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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Good, but recycles other work, 21 Jan 2003
A very practical, no-nonsense book which takes common problems with weak fiction and attempts to sort out the underlying issues. The format is diagnosis, explanation, cure, following the medical metaphor of the title. It should help all kinds of fiction writers sharpen up their work, especially beginners and intermediates. My major gripe about this book is that there are chunks which come straight out of a previous work by Mr Obstfeld, The Novelist's Essential Guide to Crafting Scenes. I mean whole paragraphs, word for word. I estimate about 30% of the book is lifted from the earlier one. I find this practice to be cynical and lazy. The book should indicate that it contains previous material. That is why I only give it three stars. I have just bought both books from Amazon. Although the two are not identical, with hindsight I wish I had purchased either one or the other. Mr Obstfeld is very keen on giving lots of advice on how to keep the reader interested and turning the page. All very well. But he should take a leaf out of his own book and learn that READERS EXPECT HIM TO SAY SOMETHING ORIGINAL IN A NEW BOOK, NOT JUST DUMP PREVIOUS MATERIAL. You should be ashamed of yourself, Mr Obstfeld. Would you like to explain why you are happy to shortchange your readers in this way ?
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