James N. Frey
Author of How to Write a Damn Good Novel: A Step-by-Step No Nonsense Guide to Dramatic Storytelling
About the Author
James N. Frey has taught at the University of California, Berkeley, Extension, the Squaw Valley Community of Writers, and the Oregon Writers' Colony.
Image credit: www.jamesnfrey.com
Series
Works by James N. Frey
How to Write a Damn Good Novel: A Step-by-Step No Nonsense Guide to Dramatic Storytelling (1987) 612 copies
How to Write a Damn Good Mystery: A Practical Step-by-Step Guide from Inspiration to Finished Manuscript (2004) 175 copies
How to Write a Damn Good Thriller: A Step-by-Step Guide for Novelists and Screenwriters (2010) 76 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1943-06-15
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- USA
- Places of residence
- USA
- Occupations
- creative writing teacher
author - Organizations
- University of California, Berkeley
- Awards and honors
- UC Berkeley Honored Teacher of the Year (1994)
Members
Reviews
How to Write a Damn Good Novel: A Step-By-Step No… by Frey
This book provides the bare essentials and really helped me hold to the basics. Also, Swaine and Butcher's (see the blog on his website) emphasis on the scene-sequel is helping me with rewriting and scene organization.
Pretty helpful! I didn't realize till halfway through that this was a sequel, so perhaps the rest of the secret is in the first book.
My favorite part was the bit on beginnings, how you want to start with something that makes the reader ask a question.
The rest of it was mostly random tips, some helpful, some not. But it was a quick read and enjoyable.
My favorite part was the bit on beginnings, how you want to start with something that makes the reader ask a question.
The rest of it was mostly random tips, some helpful, some not. But it was a quick read and enjoyable.
Despite many tepid reviews, this book gave me a lot of practical advice on writing a novel. The author usually had good examples to illustrate his points.
What makes a good novel? That depends on who you ask. 'Good' is a subjective term. It is largely a matter of taste. I found myself disagreeing with the author in several places on what constitutes a 'good' novel. For me, a 'good' novel includes an exploration of a philosophical idea or some significant point about humanity in general, concepts the writer of this book seems to dismiss as unnecessary, or at best secondary to conflict and emotion. A better title for this book might be 'How to Write Popular Formulaic Drama.' But even if that is not the type of book you like to read (or write), this short 'How To' manual provides helpful advise about how to shape a vague idea into a story.… (more)
Awards
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 17
- Members
- 1,447
- Popularity
- #17,763
- Rating
- 3.6
- Reviews
- 31
- ISBNs
- 38
- Languages
- 4