PDF Elements of Fiction Writing Conflict and Suspense James Scott Bell 0035313653513 Books
Download As PDF : Elements of Fiction Writing Conflict and Suspense James Scott Bell 0035313653513 Books
Ramp up the tension and keep your readers hooked! Inside you'll find everything you need to know to spice up your story, move your plot forward, and keep your readers turning pages. Expert thriller author and writing instructor James Scott Bell shows you how to craft scenes, create characters, and develop storylines that harness conflict and suspense to carry your story from the first word to the last.
Learn from examples of successful novels and movies as you transform your work from ho-hum to high-tension.
- Pack the beginning, middle, and end of your book with the right amount of conflict.
- Tap into the suspenseful power of each character's inner conflict.
- Build conflict into your story's point of view.
- Balance subplots, flashbacks, and backstory to keep your story moving forward.
- Maximize the tension in your characters' dialogue.
- Amp up the suspense when you revise.
PDF Elements of Fiction Writing Conflict and Suspense James Scott Bell 0035313653513 Books
"If you write, you NEED this book. Following the advice improved my writing dramatically. Even if you only write for yourself or are not a published author or ARE a published author (except if you ARE James Scott Bell, hehe), you will be much happier with your work following the instructions in this book. James Scott Bell knows his profession and how to make the most of your manuscript. I have 'Plot and Structure' and 'Revision and Self Editing', both invaluable as well. I may have others but those two are off the top of my head."
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Elements of Fiction Writing Conflict and Suspense James Scott Bell 0035313653513 Books Reviews :
Elements of Fiction Writing Conflict and Suspense James Scott Bell 0035313653513 Books Reviews
- This is a book about the stuff that keeps readers reading. Without conflict there is no hindrance to a character achieving his or her goal, and thus no story. Suspense is a lack of clarity about what comes next that spurs the reader to keep exploring. Bell defines conflict and suspense, and then explores the various means by which these crucial features are conveyed in stories. I say in stories, but Bell is predominantly speaking to novelists with this book.
The book is divided into two unequal parts. The first, and larger, consists of fourteen chapters about conflict. The first few chapters describe conflict and how it is set up. Then Bell examines how the many dimensions of writing can be manipulated to fire up the tension, including point of view, openings, subplots and flashbacks, dialogue, theme, style, and even editing. Chapter 14 suggests some tools that writers may employ to help them ratchet up the conflict.
The second, and shorter, part (8 chapters) delves into the topic of suspense. The organization follows a similar progression. First, Bell describes suspense through many potent examples. Second, he moves onto examine the various means by which suspense can be created. With respect to the latter, Bell suggests ways in which dialogue, setting, and style can be presented in order to create cliff-hangers. The last chapter pulls everything together to advise writers on the how to create stories that maximize conflict and suspense. This is in part a summary of the book, but it looks at the process more and the dimensions of writing less, and therefore offers something new as well.
Readers of Bell’s other guides may be familiar with the LOCK formulation that he uses in his “Plot & Structure†book. LOCK is an acronym for Lead (an intriguing opening), Objective (a goal of dire consequence), Confrontation (the battle for the objective), and Knock-out Ending (a conclusion that satisfies.) I mention this because one may find synergy in reading other books in the series. LOCK is not as central a concept here as in the “Plot & Structure†book, but it’s nice to have a common mechanism by which ideas are conveyed.
There’s not much by way of ancillary material. There are a few simple black and white graphics / diagrams. However, there is one nice feature in the form of an Appendix that analyzes conflict for two novels “To Kill a Mockingbird†and “Silence of the Lambs.†These were good choices both because they represent literary as well as commercial fiction, and because they both have popular movie adaptations. The latter comment might seem like sacrilege to the “the book always beats the movie†crowd. However, using movies as examples—as Bell does here and there—offers the advantage that the average reader will have seen a higher percentage of good movies than they’ve read good books. This is even true for most us who read a ton because relatively few (if any) great movies come out each year and the history of cinema is much shorter.
I both enjoyed and learned from this book. Bell uses many excellent examples to support the ideas that he’s presenting, and this makes the book readable and easily digestible. I’d recommend it for writers of fiction who seek to put more zip into their creations. - James Scott Bell's Plot & Structure (Techniques And Exercises For Crafting A Plot That Grips Readers From Start To Finish) (Write Great Fiction) is one of the best how-to books on writing I've ever read. He's easy and fun to read with a good mix of motivation and creative solutions to specific or general issues. This new book, Conflict and Suspense, shares a lot of the same stuff that made Plot and Structure great--and therein lies the book's flaw. If you own both books, you will find far too much information overlap, like Bell only bothered to write half a book.
The new information is definitely helpful for writing conflict and suspense, but not as essential. Bell's step-by-step how to write a novel "LOCK" system from Plot and Structure is reprinted here in its entirety. If you're only going to buy one how-to write (any type of fiction) book, even if you want to write action or suspense, I'd still go for Plot and Structure first every time. Why? Because of its broader focus. It covers a lot more situations. It''s like a toolbox, whereas this book is more of a specialized wrench set. They do complement each other and go hand-in-hand, so if you don't mind the information overlap and just want more good insights and advice from Bell, then get this book, too. Just know you're only getting maybe half a book's worth of new stuff.
Again, the new stuff here is very good, some of it quite brilliant, and there are enough "aha!" gems to make it worth adding to your collection . . . just maybe not for full price. My 4-star rating reflects that. - If you write, you NEED this book. Following the advice improved my writing dramatically. Even if you only write for yourself or are not a published author or ARE a published author (except if you ARE James Scott Bell, hehe), you will be much happier with your work following the instructions in this book. James Scott Bell knows his profession and how to make the most of your manuscript. I have 'Plot and Structure' and 'Revision and Self Editing', both invaluable as well. I may have others but those two are off the top of my head.
- Good tips for including conflict and suspense in your fiction writing. I read this book after finishing Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. After reading some of Bell's suggestions on increasing suspense, I realized that Collins used some of the techniques Bell recommends to increase tension and suspense in Catching Fire (which is a book that I really enjoyed). There were some suggestions that were not my cup of tea, but there was more good suggestions than bad.
If you want to improve your fiction writing, I would recommend Stephen King's On Writing and this book. To be fair though, I have done a minimal amount of writing.
