Writing the breakout novel pdf download

False success at the end of a scene also suggests a coming disaster. Readers are wise to certain authorial tricks. A rise is likely to precipitate a fall. Instead of clarifying, the next sentence after these is about another subject. Do not worry. You cannot go too far wrong if your focal character is strong, your central conflict is clear and established early, and the main plotline always strides forward and is rarely more than a scene or two away.

Work with solid plot fundamentals in this way and your story probably will maintain its drive of its own accord. Maass mentions a book. Breakout novels sprawl. If not long, they generally are lavish in other ways: depth of character, setting detail, theme and so on. It sounds like they need an editor to tell them what to throw, add, etc. What makes our time - this very moment in history - similar to or different from any other? And in what stage of its life? Find the moments in the story that delineate that distinction, detail them from a prevailing point of view, and you will be on your way to enhancing your novel with a sense of the times.

A setting cannot live unless it is observed in its pieces and particulars. A place is the sum of its parts. The emotions that it evokes are most effective when they are specific, better still, when they are unique. Swearing language: none. Sexual content: none. Copyright: Genre: nonfiction, how to write. I gave 5 stars to both of them. View all 13 comments. There are obvious reasons why adding this title is embarrassing.

But, the book is not what you think. Maass is a writer and agent with several decades of experience, and he uses that to explain why some books work and some don't. He analyzes both commercial and literary fiction. He's basically interested in any book that reaches a wide audience and why, regardless of its categorization.

This book worked for me because it coalesced a year's worth of reading, writing, taking apart books, and workshop There are obvious reasons why adding this title is embarrassing.

This book worked for me because it coalesced a year's worth of reading, writing, taking apart books, and workshops on structure, novel, and plot. Maass goes over how to create compelling characters, plot and subplot, theme, etc. Also, I'd like to address some easy misconceptions and points other reviewers have made.

Maass is not discounting hard work. He's not saying a person can spit out a novel in a month. He acknowledges that novel writing requires practice and years of work. This book doesn't contain formulas, either. However, Maass does show how a successful career novelist must write many books.

He tracks several novelist's careers and demonstrates how they build audiences usually after amassing a body of work. He argues for writing an excellent book and another and another and another and so on.

So for the rare authors who are able to live off of writing, they haven't done it with the first book; they've spent years writing books before they're able to retire from their day jobs and devote themselves to full-time writing. Jun 23, G. Eckel rated it it was amazing. The writing in this book is marvelous. By that, I mean the style is smooth, sophisticated and flowing. It makes me guess that the craft of writing must really be valued at Donald Maass's literary agency. The level of literary knowledge is off the charts.

Donald pulls in so many examples from so many novels, it'll make you dizzy. I've read a million how-t0-write-a-novel books.

Most are in the ra-ra, I-already-knew-that category. This one was more. The biggest thing I took away from t 1. The biggest thing I took away from this book was the importance of the main character.

Certainly, high concept and flawless writing are important, but mostly we remember the character. At least, more so than the story and writing.

We remember Jack Reacher, Bosch, Katnis Everdeen, and Harry Potter even more than all of the events in a novel we experienced with them. If you read this and his other books, his premise is that writing a breakaway novel is not luck, it's a result of excellent craft.

That puts the power of being a successful author squarely in the hands of the author. I don't entirely agree with the premise but it's a powerful place to start from. Mar 30, Kari J. And every time I go to a bookstore, I find yet another book on writing or some aspect I find to be utterly indispensible. I must have them. However, there are only a few books I would recommend to people.

Just in different ways. This one does not. I have no idea—but this information feels more like the information I have tried to find. Donald Maass is a literary agent—yes, one of those people we all would love to have represent us. In fact, he represents some of the big names in the industry: Robert McCammon, Anne Perry, Elizabeth Bear… You can find a list of his clients on his webpage. What makes a novel great? This book tells you what this agent thinks using examples from contemporary works as well as his own years of experience reading submission after submission.

He gives us alternatives to these ideas as well as showing when they actually MIGHT work and how successful authors used them. The examples Maass uses are from many different types of novels including both genre and literary fiction.

Maass has also published a workbook to compliment this book. Jan 28, Adrian Alvarez rated it it was ok. God, this book was irritating. Every time I read a "this is how you write" book by a non-writer I swear I'll never do it again. Then I end up doing it again because someone will swear "oh this one is different.

Not different. Exactly the same, actually. Nothing new, mind you, just useful to be reminded of them. I suppose actually reading a good novel could have reminded me of those God, this book was irritating.

I suppose actually reading a good novel could have reminded me of those ideas too. In fact, you know what? The time I spent reading this really annoying guy would have been much better spent reading a good novel. Don't buy this book. If you really want to learn something about story crafting and you really, really think you can gain something more than you would from just reading and writing and sharing your work, at least read a "this is how you write" book written by a writer who's work you respect.

