When I first saw Crafting Novels & Short Stories advertised, I wasn’t convinced by the concept. The idea of a craft book composed of articles by various writing teachers and columnists at Writer’s Digest seemed destined to be a hodgepodge of writing tips with no specific focus; a sort of coffee table book for authors. However, the generous sample provided on Amazon impressed me, and I decided to give the book a shot.
Crafting Novels & Short Stories is divided into seven parts, each consisting of several articles written by various authors and writing teachers such as James Scott Bell, Nancy Kress, and Donald Maass. Each part is preceded by a ‘Focus on the Writing Life’ section. These sections are mostly motivational in nature, and deal with subjects such as time management, writer’s block, and fostering creativity.
The main contents are as follows:
- Focus on the Writing Life: Getting Started
- Part 1: Characters – The Stakeholders in Your Story
- Focus on the Writing Life: Feeding Your Creativity
- Part 2: Plot & Conflict – Your Story’s Action & Suspense
- Focus on the Writing Life: Beating Writer’s Block
- Part 3: Point of View – The Voice of Your Story
- Focus on the Writing Life: Using Your Muse
- Part 4: Setting & Backstory – The Context for Your Story
- Focus on the Writing Life: Balancing Writing with the Rest of Life
- Part 5: Dialogue – What Your Characters Say to Each Other
- Focus on the Writing Life: Maximizing Your Productivity
- Part 6: Description & Word Choice – What You Tell Readers
- Focus on the Writing Life: Researching Your Work
- Part 7: Revision – How Your Story Comes Together
- Focus on the Writing Life: Getting Published
While a couple of sections are suitable for beginners, the overall tone of the book is geared towards the more experienced writer. The articles are an excellent introduction to the contributors’ thoughts on certain topics, and encouraged me to order a couple of craft books by new-to-me writing teachers, such as Nancy Kress.
I appreciated the sometimes contradictory approaches presented in the various sections. In Part 2: Plot & Conflict, for example, Steven James’s ‘Story Trumps Structure’ argues against a strict adherence to the three-act structure when plotting your novel. His approach to plotting is more organic in nature, and likely to appeal to pantsers. James’s article is immediately followed by one by N.M. Kelby entitled ‘Map Your Novel with a Reverse Outline’. As the title implies, N.M. Kelby’s method is more in tune with the plotters of the writing world.
I found some articles more useful than others, depending on how well the author’s advice gelled with my general outlook on the topic, or how relevant they were for where I am in my writing career. However, all were worth reading, and my copy is already covered in sticky notes and highlighter pen. I picked up several tips which I intend to try out in my own writing. I read the book cover-to-cover (I’m like that), but it’s not strictly necessary to read it in order.
If you’re looking for a craft book which explores a variety of writing-related topics, and introduces different teachers’ perspectives, I can recommend Crafting Novels & Short Stories.
Here’s a link to the Amazon sample of Crafting Novels & Short Stories. (Disclaimer: I’m not an Amazon affiliate. I’m providing the link because I can’t find a decent excerpt elsewhere online. 
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