Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 1-5 of 9 | | NEXT » |
 Great all-around writing tips November 15, 2008
This book is a great little tool filled with advice on making ANY novel more interesting (if you skip over the tips on romance formula).
 rudimentary July 16, 2007
14 out of 14 found this review helpful
I'm going to begin by picking a nit, here. This book is not authored by Ms Vinyard in the conventional sense. Probably 50% of the copy is authored by other women.
On to more important issues:
1) Most of the material in the book is quite elementary. If you don't know what point of view is or what the options are, this book explains that. But if you want advice beyond "don't change point of view too often," you will not get much help.
2) Unlike other writing manuals, this book is not structured in a way to help a beginner actually write a romance. It reflects this in it's contents, which include "Elements of Romance Storytelling," but nothing on putting the elements together.
I prefer "On Writing Romance" by Leigh Michaels and "Writing Romance" by Vanessa Grant, both of which rewarded my reading time with a great deal of useful information.
On the other hand, if you want to be part of the romance writers' community, this might be a good book for you, as it often mentions Romance Writers of America and the author's own web site. The section on "Support Networks" is as long as the one section on writing, "Elements of Romance Storytelling," and there is a whole section titled, "Inspiration, Comisseration and Information." That's all padding, from my point of view.
My own experience? I've won a state wide fiction award, edited a very small magazine and a book published by a major publisher, and written for a web site with ga-zillions of hits a week (yes, that's a technical term), and a glossy magazine. I teach college. I need to organize my material well and include plenty of useful content if I want my work to benefit my students.
I'm Gonna Be A Star. January 9, 2007
3 out of 7 found this review helpful
This book is generally known as the mack-daddy of the "how to write a romance" books. My sister and I intend to become embarrassingly rich with the information we glean from it. Should you never see my name again, rest assured, the fault lies with me, and not the book.
A Keeper! November 26, 2006
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
I'm about halfway through this book and have already learned so much that I'd pay FULL price for the book (I'm a used book nut, so that is saying a lot).
The info about proper manuscript set-up is worth buying this one.
I am not a "new" writer but haven't written romance until now. Looks like I chose a quality reference for the job!
I'm afraid many sub-par books are published every year about how-to-write. THIS one is not one of those!
A Must Have for all new Romance Writers! July 3, 2006
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
A wealth of knowledge! A must-have for the new writer and an excellent guide for writers at any level. It covers virtually everything you need to know when writing about romance, Including a basic understanding of the different types and sub-categories within this genre! Starting from the basic idea or concept, it takes you through the writing process with ease, step-by-step information teaches you about writing and selling in this genre. This book contains tips, ideas, advice, examples and more on every topic. I have read more than 25 books on this subject but THIS BOOK is undoubtedly one of the BEST!
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