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Overview

Take your fiction to the next level!

Maybe you're a first-time novelist looking for practical guidance. Maybe you've already been published, but your latest effort is stuck in mid-list limbo. Whatever the case may be, author and literary agent Donald Maass can show you how to take your prose to the next level and write a breakout novel - one that rises out of obscurity and hits the best-seller lists.

Maass details the elements that all breakout novels share - regardless of genre - then shows you writing techniques that can make your own books stand out and succeed in a crowded marketplace.

You'll learn to:

establish a powerful and sweeping sense of time and place
weave subplots into the main action for a complex, engrossing story
create larger-than-life characters that step right off the page
explore universal themes that will interest a broad audience of readers
sustain a high degree of narrative tension from start to finish
develop an inspired premise that sets your novel apart from the competition

Then, using examples from the recent works of several best-selling authors - including novelist Anne Perry - Maass illustrates methods for upping the ante in every aspect of your novel writing. You'll capture the eye of an agent, generate publisher interest and lay the foundation for a promising career.

Editorial Reviews

Library Journal

In today's world, an author who doesn't produce a breakout novel risks getting lost in the midlist of the publishing world. Maass, the author of 17 novels who now works as a literary agent representing such distinguished writers as Anne Perry and James Patterson, knows firsthand what makes a novel rise above its category in the already saturated book market. Using his own clients as case studies, Maass defines the most crucial elements of a breakout novel a powerful sense of time and place, larger-than-life characters, a high degree of tension, good subplots, and universal themes and shows the reader how to use these elements efficiently to write a novel that will generate interest and have the potential to hit the best sellers lists. Each section ends with checklists for review. Recommended for all public libraries serving communities with struggling writers. Lisa J. Cihlar, Monroe P.L., WI Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781582971827
Publisher: F+W Media, Inc.
Publication date: 8/28/2002
Edition description: 1ST
Pages: 256
Sales rank: 102,456
Product dimensions: 6.06 (w) x 9.02 (h) x 0.78 (d)

	Foreword	1
	Introduction	5
	You Have the Power to Break Out
	How to Use This Book
Chapter 1	Why Write the Breakout Novel?	15
	The Truth About Book Publishing
	The Truth About Authors
	The Myths of Success
	The E-Revolution
	Where to Go From Here
Chapter 2	Premise	33
	The Stories That You Love
	Four Facets of Three Great Novels
	The Little Components of Big Ideas
	Build It and the Breakout Premise Will Come
	Brainstorming the Breakout Premise
Chapter 3	Stakes	59
	Creating High Human Worth
	Public Stakes
	Personal Stakes
	Escalating Stakes
	Your Own Stakes
Chapter 4	Time and Place	81
	The Psychology of Place
	Keeping Up With the Times
	Working With Historical Forces and Social Trends
	God at Work in the World
	The Secret Ingredient
Chapter 5	Characters	103
	Real People vs. Larger-Than-Life Figures
	What Makes a Character Larger-Than-Life?
	Dark Protagonists
	The Highest Character Qualities
	Building a Cast
	Advanced Character Relationships
	Sidekics and Narrators
	Depth and Differentiation of Character
Chapter 6	Plot	133
	Conflict
	The Five Basic Plot Elements
	Bridging Conflict
	What is the Worst That Can Happen?
	High Moments, Turning Corners, Killing Characters
	Structuring Plot
	Larger Plot Structures
Chapter 7	Contemporary Plot Techniques	163
	The New Shape of the Novel
	The Character-Driven Story
	Self-Discovery in the Plot-Driven Novel
	Nonlinear Narrative
	Tension on Every Page
Chapter 8	Multiple Viewpoints, Subplots, Pace, Voice, Endings	181
	Multiple Points of View
	Successful Subplots
	Narrative Pace
	Voice
	Endings
Chapter 9	Advanced Plot Structures	199
	Families, Groups, Generations
	Thrillers
	Crossover Fiction
	Whole Life
	Historicals
	Out-of-Category Romance
	Linked Short Stories
	Inventing Your Own Advanced Plot Structure
Chapter 10	Theme	229
	Having Something to Say
	Step-by-Step Theme Building
	Symbols
	Becoming Passionate
	Right and Wrong in the Novel
	The Protagonist's Declaration of Purpose
	What Makes a Theme Universal?
	Discovering Theme
Chapter 11	Breaking Out	247
	Agent and Editor
	The Pitch
	Outlines
	Breakout Publishing, Breakout Living
	Success, Sequels, Series and Beyond
	Index	261

Customer Reviews

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Anonymous

Posted September 16, 2004

Maass and King: The One¿Two-Knockout Punch for Writers!

