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How To Be A Fantastic Writer Paperback – October 12, 2017
Purchase options and add-ons
- Print length128 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication dateOctober 12, 2017
- Dimensions5.25 x 0.29 x 8 inches
- ISBN-101912053551
- ISBN-13978-1912053551
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Product details
- Publisher : Fantastic Books Publishing
- Publication date : October 12, 2017
- Language : English
- Print length : 128 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1912053551
- ISBN-13 : 978-1912053551
- Item Weight : 5 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.25 x 0.29 x 8 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #6,558,763 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #10,425 in Fiction Writing Reference (Books)
- #10,484 in Writing Skill Reference (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Penny is a scientist, a crime writer and an academic who worked in Engineering, Social Science and Health Health Sciences. She was Chair of the Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society for six years to 2013.
A writer all her life, she penned her first story at age 4 and won her first writing competition at age 9. In 2004 she won the Crime Writers' Association's Debut Dagger for her book, The Doll Makers. Her crime novels are published in the UK, USA and Canada.
She has worked in a variety of jobs, having been on the inside of pathology labs, operating theatres and medical schools across Europe. Home is with her husband and a transient population of family members and animals in an old farmhouse in a small East Yorkshire village.
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- Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2017As writers' helps and toolkits go, How to be a Fantastic Writer is the best I’ve ever seen. It’s short, easy and fun to read and, above all, practical. It’s well-organized and succinctly covers the basics of writing captivating fiction in much the same way another favorite, The Elements of Style by Strunk & White, obviates the need for a long and boring manual. Plus, it has helpful exercises to reinforce the learning. I am a published writer, but before I’d even finished Chapter One, “What Draws a Reader to a Book,” I rushed to my current work-in-progress and started making revisions. The remaining chapters were equally compelling. I highly recommend this little book.
- Reviewed in the United States on December 4, 2017Subtitled ‘A Handbook for Writers of Commercial Fiction’, this book is precisely what it says it is. As a reader, I’ve tended to shy away from what I saw as ‘commercial’ fiction, but, in practice, I now realise I’ve actually read a good deal of it. As a writer, my fiction veers toward the non-commercial, if sales are a reliable guide. (They are on a certain level, of course, but they’re only a single factor among many).
Having seen the names of the writers these two excellent authors include in the examples they use from commercial fiction, I perhaps need to re-adjust my own definition of the genre. Who wouldn’t want to be in the same company as Charles Dickens, Stephen King, and Kurt Vonnegut?
So, I’d already learned a valuable lesson before the book even starts.
The authors have diligently studied the structure and techniques of fiction writers to reach conclusions they can pass on to readers here.
They’ve analysed many works to discover why some succeed and others fail. And the hints and examples that arise from this study they pass on to those who want to learn. Count me in!
The topics covered include the understanding of structures within the novel: flashback, time-jumps, point-of view, and descriptive prose, and they examine how different approaches can affect the tension and pace of a scene. All valuable insights for the author who wants to gain readers.
How students of technique use the book is left to individuals. There are no hard and fast rules, merely examples provided with analysis pointing out strengths and weaknesses. Different approaches are suggested for beginners and experienced writers.
I don’t plot: it doesn’t work for me. But plotting is probably the best way to begin when new to the craft. For me, working as a pantster, the advice presented in this book is much more useful during the initial editing stage; that period of intense restructuring and attention to detail that follows the creative burst. I have three or four unpublished novels I now feel would benefit from the techniques and structures advised here. I certainly intend to follow the erudite guidance and see whether I can rescue these potentially good reads from oblivion. It’s an exercise I look forward to under the instruction of these two gifted writers who share their knowledge so well.
The manual is divided into only 6 chapters, but each is then subdivided into numerous discrete packages presented in a form that’s easily absorbed and followed.
I gave the book a full read-through initially, to see whether it would be of benefit to the writer of several published several novels. And the answer is it most definitely will. A second reading exposed many new ideas to me and filled me with such inspiration that I’m now eager to put these to the test.
A very useful addition to the library of any writer, but especially valuable to those who want to try their hand at commercial fiction.
Top reviews from other countries
- Mr. P. F. FieldReviewed in the United Kingdom on June 16, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent guide without any padding!
If you want to know the how-to, how to think, what questions to ask yourself, how to plan, how to pace your story, this guide is excellent. There is no padding, no ra-ra rubbish, just down to earth, clearly explained advice.
- Stuart AkenReviewed in the United Kingdom on December 4, 2017
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Info and Guidance for Fiction Writers.
Subtitled ‘A Handbook for Writers of Commercial Fiction’, this book is precisely what it says it is. As a reader, I’ve tended to shy away from what I saw as ‘commercial’ fiction, but, in practice, I now realise I’ve actually read a good deal of it. As a writer, my fiction veers toward the non-commercial, if sales are a reliable guide. (They are on a certain level, of course, but they’re only a single factor among many).
Having seen the names of the writers these two excellent authors include in the examples they use from commercial fiction, I perhaps need to re-adjust my own definition of the genre. Who wouldn’t want to be in the same company as Charles Dickens, Stephen King, and Kurt Vonnegut?
So, I’d already learned a valuable lesson before the book even starts.
The authors have diligently studied the structure and techniques of fiction writers to reach conclusions they can pass on to readers here.
They’ve analysed many works to discover why some succeed and others fail. And the hints and examples that arise from this study they pass on to those who want to learn. Count me in!
The topics covered include the understanding of structures within the novel: flashback, time-jumps, point-of view, and descriptive prose, and they examine how different approaches can affect the tension and pace of a scene. All valuable insights for the author who wants to gain readers.
How students of technique use the book is left to individuals. There are no hard and fast rules, merely examples provided with analysis pointing out strengths and weaknesses. Different approaches are suggested for beginners and experienced writers.
I don’t plot: it doesn’t work for me. But plotting is probably the best way to begin when new to the craft. For me, working as a pantster, the advice presented in this book is much more useful during the initial editing stage; that period of intense restructuring and attention to detail that follows the creative burst. I have three or four unpublished novels I now feel would benefit from the techniques and structures advised here. I certainly intend to follow the erudite guidance and see whether I can rescue these potentially good reads from oblivion. It’s an exercise I look forward to under the instruction of these two gifted writers who share their knowledge so well.
The manual is divided into only 6 chapters, but each is then subdivided into numerous discrete packages presented in a form that’s easily absorbed and followed.
I gave the book a full read-through initially, to see whether it would be of benefit to the writer of several published several novels. And the answer is it most definitely will. A second reading exposed many new ideas to me and filled me with such inspiration that I’m now eager to put these to the test.
A very useful addition to the library of any writer, but especially valuable to those who want to try their hand at commercial fiction.
- MashashyReviewed in the United Kingdom on August 5, 2018
5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Companion For Writers
I went back to creative writing after many years of more critical/review works and was looking for something to guide me when I was told about 'How To Be A Fantastic Writer'. I gave the whole book a read and found that the many examples and explanations were really useful and well presented. It offers advice on structure as well as more general guidelines on content and everything is backed up with checklists and references. The 'narration' is also rather pleasant, sounding far less condescending than I often find with similar books. I held off on giving my review as I found myself going back to check in on examples and suggestions, if only to assure myself that I was on the right track, and I found How to be a Fantastic writer really helpful in this regard. Although it is likely seasoned authors would already know much of the information, there is much to be appreciated here even if it's just to jog your memory. Highly recommend :)