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The 38 Most Common Fiction Writing Mistakes
 
 
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The 38 Most Common Fiction Writing Mistakes [Paperback]

Jack M. Bickham
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
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Frequently Bought Together

The 38 Most Common Fiction Writing Mistakes + Plot and Structure: Techniques and Exercises for Crafting a Plot that Grips Readers from Start to Finish (Write Great Fiction) + Beginnings, Middles and Ends (The elements of fiction writing)
Price For All Three: £21.72

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Product details

  • Paperback: 128 pages
  • Publisher: F&W; New edition edition (Aug 1998)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0898798213
  • ISBN-13: 978-0898798210
  • Product Dimensions: 23 x 15.2 x 1.1 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 61,457 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jack M. Bickham
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Product Description

Product Description

When you write fiction, you march onto a minefield. This book gives you a map.


Oh, what tricky terrain you're traveling! You must reckon with: Character, Conflict, Point of View, Dialogue, Editors, Editors, and Editors, who - by returning stories they see as problem-plagued - can burst your hopes of publication.


Where are the problems? Editors rarely take the time to map them out, so Jack Bickham has. In this book, he spotlights the 38 most common fiction writing land mines - writing mistakes that can turn even dynamite story ideas into slush pile rejects. And he guides you in overcoming them.


In to-the-point style, he shows you how to:
conquer procrastination - and put ink on paper regularly
dump wimpy characters - and build characters ready to act
look for trouble - and create conflicts for your characters
cut coincidence - and put better-than-life logic into fiction
escape the fog - and find and stick to your story's direction
free feelings - and fire your fiction with passion and emotion


In short, Bickham helps you take a giant step toward publication.


Read this book. Strengthen your writing. And start setting off explosions where they belong: on the sales charts.


Inside This Book (Learn More)
First Sentence
WRITERS ARE A FAVORITE SUBJECT FOR CARTOONISTS, FROM CHARLES SCHULZ of Peanuts fame to those who contribute to The New Yorker. Read the first page
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Concordance
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews

33 Reviews
5 star:
 (20)
4 star:
 (8)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:
 (2)
1 star:
 (2)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.3 out of 5 stars (33 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 52 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Valuable and a great spur, 7 Jan 2006
By 
This review is from: The 38 Most Common Fiction Writing Mistakes (Paperback)
Everytime I read this book it inspires me to keep on going.
It has shown me several serious mistakes that I had made in my writing of commercial fiction and I would recommend it as the ideal book for any struggling authors - particularly us unpublished amateurs who are still learning with an intent to go commercial.
I find this the perfect book to take to airports or bus stations as the chapters are short and pithy. Each 'mistake' will only take a couple of minutes to read but should arouse much thought about your own work. They say that the only way to become a rule breaker - a maverick who sets their own rules or forges their own style is to know the rules. This book shows you the rules so that if you decide to break them then at least you know what you are doing and why it may or may not work.
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45 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing and inspirational, 22 Aug 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: The 38 Most Common Fiction Writing Mistakes (Paperback)
In this very short volume, Bickham manages to get to the essence of writing good popular fiction. His language is very easy to understand, very easy to apply, and yet reveals his decades of experience. He has distilled it all down into this one book, and it's a must for all those who want to write more effective popular fiction. For those looking for even more, try his 'How to Write and Sell Your Novel', which contains longer, more in-depth treatment of the material.

Warning: For those wanting to write 'literary fiction' or such stuff, this is not the book for you.

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69 of 73 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars This is a recommended read for all would-be novelists, 27 Jan 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: The 38 Most Common Fiction Writing Mistakes (Paperback)
Although the title sounds negative, this book pulls no punches in telling you exactly what you should be doing with your writing. I particularly found his advice on the craft of writing scene structure useful. I have no hesitation in recommending it - it's a great buy.
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