How Not to Write a Novel (Recommendation)

Here's a book recommendation for anyone who wants to write stories:

How Not To Write A Novel by Sandra Newman and Howard Mittelmark.

I found this book when I finished reading Moon Over Soho, and browsed through the author's (Ben Aaronovitch) website, where he recommends it. And I have to say, it's brilliant. It's very much to the point, and the advice really makes sense. I got this book in March, read it over the course of three days, and highlighted the crap out of it, tbh. 80% of my Kindle Clippings come from this book, and every single one is worth it. I'm just rereading it now, as I'm starting with a new writing project, and there's still advice that I'm only discovering now, that I hadn't even noticed before.

Some of it feels like old news, like, don't write about your character doing nothing, or don't repeat scenes. But a lot of it is a real eye opener, and even that trivial-seeming advice is worded so cleverly that a) it's a delight reading it, and b) you feel like it was a good thing they reminded you again.

They have advice on all the various steps and aspects of writing – from plotting to characters to the final scene.

It's not super cheap, especially not for an ebook (the paperback costs the same), but it's definitely worth it. I've read a bunch of books on writing, and often found them fairly forgettable – even if they had good advice, I just can't remember it afterwards. But this sticks with you. If you're only going to buy a single book on writing, I'd seriously consider making it this one.