The Art of War for Writers
James Scott Bell
Writer's Digest Books
Nonfiction, Writing
*****
Description
It looks easy enough. Grab that story idea flitting around in your head, pin it down on paper, ship it off to an editor, and presto! Kick back to enjoy a carefree
life as a famous author! Right?
As anyone who has tried writing knows, it's not as easy as that. Writing is more like a battle than a walk in the park, and any general worth their salt will tell you
that battles cannot be won without a plan. James Scott Bell, a published novelist, adapts the classic treatise on war by Sun Tzu for writers.
Review
I bought this book because the title leaped out at me. I've had writing ambitions for longer than I can reliably remember, but seem to have trouble getting from
ambition to action. (I have a couple finished rough drafts, many more unfinished fragments, and that's about it.) This looked like a good kick-in-the-pants book to...
well, kick me in the pants. Bell doesn't play games, pull punches, or take flowery side trips down Anecdote Avenue. He offers direct, practical advice in short,
manageable chapters, covering everything from idea generation to agent queries. In between, he emphasises the brutally honest truth: a writer who doesn't take their
writing as seriously as their day job is guaranteed to never be more than a daydreamer at a keyboard.
For being exactly what it claimed to be, and for delivering new information in a memorable way, I give it top marks.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a nightly writing quota to meet.