Tag: Book reviews

Don’t be fooled by the fact that the subtitle of this book includes the word “screenwriting.” This book is for anybody who wants to understand storytelling at a deep, technical level. 

It covers story structure, down to the level of beat. Idealist, pessimist, and ironist controlling ideas. Character development and inner, personal, and extra-personal conflicts. How to handle the inciting incident. Designing acts and scenes. Selecting your cast of characters. And all with great examples from famous films you’d likely seen.

If I were creating my own masterclass on creative writing, this would be one of the core books.

I give it 5 stars and 13 dog-ears and 4 Post-its.

In Story, there are two concepts that were particularly helpful to me as I’ve been writing my sci-fi trilogy …

Fight Write by Carla Hoch is fantastic for any author who wants to write a believable fight scene, whether it’s with guns, blades, or fists—especially if, like me, you’ve never been in the military or mastered a martial art. But, honestly, even if you have, you’ll find this book valuable.

First and foremost, it’s a great reference guide, detailing different fighting styles, attacks, melee weapons, guns, and more. But as much focus as there is on creating a credible fight, Carla also focuses on the build up to the fight and the aftermath. Those have to be credible, too. So, there are discussions of intimidation and posturing, as well as post-fight injuries. She also has a number of interviews sprinkled throughout that bring more visceral first-hand accounts of fight-related experiences.  

I give it 5 stars, and 12 dog-ears.

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