Sep 04, Amy Eller Lewis rated it really liked it. Don't do it. Donald Maass, a Publishing Veteran, does not think you are a special and unique snowflake. But your book needs to be. He uses concrete advice and examples verbs in his sentences, as Dr. Phil would say that are applicable to writing across all genres. And yet he doesn't seem to be putting across a "tried and true" formula that you can just plug in and have a bestseller.

And I can't argue with his main point: "Want to be a bestselling writer? Write a better a book. If you still need some hand holding, if you still need to be told "believe in yourself", you're not there yet. Neither would this be of much use to those writing experimental novels but I'm not sure experimental novelists are trying to "break out".

But for those of you who are serious about writing commercial fiction, and taking your career as a writer seriously, this is a good point of reference Aug 27, Celina rated it it was ok Shelves: writing.

No contest: Gardner's book was authoritative and inspiring. The advice given in Writing The Breakout Novel was contrived, hollow, and in some instances simply cringe-worthy in comparison. If you're an aspiring writer looking for solid, truthful instruction on how to craft a novel, stick with Gardner or Stephen King's On Writing, or James V. If you're curious as to what a literary agent does and looks for, then this is the book for you. This book is genuinely helpful in that regard: it peels back the curtain of how the publishing side works, which in the end, makes it easier to build into your novel the things for which agents look.

Mar 17, Roman Kurys rated it liked it. This was a solid book. Once I got past the fact that the author is a pompous ass that is. His tone and attitude throughout the book made me cringe numerous times. Now with that out of the way this book has a lot of good advice, especially towards the end where Maas talks about agents and gives a general insight into publishing industry. For me, the last few chapters is what made the book. Th This was a solid book.

Writing the Breakout Novel: Visit our Beautiful Books page and find lovely books for kids, photography lovers and more. This book is genuinely helpful in that regard: The Fire in Fiction delves deep into the world of character development, with fiction writing tips that can turn any writer into a pro dohald developing character driting voice in writing in no time at all.

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No rockstars or or lead singers! Together at last. Under the pseudonym Richard Stark, Donald E. Westlake, one of the greats of crime fiction, wrote twenty-four fast-paced, hard-boiled novels featuring Parker, a shrewd career criminal with a talent for heists and a code all his own. With the publication of the last four Parker novels Westlake wrote—Breakout, Nobody Runs Forever, Ask the Parrot, and Dirty Money—the University of Chicago Press pulls the ultimate score: for the first time ever, the entire Parker series will be available from a single publisher.

With Parker locked up and about to be unmasked, Breakout follows his Houdini-like escape from prison with a team of convicts. Featuring new forewords by Chris Holm, Duane Swierczynski, and Laura Lippman—celebrated crime writers, all—these masterworks of noir are the capstone to an extraordinary literary run that will leave you craving more. Written over the course of fifty years, the Parker novels are pure artistry, adrenaline, and logic both brutal and brilliant.

Join Parker on his jobs and read them all again or for the first time. A year after a tragic shooting at Lincoln High, Taylor finds his prayers answered when a dramatic spiritual awakening occurs among the students and begins to spread throughout the country and the world. A theoretical treatment of sound transmission through the walls of non-circular muffler shell is done for plane mode transmission within the muffler shell.

Non-circular muffler shells include distorted circular due to the welding seam , elliptical oval and flat-oval shells. An analytical formulation has been developed in this thesis in order to predict the breakout noise with the acoustical and structural wave coupling phenomena. First, progressive wave model is chosen. This formulation is extended to the standing wave model by which results for anechoic, rigid end and open end boundary conditions are obtained.

Transverse transmission loss TTL predicted, based on the analytical model, is compared and validated with computational results using a commercial 3-D numerical simulation vibro-acoustic software package like SYSNOISE.

Same model is used for non-circular shell with flat-oval configuration. And also breakout noise obtained from different configurations like circular, elliptical, flat-oval, rectangular and square, all having the same equivalent radius, are compared.

Finally, by incorporating effects of finite length of the muffler and end plates, analytical model has been developed for a circular shell. Parametric studies have been done wherever required to evolve the design guidelines which will be helpful for designers. The all-inclusive guide for novel writers If you're serious about making your fiction vibrant, engaging, and marketable, you've found the right book. The Breakout Novelist gives you the craft and business know-how you need to make your book stand out.

Inside, veteran agent Donald Maass brings together the most innovative and practical information from his workshops and previous books to lead you through every aspect of setting your novel apart from the rest. Maass shares examples from contemporary writers across all genres to equip you with the strategies great writers use to craft great fiction - from core fiction-writing elements like character, setting, description, and plot, to more advanced techniques including point of view, voice, and suspense.

Plus, you'll find over 70 practical exercises to help you move your writing from blah to breakout. You'll also learn from Maass' experiences over more than three decades in the publishing industry. User icon An illustration of a person's head and chest. Sign up Log in. Web icon An illustration of a computer application window Wayback Machine Texts icon An illustration of an open book. Books Video icon An illustration of two cells of a film strip. Video Audio icon An illustration of an audio speaker.