One of those accidental writer’s books I end up with. This is focused on methods for writing a bestseller based on various things gleaned from bestsellers. Smith has some interesting points however I found the overly mathematical way of doing things not to my liking.
The book is organized in random sections: Q&A, Tools, and Checklist. Sections are color coded by content but others dispersed throughout the book. A good table of contents and index let you find what you are looking for easily but you might want to read the book cover to cover first.
Smith has some good ideas. I like the scene cards and the 10 most important scenes. However I think he focus too much on readability statistics and minimalist writing. If I were to analyze my novel by all the graphs and statistical tools he has in this book, I might have a bestseller (I don’t think some of the books were bestsellers because of these statistics. Has he ever read Silence of the Lambs? Pure movie power there, the books were awful) but it would take me years to go through the whole novel.
Smith is not an outliner. He pushes for revision espousing that the first draft is nothing. While I agree that there is much to be done in the revision phase, I’ve already learned I can’t function on 10 scenes including the climax.
Still the information in this book is very valuable for any writer. Sections on grammar and general writing are priceless. I now carry this book with me in my computer bag at all times.
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