You love them, you hate them, sometimes they grow on you. I don’t think I’ve ever disliked craft books in general. Even when I’ve been in those stages where I believed–somewhat like a bratty child–that I knew what I was doing, I often got some enjoyment out of perusing them because I often like analysis and I enjoy seeing someone else’s take on something I enjoy. Now, even when I think I’ve got something down, I still like to armchair edit and think about how much you’re not doing it right.
As I come off about a year of not really doing anything in the writing department, I feel much less know-it-mostly and more open to what these books have to offer. While some are better than others and some are much better borrowed from the library than invested in personally, I don’t think they’re ever a waste of time. Even stuff you know serves as confirmation and reminder, and most books have something presented in a fresh new way that gives you new ideas or a slightly different perspective.
Intro out of the way, I’m going to try to post some mini-reviews of the craft books I read this year.
Goal, Motivation, & Conflict by Debra Dixon
1. The first craft book I read this year was Debra Dixon’s Goal, Motivation, & Conflict. I found this book on Kettle’s wishlist. She had recently proclaimed, in some goal setting 2009 type post, that focusing on GMC was going to be a focus for her in 2009. So as I was perusing her wishlist, looking for something to get her that was both within my budget and something probably no one in her family would buy, I spied this title on that very same subject and thought: obviously this is the one. Amazon didn’t stock the book, and Amazon Marketplace copies started around $40. Eeep. But a little research brought me to the publisher’s website where the book is available in hardcover only for $19.95 (plus $4.95 shipping plus a few buck for sales tax if you’re in TN). Ooh, a surprise!
Kettle got the book and devoured it. Historically she’s not a craft book fan, and I’ve never seen her so excited about one. She read it, then she read it again. She talked about it all the time for the, what?, two days it took her to get through it the first time. Obviously, I needed to be in the know. My copy seemed to take forever (though I’m sure it didn’t), and it was worth the price.
You know that characters have to have goals. That’s in every character books, every plot book, every writing book, and most people just get that. Ditto for motivation. Romance writers especially get pummelled by “there has to be conflict!” all the time. Of course, so what’s the point?
I wish I could explain it better. But then, if I could, you wouldn’t need to go read the book which you do. Even if you get it already, it’s good to be reminded that GMC is the basis of the concept of the book as a whole (and a great way to boil it down to a pitch). GMC is at the heart of every character. GMC is a necessary component of every scene. If you’re thinking about goals, motivations, and conflicts mostly in one area of development, the book helps you see how the concept applies all over the place.
She also includes good stuff about writing synopses, brainstorming, and a really good section on what makes a scene–what a scene should do, when a scene doesn’t belong, etc.
There’s a lot about making GMC charts which may seem dippy to you (what am I, 8?). But when you start putting stuff into a table and there’s a cell sitting there entirely empty…suddenly there’s a hole in your plan that you didn’t see before.
My recommendation is buy it, read it. If you don’t love it you can put it on the Amazon Marketplace for more than you paid for it, right?
