Writing the Breakout Novel
by Donald Maass
List Price:
Our Price: $6.96
You Save: $10.03 (59%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $6.43 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Donald MaassEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2002-08-15
ISBN: 158297182X
Number of pages: 256
Publisher: Writers Digest Books
Book Reviews of Writing the Breakout Novel
Book Review: Where's the Breakout?
Summary: 3 Stars
I'm not sure why this book is so popular except for the possibility that most people who read it dream of using it as a set of instructions. However, it really isn't that. It's more like a chapter by chapter examination of the elements of novels,and they certainly aren't breakout novels to me--although the idea is that the breakout novel is written by an already published novelist and the way that real or imagined novelist goes 'to the next level,' whatever that is supposed to mean. As best as I can see it, that means selling more copies. From the way the author defines it, a breakout novel means writing a novel that is richer, more complex, more interesting novel where more is at stake than your previous novel. In other words, it explains how to write a novel so it mirrors the structure of a Hollywood film. This approach is so puerile, I started associating the idea of 'breakout' with acne, a better association as far as I'm concerned since what makes a novel a 'breakout' one seems to be the same things that lure young people into multiplexes & their home-based complements. One favorite breakout novel of the author's is 'The Bridges of Madison County.' If that's a breakout novel, I'd hate to read something that hasn't broken out.
The author claims to admire literary fiction and places some of it in this category, but this seems more a defensive strategy of stating, "See, I read Virginia Woolf too." However, given that the author does appreciate literary work, I'm not sure what that has to do with his premise. None of the modern examples he provides would fall into that category. Another breakout novel that is mentioned as exemplary is Memoirs of a Geisha. Maass doesn't mention that the author took ten years to write it. That's a long 'breaking out process.'
The author rehashes the idea that you need to know the world of your story intimately. If you need to know that, there's probably a lot of stuff you need to know before you know that. The author mentions 'Huck Finn' as a great novel; I agree with him there. He uses Twain as an example of an author that knew his subject. Read Twain's preface to the book, and you'll see he states that he is using six different Southern regional accents in the characters' dialogues. How many writers have that kind of ear--how many readers could discern it? Many page turners today are 'historical novels'; that's what they're called, and the author praises a number of them. I read "I, Claudius" by Robert Graves in high school, then again recently. THAT is a historical novel. I can't think of any I've tried to read since then that don't scream out 'artifice.' I would be interested to know what break-out novel novelist read this book before their break-out. And even if there are any, I really don't know how this book could help--unless it serves as a 'pep talk' perhaps.
Want to create a breakout novel? OK. Here it is quickly. Who is your main character and what is his/her conflict. Hmm...The character is a mail carrier. Well, make it more interesting. OK, the character is a mail carrier with a twin brother. What else? THe main character and the twin brother both share a secret. OK. The secret is that they fought as mercenary soldiers together in South Asia. We need MORE! OK, while in South Asia, they met two twin sisters whom they fell in love with. Yea? And the sisters are now in the U.S. illegally, living in an apartment in Baltimore and they are locked in with cases of Pringle potato chips and root beer. OK. And an international terrorist group that has dedicated itself to liberating captive twins is looking for both sets of twins for different reasons, of course: to kill one set and free the other set. OK. It turns out the twin brothers aren't twins at all. They just look like each other, or better yet, it's only one person that has a varied wardrobe. And you know that mailbag he carries around? You thought it contained mail! Ha! OK, you finish the rest.
Summary of Writing the Breakout Novel
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 share - regardless of genre - then shows you writing techniques that can make your own books stand out and succeed in a crowded marketplace.
You'll learn to:
- establish a powerful and sweeping sense of time and place
- weave subplots into the main action for a complex, engrossing story
- create larger-than-life characters that step right off the page
- explore universal themes that will interest a broad audience of readers
- sustain a high degree of narrative tension from start to finish
- develop an inspired premise that sets your novel apart from the competition
Then, using examples from the recent works of several best-selling authors - including novelist Anne Perry - Maass illustrates methods for upping the ante in every aspect of your novel writing. You'll capture the eye of an agent, generate publisher interest and lay the foundation for a promising career.
Art History Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Art History Books
Learn to Paint Oil Pastelsby Jacqueline Black
HarperCollins; Published: 1993-07-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $28.91
Oil Painting (Collins Artist's Guides)by ANGELA GAIR (EDITOR)
COLLINS; Published: 1998; Paperback; Book
Collins Artist's Guide: Making Pictures Pb (Artists Guides)by Angela Gair
Harpercollins; Published: 1997-07; Paperback; Book
Colour Mixing: Everything You Need to Know to Get Started (Collins Learn to Paint Series)by Judy Martin
HarperCollins UK; Published: 1998-06-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $699.99
Learn to Draw Dogs Pbby David Brown
Harpercollins; Published: 1996-02-08; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.95
Garfield Sits Around the House (Garfield (Numbered Paperback))by Jim Davis
Ballantine Books; Published: 1984-10-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.99
Sargent's Veniceby Richard Ormond, Warren Adelson
Yale University Press; Published: 2006-12-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $383.98
Farewell to an Idea: Episodes from a History of Modernismby Timothy J. Clark
Yale University Press; Published: 1999-03-11; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $35.10
Price in other shops:
Basquiat: A Quick Killing in Artby Phoebe Hoban
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 1999-09-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.94
Price in other shops:
The Illustrator in America: 1860-2000by Walt Reed
Collins Design; Published: 2003-07-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $339.10
Similar Books and other products
The Art of War for Writers: Fiction Writing Strategies, Tactics, and Exercisesby James Scott Bell
Writers Digest Books; Published: 2009-12-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.31
Price in other shops:
The Plot Whisperer: Secrets of Story Structure Any Writer Can Masterby Martha Alderson
Adams Media; Published: 2011-10-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.10
Price in other shops:
Stein On Writing: A Master Editor of Some of the Most Successful Writers of Our Century Shares His Craft Techniques and Strategiesby Sol Stein
St. Martin's Griffin; Published: 2000-01-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.73
Price in other shops:
Characters, Emotion & Viewpoint: Techniques and Exercises for Crafting Dynamic Characters and Effective Viewpoints (Write Great Fiction)by Nancy Kress
Writers Digest Books; Published: 2005-03-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.54
Price in other shops:
The Fire in Fiction: Passion, Purpose and Techniques to Make Your Novel Greatby Donald Maass
Writers Digest Books; Published: 2009-05-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.73
Price in other shops:
The First Five Pages: A Writer'S Guide To Staying Out of the Rejection Pileby Noah Lukeman
Touchstone; Published: 2005-01-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.88
Price in other shops:
The 90-Day Novel: Unlock the story withinby Alan Watt
The 90-Day Novel Press; Published: 2010-10-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.86
Price in other shops:
Writing the Breakout Novel Workbookby Donald Maass
Writers Digest Books; Published: 2004-06-14; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.24
Price in other shops:
Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, Second Edition: How to Edit Yourself Into Printby Renni Browne, Dave King
William Morrow Paperbacks; Published: 2004-04-13; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.90
Price in other shops:
Plot & Structure: (Techniques And Exercises For Crafting A Plot That Grips Readers From Start To Finish) (Write Great Fiction)by James Scott Bell
Writers Digest Books; Published: 2004-10-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.93
Price in other shops: