James Scott Bell
Author of Plot & Structure
About the Author
Series
Works by James Scott Bell
The Art of War for Writers: Fiction Writing Strategies, Tactics, and Exercises (2009) 373 copies, 8 reviews
How to Write Dazzling Dialogue: The Fastest Way to Improve Any Manuscript (2014) 219 copies, 7 reviews
Write Your Novel From The Middle: A New Approach for Plotters, Pantsers and Everyone in Between (2014) 196 copies, 12 reviews
Revision and Self Editing for Publication: Techniques for Transforming Your First Draft into a Novel that Sells (2012) 79 copies, 2 reviews
The Mental Game of Writing: How to Overcome Obstacles, Stay Creative and Productive, and Free Your Mind for Success (2016) 53 copies, 3 reviews
Writing Fiction for All You're Worth: Strategies and Techniques for Taking Your Fiction to the Next Level (2012) 33 copies, 2 reviews
Fiction Attack!: Insider Secrets for Writing and Selling Your Novels & Stories For Self-Published and Traditional Authors (2012) 20 copies
Self-Publishing Attack! The 5 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws for Creating Steady Income Publishing Your Own Books (2012) 19 copies, 3 reviews
Plotman to the Rescue: A Troubleshooting Guide to Fixing Your Toughest Plot Problems (2019) 12 copies
Writing Unforgettable Characters: How to Create Story People Who Jump Off the Page (Bell on Writing) (2020) 12 copies
Marketing For Writers Who Hate Marketing: The No-Stress Way to Sell Books Without Losing Your Mind (2017) 11 copies, 1 review
Power Up Your Fiction: 125 Tips and Techniques for Next-Level Writing (Bell on Writing) (2023) 6 copies
Can't Stop Me 4 copies
Trouble is My Beat: The Bill Armbrewster, Hollywood Troubleshooter Mystery Novelettes in Classic Pulp Style (2022) 3 copies
Self-Publishing Attack!: The 5 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws for Creating Steady Income Publishing Your Own Books (2013) 2 copies
Super Structure 2 copies
Writing Unforgettable Characters 2 copies
Romeo Rules 2 copies
IMPASSE 1 copy
Revision & Self Editing 1 copy
Associated Works
Crafting Novels & Short Stories: The Complete Guide to Writing Great Fiction (Creative Writing Essentials) (2011) — Foreword — 181 copies, 1 review
Author in Progress: A No-Holds-Barred Guide to What It Really Takes to Get Published (2016) — Foreword — 73 copies, 1 review
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Other names
- Bennett, K.
- Birthdate
- 1954-08-10
- Gender
- male
- Education
- University of California, Santa Barbara (BA)
University of Southern California Law School (JD) - Occupations
- lawyer
novelist - Nationality
- USA
- Places of residence
- Los Angeles, California, USA
- Associated Place (for map)
- California, USA
Members
Reviews
My suspicion is that there may be as many different ways to write a novel as there are novels. Certainly there are a lot of books on the market to aid and abet this questionable enterprise. There are probably also some books on how to write books providing advice to aspiring authors. Such a book would no doubt draw heavily on James Scott Bell’s highly regarded effort. It has many of the virtues of a book directed at motivated self-starters (i.e. those who’ve already completed a first show more draft of their future masterpiece). It doesn’t talk down. Bell assumes he is writing for writers like him who want practical advice on how to improve their fiction. It doesn’t seek to inspire or nurture the nascent writer. This is a book for people who’ve already been inspired and are now prepared to get thoroughly mucky turning their initial effort into something worth harvesting. It offers straightforward exercises that any author could perform in order to test their characters, plots, scenes, or dialogue. And the final, lengthy, section of the book is touted as “The Ultimate Revision Checklist”, though Bell suggests varying it to suit your needs. All of which makes this a very practical and useful resource. But if I’m right about there being a nearly infinite number of ways to write a novel, then there is still a chance that it might not be the book for you. In which case, you should probably set about writing your own book on how to write a novel. Or, just skip that step and get busy writing that novel itself.
For me, it wasn’t until chapter nine, “Voice and Style”, that I felt Bell had something important to convey. Unfortunately he immediately acknowledges that these are the two things it’s virtually impossible to teach. His advice — go read a lot of good stuff (novels, poetry, short stories) and write a lot of stuff too (novels, poetry, short stories). Eventually you’ll find your voice and when you do, well, you’ll really have something. It’s surprisingly sensible advice. Sensible in that I sometimes wonder if the people reading books advising authors have done enough reading themselves. Indeed, sometimes such books are written as though the reader may possibly never have encountered a novel before. If that is the case, then do start with chapter nine of this book and follow Bell’s advice. I think you can then skip on to chapter twelve, “Theme”. It’s the aboutness bit of a novel. If your novel isn’t about anything, then it would definitely be a good idea to think about how to work a theme into it. If you’ve got an idea of what your novel is about and you’ve got enough experience reading and writing to have found your unique voice and style, then all of the rest of the chapters of this book will help you in the practical project of turning your first draft into something polished. I look forward to reading the result. show less
For me, it wasn’t until chapter nine, “Voice and Style”, that I felt Bell had something important to convey. Unfortunately he immediately acknowledges that these are the two things it’s virtually impossible to teach. His advice — go read a lot of good stuff (novels, poetry, short stories) and write a lot of stuff too (novels, poetry, short stories). Eventually you’ll find your voice and when you do, well, you’ll really have something. It’s surprisingly sensible advice. Sensible in that I sometimes wonder if the people reading books advising authors have done enough reading themselves. Indeed, sometimes such books are written as though the reader may possibly never have encountered a novel before. If that is the case, then do start with chapter nine of this book and follow Bell’s advice. I think you can then skip on to chapter twelve, “Theme”. It’s the aboutness bit of a novel. If your novel isn’t about anything, then it would definitely be a good idea to think about how to work a theme into it. If you’ve got an idea of what your novel is about and you’ve got enough experience reading and writing to have found your unique voice and style, then all of the rest of the chapters of this book will help you in the practical project of turning your first draft into something polished. I look forward to reading the result. show less
It’s not often that I come across a new to me series that I really like. Frequently I try something and think it’s alright, but not enough to run out and see if my local used bookshop has any other titles in the series. Well, Try Fear is part of a series I checked my local store for before I even finished reading it.
Ty Buchanan is a lawyer who takes on the case of a man accused of killing his brother. His sidekick is a nun who assists him in his inquiries and is generally more accepted show more by potential witnesses. The main plot deals with Ty’s defense of Carl and his dealings with the principals involved with the case. A sub-plot deals with Sister Mary. She is receiving threatening and vulgar emails from an anonymous sender and Ty uses his connections to try to find the culprit.
The writing is snappy and funny. From page 2:
Chapters are short and allow for a quick read. The plot may not be so believable at times but it did have plenty of twists and was so entertaining that I really didn’t care about believability. Dialogue was fun to read and sometimes the author threw in one of those expressions that are meant to be life lessons but are witty at the same time. From page 16:
As a matter of fact I’m impressed with anyone who can come up with so many witty comebacks in dialogue as this author did.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. If you like legal thrillers with a lot of wit this one is for you. show less
Ty Buchanan is a lawyer who takes on the case of a man accused of killing his brother. His sidekick is a nun who assists him in his inquiries and is generally more accepted show more by potential witnesses. The main plot deals with Ty’s defense of Carl and his dealings with the principals involved with the case. A sub-plot deals with Sister Mary. She is receiving threatening and vulgar emails from an anonymous sender and Ty uses his connections to try to find the culprit.
The writing is snappy and funny. From page 2:
And then I got a call from Father Bob.
"There's a fellow in jail in Hollywood," he said. "He needs a lawyer."
"Anyone in jail in Hollywood needs a lawyer," I said.
"I mean it. His mother called me, very upset."
"What's he in for?"
"He told his mother he sort of got arrested for drunk driving and telling the police he was Santa Claus."
I cleared my throat. "My dear Father, it is illegal to drive drunk, but not to say you are Santa Claus."
"He was dressed in a Santa hat and, I guess, a G-string. That's what he told his mother, anyway."
I put the Dialogues down on the table. "Are you sure it's a lawyer he needs?"
"His mother says he's been under a lot of strain lately."
"Does he have money to pay a lawyer?"
"His mother does."
"I'm reading Plato."
"She was in tears."
"I would be, too, if my son got busted in a G-string."
"Ty, will you go?"
"To see Santa Claus," I said. "By golly, who wouldn't?"
Chapters are short and allow for a quick read. The plot may not be so believable at times but it did have plenty of twists and was so entertaining that I really didn’t care about believability. Dialogue was fun to read and sometimes the author threw in one of those expressions that are meant to be life lessons but are witty at the same time. From page 16:
If an illusion gets you through the day, big deal. If it puts an ice pack on the groin kicks of life, why not?