With Donald Maass¿ ¿Writing the Breakout Novel¿ in your left hand, and Stephen King¿s ¿On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft¿ in your right hand, any would-be author is armed with a one-two-knockout punch for writing a successful novel. Maass offers and defines the realistic, no-fluff, must-have essential elements for a ¿breakout novel¿. King offers a down and dirty sketch for a daily regimen to achieve stickwithitness and success -- and he offers that for many nit-noy concerns you may have, you can ¿fuhgedaboutit¿! It¿s all here in two volumes, Maass and King, the one-two-knockout punch for writers. If you are serious about the craft and a career as an author, these are absofreakinglutely must-reads!!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Bobby_Lewis

Posted October 14, 2011

Worth it

Worth every penny. Will take your writing to the next level.
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writerguyOH

Posted April 8, 2010

I Also Recommend:

A must have for any writer

Donald Maass has created a tool with this book and its accompanying workbook that every writer should have. It helps you critically examine your own work, or construct it more compellingly if you are just beginning. The exercises will force you to ask serious questions about your work, plot, characters, conflicts, and many other components in order to get the most out of a scene. For me, it also served as a source of great inspirations. Many of the "AH-HA" moments it inspired will be included in my work. A must have for every writer, from beginner to established.
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tjwannabe

Posted June 13, 2009

Great insights for published and unpublished writers

Maass provides suggestions and examples from well-known authors to support his points on how to develop all aspects of a novel. I would recommend this to all writers, at a minimum, as a reference for understanding and reminding yourself what makes a story a page-turner.
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RebaTheWriter

Posted June 6, 2009

more from this reviewer

I Also Recommend:

IF YOU CAN ONLY BUY ONE "HOW TO" BOOK ON FICTION WRITING, THIS IS IT!

This is the most amazing book I've ever read specifically on the subject of fiction writing. It is humurous, informative, whitty and captivating! Don't believe me? I wouldn't have believed me either...until I read it.

Get the book! You won't be sorry!
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Anonymous

Posted October 1, 2005

Asks the Right Questions

I previewed this book in the bookstore and then ordered it along with the workbook. Both delivered well (the workbook has a different angle from the book and is not redundant, therefore, very worthwhile). This book makes you look at your novel in a new way. I found there were many aspects to my story that I had failed to capitalize upon. The author (a literary agent) knows what sells. I found his taste in books to be a little on the commercial side, but he uses these examples well to make his points.
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Anonymous

Posted January 31, 2005

advice on how to write a thriller

Maass does go beyond the usual bland advice found in how-to-write books in that he tries to say which methods produce better results. He discusses ¿Premise¿, Stakes, Time and Place, Characters, Plot, ¿Contemporary Plot Techniques¿ (¿nonlinear¿ narratives, character-driven stories), ¿Multiple Viewpoints, Subplots, Pace, Voice, Endings¿ (all in one chapter), ¿Advanced Plot Structures¿ (generational novels, whole life novels, historical novels, linked short stories), and Theme. His chapter on Stakes is particularly useful. The problem I have with the book is the usual one: that the book assumes that every reader (and the would-be writer reading this book) has more or less the same tastes. Some of the books held up as exemplary novels to learn from, I found appalling. Another problem is the attempt to please the avant-garde. An example is 'Nonlinear Narrative'. There is no discussion/evaluation of this experimental technique. Nor is there any mention of how few readers there are for such material. But that's okay, because the matter is immediately dropped after two pages anyway, and it's back to the thrillers again. Still, even when he's rehashing the same old ABCs, Maass does so in a lively way. So, beginning writers will certainly learn much from this book. And it is a valid point that Maass has not written a ¿breakout¿ novel himself, so how could this book tell us all we need to know to do it! It doesn¿t, but that does not mean that there isn¿t some useful information in the book. No serious writer should read only one book on writing. The only protection from the author's tastes is to read a variety of books--not as easy as it sounds because most of them have the same tastes and most say the same things in different words and with different examples.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous

Posted June 24, 2003

Excellent Assistance for Writers

This book is definitely worth reading for writers and aspiring writers. It doesn't just tell you what a reader is looking for in a great novel, it tells you *how* to give it to them. It's very readable, very informative, and filled withe examples and anecdotes. I was surprised by how truly helpful this book was.
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Maass and King: The One¿Two-Knockout Punch for Writers!

Worth it

A must have for any writer

Great insights for published and unpublished writers

IF YOU CAN ONLY BUY ONE "HOW TO" BOOK ON FICTION WRITING, THIS IS IT!

Asks the Right Questions

advice on how to write a thriller

Excellent Assistance for Writers