bachelor's degree in fiction writing, the Workbook is a PhD. However, The Fire in Fiction is more like a master's degree."

The first chapter, "Protagonist vs. Heroes," includes exercises such as: "Is your protagonist an ordinary person? Find in him any kind of strength. Work out a way for that strength to be demonstrated within your protagonist's first five pages. Is your protagonist a hero--that is, someone who is already strong? Find in him something conflicted, fallible, humbling, or human. Work out a way for that flaw to be demonstrated within your protagonist's first five pages. Revise your character's introduction to your readers. Be sure to soften the flaw with self-awareness or self-deprecating humor." Examples cited are excerpts from novels by Chuck Palahuniak's "Choke" (2001); Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"(2006); Charles Frazier's "Thirteen Moons (2006); and Ethan Canin's "America America" (2008) among others.

The second chapter, "Characters Who Matter," suggests exercises such as: "Find five ways and times at which your antagonist will directly engage your protagonist. Create four actions that will make your antagonist warm and sympathetic." Illustrations include excerpts from Russell Banks's "The Reserve" (2008) and Charles Baxter's "The Soul Thief."

Some of the most instructive exercises are in Chapter 8, "Tension All the Time": exercises on creating tension on every page -- in dialogue, action, exposition.

Throughout, Maass presents excerpts from genre fiction like Jim Butcher's "White Night" (2007) as well as stellar literary novels like Nick Hornby's "How to be Good" (2001), Marilynne Robinson's "Gilead" (2004), E.L. Doctorow's "The March" (2005), Gary Shteyngart's "Absurdistan" (2006), Christopher Buckley's "Boomsday" (2007), and Don DeLillo's "Falling Man" (2008).

Five shining stars for Donald Maass's "Fire in Fiction." -- C J Singh

Another Great writing book from Maass
I'm only 3/4 of the way through this writing book, but Maass has again delivered great advice on raising the level of your writing. I refer to his "Writing the Breakout Novel" as I'm preparing each new proposal to help me sharpen my plot, but this new book by Maass may become my go-to book for sharpening the story during the writing itself. I got some great ideas to implement in my WIP.