As a matter of fact I’m impressed with anyone who can come up with so many witty comebacks in dialogue as this author did.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. If you like legal thrillers with a lot of wit this one is for you. show less
Plot & Structure: Techniques and Exercises for Crafting a Plot That Grips Readers from Start to Finish by James Scott Bell
Bell’s book isn’t a mere taxonomy of various plots. No, Plot and Structure lays bare the mechanics of plot. This is a tinkerer’s book. Bell shows the distinction between inciting incident and plot point. He also explains, in a way that I now understand, the differences and connections between the acts in a three-act structure: I, II, and III. Lastly, Bell has some genuinely useful exercises for developing ideas about plots and characters. I’m being vague here because I have to be: show more Bell, a lawyer by trade, makes the reader sign, at the end of the book, an unusual Confidentiality and Non-Compete Agreement: one consents to the agreement, and is bound by it, simply by virtue of having only read it. The less said, the better. show less
I chose James Scott Bell’s book, Presumed Guilty, for my daily walk because I like fast-paced legal suspense novels to accompany me for my workout. I got what I was looking for with this look at how dangerous it is to assume your Christian faith puts you above the spiritual fray that surrounds our fallen world. I liked the mystery involved and the growth that mega-church leader Ron Hamilton undergoes following his fall.
Dallas Hamilton is a dedicated wife and mother with a past she has show more overcome and a ministry that means the world to her. But her life is far from perfect. Her son suffers from PTSD, alcoholism and drug abuse and her husband a vocal pastor with a large platform has grown distant and cold. When Ron is arrested for the murder of a porn star, Dallas’ fragile world crumbles. But she never gives up despite the mounting evidence against her deceitful husband. Not knowing whom to trust, Dallas increasingly turns to God for protection and the discovery of truth.
Spiritual warfare is a continuing theme throughout Presumed Guilty. But it is not of the typical kind found in some popular Christian novels. Rather it is a warfare fought in secret, coming at believers who are unaware of the dangers surrounding them. I liked this aspect because it really does describe the average Christian’s understanding of the unseen realms around them. Evil uses every opportunity to its advantage — pride and smug attitudes, gang activity, drugs and alcohol and the sex industry. Yes we have free will, but evil is determined to find a hold wherever it can. The humbling of Ron Hamilton is also a highlight. His first person story is told between the third person action of the novel. The detailing of his failures and redemption was a definite asset in rounding out the impact of the book.
While I liked the book — its plot and characterization — I was less than satisfied with the narrator of the audiobook. I did not care for the voices he used, especially for the female characters. I found their voices simpering. So, I say skip the audiobook and get the print version either in paper or ebook version. show less
Dallas Hamilton is a dedicated wife and mother with a past she has show more overcome and a ministry that means the world to her. But her life is far from perfect. Her son suffers from PTSD, alcoholism and drug abuse and her husband a vocal pastor with a large platform has grown distant and cold. When Ron is arrested for the murder of a porn star, Dallas’ fragile world crumbles. But she never gives up despite the mounting evidence against her deceitful husband. Not knowing whom to trust, Dallas increasingly turns to God for protection and the discovery of truth.
Spiritual warfare is a continuing theme throughout Presumed Guilty. But it is not of the typical kind found in some popular Christian novels. Rather it is a warfare fought in secret, coming at believers who are unaware of the dangers surrounding them. I liked this aspect because it really does describe the average Christian’s understanding of the unseen realms around them. Evil uses every opportunity to its advantage — pride and smug attitudes, gang activity, drugs and alcohol and the sex industry. Yes we have free will, but evil is determined to find a hold wherever it can. The humbling of Ron Hamilton is also a highlight. His first person story is told between the third person action of the novel. The detailing of his failures and redemption was a definite asset in rounding out the impact of the book.
While I liked the book — its plot and characterization — I was less than satisfied with the narrator of the audiobook. I did not care for the voices he used, especially for the female characters. I found their voices simpering. So, I say skip the audiobook and get the print version either in paper or ebook version. show less
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Statistics
- Works
- 113
- Also by
- 3
- Members
- 7,300
- Popularity
- #3,348
- Rating
- 3.9
- Reviews
- 151
- ISBNs
- 167
- Languages
- 4
- Favorited
- 4
