Conflict, Action & Suspense – A Review
by
Christopher Dale
WannabeWriter was surrounded. He knew there was no way out. Instinctively, he reached into his empty holster. He gasped as they tightened the circle around him. No way out.
"What do you want? I don't have anything!" WannabeWriter yelled at them.
Silently, they squeezed him in.
"I'm not armed," WannabeWriter pleaded as he dropped to his knees.
"You will never make it." the large man in front of him said.
"Make what?"
"I am Major BadGrammar." His voice boomed. He waited for WannabeWriter to meet his glacial eyes.
"That," he pointed towards a penknife-thin man with more medals than chest, "is General FearOfPublishing. We are here to ensure you never see TheEditor."
"But I have nothing for TheEditor. I have nothing!" WannabeWriter was pleading for his very existence.
"That’s not what we heard." Major BadGrammar's icy tone sent a tendril of death down WannabeWriter's spine.
"All I have is this How-To book." WannabeWriter replied.
"A How-To book?" General FearOfPublishing scoffed. "That’s all you have?"
The Major was smiling broadly. "Then you may leave in peace."
The circle broke as WannabeWriter slowly got to his feet.
"He'll never see TheEditor if he is using a How-To book," scoffed Major BadGrammar.
"You are correct, Major," General FearOfPublishing said. "Those How-To books are our best trick ever. Authors confusing people like him," He indicated WannabeWriter with a back flick of his thumb.
*
How many times have you bought a book to help you write better, then, after you bought it, realized it was a book that only had "one way" to do things? Or one that never truly helped you to achieve your goals, but always managed to write down to you? When you get near the end, how often do you feel the discouragement of being told to keep writing, but that no publisher is buying right now? This book, which costs around $13.00 (plus s/h), will really help you. Anyone who picks the book up, whether an aspiring author or a well-published one, will find something useful in it.
William Noble’s Conflict, Action & Suspense is different from the first chapter. You will not feel like WannabeWriter. You will not feel trapped in a world of authors telling you that your work, no matter how well you write, can only be better if you follow the "Golden Rule" (and the "Golden Rule" is always different, depending on the author).
Mr. Noble will never make you feel inferior for not knowing something. He never writes down to you. The very first paragraph of Chapter One (The Nuts and Bolts of Drama) will hook you. Mr. Noble asks three very important questions - What makes a story interesting? What holds a reader's attention? What rivets eyes to the page and feeds an urge for more and more and more? He goes on to answer these questions with a word, Drama.
What makes drama? He goes into detail over not only what makes drama but how, and when, to use it. Why use active voice? What is active voice? Should you use passive voice? And if so, when?
The first chapter alone gives most aspiring authors the formula for just about any type of fiction writing. You already know you need drama. And you know that conflict gives the reader this drama. He goes on to remind us to use the emotions of that conflict. Escalate the conflict and the emotion.
*
This book has twelve very well-written chapters from "Stage Setting" to "Dialogue" to "Mood Building and Atmosphere" to "Point of View".
He tells you that writing is 10% talent and 90% hard work. This means that anyone who puts forth the effort could write. This alone should help inspire you to continue writing and striving to be a better writer.
*
Throughout the book, Mr. Noble gives plenty of contrasting examples to give you a good feel for what he is saying. He doesn't just tell you. A lot of other books will give one or two examples of what the author is trying to explain. But many will not give a contrasting example so you, the aspiring author, can see the difference.
Although no one book can be a complete writer’s toolbox, this book is definitely an excellent starter’s set or a fantastic add-on to what you already have.
This book reads fast, and it helps you write better. So, after you arm yourself with this book, now you have to ask yourself a question. Will you be WannabeWriter, afraid of General FearOfPublishing and Major BadGrammar? Or will you be the one to take them down?
Nice job, Chris! I’m chuckling. I’ll have to take a look at this one!
Mary Rosenblum, Web Editor
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