Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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52 of 57 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hysterical, practical and inspiring, 24 Jun 2007
I've just finished reading this book - literally couldn't put it down. As well as being a really good book about writing, this is also very funny. I woke my husband by snorting out loud at her descriptions of genres. I loved the fact that the book is broken in to short sections so you can dip in and out if you want to. There is also really good practical advice about how to start, how to keep going, how other writers do it. But it's not just about writing, it's also about the writing business. Much as I've dabbled for years, I've decided now to apply my posterior to the chair and get on with it but I'd never even thought about what happens once the deal is made (dear God the thought of a promotional tour - must take the advice to get fit now!). The most important thing is that it has inspired me to actually do it and keep going. I'm going to read this again along with Stephen King's 'On Writing' whenever I'm lacking inspiration or direction. Plus if Jane's fiction writing is as funny as this book, I'm off to buy her other stuff.
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42 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Praise from a 'wannabe' a better writer, 1 Jun 2007
Every now and again there comes along a book that I wish I'd written. Wannabe a Writer by Jane Wenham-Jones is one of those books. Now I may be slightly biased because two members of my writing group, several fellow Sexy Shorts contributors (I write as Sally Quilford) and my favourite thriller writer of all time, Freddie Forsyth (how jealous am I that Jane got to speak to him?) grace its pages with words of wisdom. But I think I can be objective about a book that will do new writers a load of good.
First of all I like it because Jane Wenham-Jones is obviously one of us. By 'one of us' I mean an unpretentious writer who knows that you have to work bloody hard and not be too snobby about putting your work around or where you send it. What's more she sounds as though she's a good night out! I laughed out loud more than once, yet still learned a lot.
Jane has a great witty style, but amongst the jokes is solid advice about how to become a writer, how to behave when you are one, and how to survive the trials and tribulations. She mixes her own, often hilarious, experiences with those of other writers, including how to get an agent (and how not to, though I fear people without Jane's natural charm and vivacity might now try her way), how to submit a manuscript and how to behave with editors and agents when they have your tome. There are also chapters on writers' bum, and the other stresses that go with writing. Yes, there are stresses. It isn't all just sitting in front of a computer and putting your dreams down. You have to be prepared for those dreams to be trampled on. Jane does not gild the lily and neither do the dozens of writers who have contributed to this book. By the way, I don't know if it's just me, but the male writers seemed to worry a lot less about all the other stuff writers have to do in their lives. Presumably because they've got a woman in their life to do it for them!
This book is good for wannabe writers, and those like me who are writing with small success but 'wannabe' doing better. For me it was good to read that I'm not the only writer who procrastinates, eats too much, drinks too much, cries over rejections and generally feels that everyone else in the writing world is doing much better than me. There's also a good chapter on literary snobbery which I'd quite like to tattoo on some peoples' foreheads.
Wannabe A Writer has joined Stephen King's On Writing as my favourite unpretentious book about writing. One message that rang out loud and clear is that a sense of humour is compulsory.
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34 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not all that..., 31 May 2008
First off, credit where credit's due. The first third of the book (around 100 pages) that deals with planning, motivation, how to generate ideas, and that feeling all beginners get of "where the hell do I start?" is excellent. Indeed, it is very comforting to discover that many writers (even accomplished ones) are in the same boat when it comes to dealing with the dreaded writers block, finding things to write about, research, and a myriad of other problems that a writer must overcome to succeed. The author does a good job in making you realise this.
However...
Once you move into the middle part, the book seems to take on a whole new agenda. The author develops a penchant for RELENTLESSLY plugging her other books at every given opportunity. I guess this is fairly amusing for the first few instances, until it becomes apparent that she frequently makes reference to almost everything she's ever written, why you should read it, and where it is available to purchase etc.
You also get the impression that her relationship with the books external contributors (i.e. friends, fellow writers, agents, publishers, and general contacts) amounts to nothing more than a matey (I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine') love-in that becomes increasingly nauseating from the readers point of view. It's as if the author has agreed to advertise work of these contributors in exchange for their (often not so enlightening) tips and advice, whilst singing their praises from the rafters and telling the reader what great work he/she has accomplished (followed by the inevitable plugging of their books, magazine columns and websites etc).
She contradicts herself when advising that a writer shouldn't harbour any notion of having a `proper job', yet towards the end changes tack to declare (something along the lines of) that writing is a mugs game, there's only a very slim chance of making a living from it, and it's probably best to stick to the day job. This is fine if the author is being honest and realistic- but why divulge the former advice in the first place? Isn't this going against the purpose of the book? Such advice could prove be very discouraging and disheartening (not to myself I must add) to anyone just starting out who `wannabe a writer'.
All of the above distracts from the main purpose of the book- how to become a writer. You also really begin to question the motives of the author, who in the first part of the book appears to be so genuine and full of helpful advice, but then seems become more self-indulgent and concerned with stoking the egos of her buddies in the publishing world.
This is a shame...
In summing up, I would recommend this book, for the sole reason that it's one of the few books (on the subject of creative writing) that's written in a humorous witty manner, to which the aspiring writer can identify. However, I cannot attribute anymore than the 3 stars given due to the reasons I've specified, together with the fact that other forms of creative writing (other than the novel) are sparsely covered, and meant to inject more humour into the proceedings as opposed to being helpful in any way (see TV/film scripts, plays, short stories and memoir sections for example).
If I was to recommend a book which I consider to be the `bible' on the subject of creative writing (and believe me I've read quite a few of them!), it would have to be `On Writing' by Stephen King, which I've just finished.
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